Ralph Norman

GREENVILLE — In a political move that comes as South Carolina gubernatorial candidates jostle for position following President Donald Trump’s blockbuster weekend endorsement, U.S. Rep. Ralph Norman has named Freedom Caucus disciple Adam Morgan as his potential running mate a week before the election day that will determine if he’ll even win.

Morgan is a former member of the state Legislature’s ultraconservative caucus who came up just short in his 2024 bid to unseat U.S. Rep. William Timmons. The announcement came the morning of June 1 at Morgan’s Greenville music store.

Over the weekend, current Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette faced scrutiny from her opponents in the six-way race to June 9 primary after receiving a bombshell endorsement from Trump, who in so doing firmly backed Henry McMaster Jr. — the son of current Gov. Henry McMaster — as her running mate.

On May 30, Evette was noncommittal when asked by The Post and Courier if the junior McMaster would be her pick.

“I think the president has amazing political insight, but I’ve been saying it for months: I’m going to win this primary, then I’m going to worry about all the other things that come after,” Evette said during a press briefing at the Greenville Downtown Airport on Sunday.

It was uncertain leading into the closing days whether the president would weigh in, but doing so sparked carefully threaded posts of both congratulations and caution of a “McMaster dynasty” from her opponents.

The endorsement came late May 29, both in the form of a post on Trump’s Truth Social account and in a private phone call to Evette that she said she didn’t know would happen. At a May 30 press briefing at the Greenville Downtown Airport, Evette said she is “still kind of weak-kneed about it.”

There has been speculation that Evette would choose the governor’s son, Henry McMaster Jr., to run alongside her as lieutenant governor, which in South Carolina serves in a largely ceremonial role but can be a launching point for the governor’s post, as it did for the senior McMaster, who is term-limited.

In his post, Trump referenced the speculation and made clear his preference for the Columbia retail and hospitality attorney. In 2016, McMaster Sr. as lieutenant governor was the first major statewide elected official to endorse Trump’s initial run. The early backing paid off when Trump named then-Gov. Nikki Haley as U.N. ambassador, clearing the way for McMaster’s appointment.

“A BIG added plus for Pam is that, I hear, Henry McMaster, Jr., the brilliant and very competent son of Henry and Peggy, will be running with her as the next Lieutenant Governor. I LOVE SOUTH CAROLINA!” Trump wrote in the post that offered his “complete and total endorsement” and cited Evette’s early support for him as he launched his 2024 bid amid political uncertainty and criminal prosecutions.

The endorsement’s impact on the race isn’t clear, though Trump has recently entered the fray in other primary races, leading to victories to unseat incumbents in Texas, Kentucky and Louisiana.

Fresh polling before the endorsement, though, indicates that Evette’s standing had stagnated — with opponents Norman, U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace, businessman Rom Reddy and state Attorney General Alan Wilson somewhat bunched together. The sixth challenger, state Sen. Josh Kimbrell, has polled far behind.

For weeks, Evette has implied Trump’s endorsement in campaign ads and comments, which has drawn criticism from her opponents who worked to position themselves as the favored candidate.

In the hours before the endorsement was announced, Mace, in a post on her X.com account, blasted Evette, saying she was misleading voters about Trump’s support.

After the endorsement, Mace along with Reddy and Wilson used their X accounts to congratulate Evette on the endorsement but still lobbed criticism her way.

Opponents have argued that Evette hasn’t aligned as closely with the president as it might seem — in not financially supporting his 2016 and 2020 runs and her silence after the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riots.

This is a developing story and could be updated.