South Carolina — 1st District

President Donald Trump endorsed Republican Charleston County Councilmember Jenny Costa Honeycutt in South Carolina’s 1st Congressional District race, calling her a highly respected America First patriot in a July 13 social media post.

Trump praised Honeycutt as a dedicated public servant who will “fight tirelessly” to support his agenda on taxes, immigration, energy, the military and defending the Second Amendment.

He concluded with the declaration: “SHE WILL NEVER LET YOU DOWN!”

The endorsement gives Honeycutt the backing of the Republican Party’s most influential figure in the race to succeed U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace in Congress.

Honeycutt faces Democrat Nancy Lacore, a former Navy admiral fired by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, in November.

In a social media post of her own, Honeycutt said she was honored to have Trump’s endorsement after speaking with him.

“As the President stated, I will never let South Carolina's Lowcountry down!” she wrote.

Trump’s decision to finally pick a favorite in the contest come after a long stretch of silence.

Trump remained on the sidelines during a sprawling primary season that drew 17 candidates for the open seat — 10 Republicans and seven Democrats — after Mace decided to forgo a fourth term in favor of an ultimately unsuccessful GOP campaign for governor.

Her decision created the district's first open-seat opportunity in years.

The campaign and the ensuing runoffs unfolded without intervention from Trump, marking a departure from past cycles in which he sought to shape this district's congressional races through a series of endorsements, including in Republican primaries in 2018, 2022 and 2024.

Honeycutt, who has served on Charleston County Council since 2018, leaned heavily on her Lowcountry roots. But during the GOP primary race and the runoff that followed, Honeycutt also repeatedly sought to align herself with Trump.

At her election night watch party at the Charleston Crab House on James Island, Honeycutt told The Post and Courier she understood why Trump refrained from endorsing any of the candidates in the race.

“He knows what races to get involved in and what may not be the most helpful in the long run,” Honeycutt said. “Obviously, it might have made a difference for one of us, but I think he knows that both of us will serve the district well.”

Soon after Trump endorsed Honeycutt, she picked up two more endorsements from Republican leaders: Speaker of the House Mike Johnson and House Majority Whip Tom Emmer.

The general election is Nov. 3.