A poll by the Trafalgar Group, an Atlanta-based Republican firm, conducted a week before Trump got involved in the race found Evette with a slight lead at 19.9%. She was followed by Wilson at 19.4%; Reddy at 19%; Norman at 15.9% and Mace at 14.6% in the survey that had a roughly three percent margin of error.

But in the immediate aftermath of Trump’s nod, those figures shifted dramatically in the lieutenant governor’s favor, the same pollster found. In a survey conducted June 2-4, Evette was holding a 26.3% lead while none of her competitors raked in more than 18%.

That is critical, South Carolina conservatives say, in a crowded race where there is a high likelihood for a June 23 runoff if no candidate receives more than 50% of the vote. Each of the contenders have showcased their relationship with the president in their pitch to voters.

Wilson, for instance, has a “Trump Tough” page on his campaign website dedicated solely to his relationship with the president. It spotlights his defense of Trump’s executive orders in court and support for cabinet appointees such as FBI Director Kash Patel.

“Our mailboxes have absolutely been flooded by mail pieces from all the candidates, and they all are showing pictures with them standing next to Donald Trump,” Beltram told USA TODAY.

Mace’s hot and cold Trump relationship could determine fate of the ‘Iron Lady’

Republicans who’ve publicly disagreed with the president’s agenda or approach to politics have paid the price ahead of the 2026 midterms.

From Indiana to Louisiana, many longtime incumbents have been easily booted from office while others have been hounded out of Washington by Trump’s scathing online tongue lashings. In some regards, Mace is no different given her previous criticisms of the president.

Three days after first assuming office, for example, as rioters stormed the U.S. Capitol during the Jan. 6, 2021 attack, she issued a blistering response while locked in her office. The congresswoman called the attempted insurrection “un-American” and slammed Trump’s rhetoric ahead of the incident.

“His entire legacy was wiped out yesterday,” Mace said at the time. 

The president responded by calling her a “grandstanding loser” and later endorsed a former state legislator who ran against Mace in the 2022 Republican primary.

“Nancy fights Republicans all the time and is not at all nice about it,” Trump said at the time. “Frankly, she is despised by almost everyone, and who needs that in Congress, or in the Republican Party?”

She easily won that reelection bid by 14 percentage points, however.

In the years since, Mace made a noticeable rightward shift toward Trump, saying there was no ill-will as he waged a comeback campaign against former President Joe Biden two years ago. She endorsed him during the 2024 Republican primary for president over Nikki Haley, the former governor of South Carolina, who backed her during the feud with Trump.