McKissick, a former Republican activist and consultant, since 2017 has chaired the Republican Party in South Carolina, where Republicans control both legislative chambers, all state offices and everyone except one chair in Congress. Home to the first presidential primaries in the South, South Carolina plays a crucial role in the nomination process, hosting a number of candidates seeking the top places in their party.
Trump’s ties to South Carolina are deep. In 2016, the then Lieutenant. Governor Henry McMaster was the first elected official in the entire state to support Trump, whose victory in the primaries here helped to consolidate his status as a leader. Trump then paved the way for McMaster’s promotion by nominating then-Gov. Nikki Haley UN Ambassador.
Despite feuds in 2016, Trump and U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham developed a close relationship, especially because of Graham’s defense of Trump’s court nominees. Graham’s fickle positions on Trump are sometimes at odds, but a recent visit to Mar-a-Lago seems to indicate that the alliance remains.
As president, McKissick remained a constant supporter of Trump, successfully canceling the 2020 Republican primaries in favor of supporting the incumbent, with McKissick saying that Trump faced “no legitimate challengers in the primaries” and had a “record of results. “to the state.
Now, as some in the GOP widely ponder a reckoning in the post-Trump era, state parties across the country under the leadership of chairs like McKissick have shown their loyalty, effectively erecting a firewall that cements Trump’s priorities as part of the local GOP brand.
This recently became the case in South Carolina, where last month US Representative Tom Rice was one of 10 House Republicans to vote for Trump’s impeachment for what he saw as the then president’s failure to calm the riots on Capitol Hill . That night, McKissick said he was “deeply disappointed” by Rice’s vote. When the state Republican Party quickly censored Rice two weeks later, McKissick said the move was for state party leaders to inform Rice that “they totally disagree with his decision.”
Many, including Rice himself, expect the five-term congressman to face several primary opponents next year.
Now, as a measure of public support, Trump is rewarding McKissick by supporting the renewal of his presidency. It is similar to an action Trump took in Arizona, where controversial Republican Party president Kelli Ward – among Trump’s most adamant supporters and prolific promoters of his baseless allegations of widespread electoral fraud – was re-elected after a public endorsement by Trump.
At the same meeting, Arizona Republicans voted to censor Cindy McCain and two other prominent members of the Republican Party who met in the same line as Trump.
Upon receiving support from Trump, McKissick says the ex-president’s brand in the Republican Party remains “tremendous” and that he expects Trump to play an important role in the next 2022 midterm elections.
“He definitely has a tremendous leadership position in our party, just because of how the people who joined our party under his leadership, joined our party,” McKissick told the AP, citing what he saw as keeping promises. Trump’s campaign efforts on immigration reform, conservative court appointments and abortion restrictions.
“I don’t see these problems going away. I don’t see these people leaving, “said McKissick.” That’s what people could see in our party, with President Trump. “
The state GOP will officially vote for its president at a convention planned for May.
For 2022, McKissick – also serving on the almost formed electoral integrity committee of the Republican National Committee – said he hoped Trump would hold primary and general elections “MAGA rallies across the country”, noting the more than $ 250 million raised by the former in the weeks following his defeat in the elections.
“It buys a lot of jet fuel,” said McKissick.