Former president Donald J. Trump brought his Save America Rally tour to Florence, South Carolina on March 12, 2022.  Even though temperatures dipped below freezing, coupled with drizzling rain, the few thousand Trump supporters who made their way to Florence Regional Airport were not deterred. Some supporters were on site for over twelve hours to hear Trump’s message – many holding out hope that Trump would finally announce his intentions for 2024. 

An important part of Trump’s 2022 Save America rallies is the introduction of candidates Trump has endorsed for the upcoming elections. It’s also an opportunity for those candidates to praise Trump after he bashes their opponents. In Florence, it was Russell Fry, candidate for South Carolina’s 7th Congressional District, and Katie Arrington, candidate for South Carolina’s 1st Congressional District, who had their tickets punched onboard the Trump Train, as his fans like to call it.  Both Fry and Arrington are primary challengers to Republicans that have failed Trump’s rigid loyalty test.  If a candidate is not 100 percent, pure Trump, he, or she, according to Trump, “is a loser that doesn’t know what they’re doing”.

During the 2020 Elections, Trump endorsed 23 candidates running for the U.S. Senate.  Of those 23 candidates, 18 won the general election. Trump endorsed 149 candidates running for seats in the U.S. House of Representatives.  Of those 149 candidates, 116 won the general election.  In 2020, if a candidate received the Trump stamp of approval, there was a 78 percent chance he or she would win the general election.

Will Trump’s endorsement in 2022 carry an even greater percentage of Republican candidates across the finish line?  Polling ahead of the 2022 elections is already pointing towards a GOP landslide come November, so long as Republicans don’t find a way to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.  Trump’s involvement may not be necessary because millions of moderates that voted for the Biden ticket are dismayed by the current president’s unimpressive performance. 

In a spattering of 2022 swing districts, being linked to Trump could harm the candidate, as was the case in some of the 2020 races where the candidate Trump endorsed lost in the general election. Moderate and independent voters were not swayed by Trump in 2020, but some might be in 2022 due to the distasteful far-left, liberal agenda being pushed by President Biden and the Democrat leadership. The unknown is how many Trump voters in 2016, that then voted for Biden in 2020, will now enthusiastically support Trump candidates in 2022. There are so many variables, however the First in the South Republican primaries in South Carolina on June 14, 2022, will provide a glimpse of things to come leading up to November 8, 2022.  Election Day and a full moon – very exciting stuff!

If Katie Arrington knocks off Nancy Mace in the 1^st Congressional District of South Carolina Republican Primary, candidates across the nation should see that result as a sign the Trump endorsement will tip the scale for those he has endorsed. The 1^st Congressional District has been running 52-48 splits favoring Republicans recently.  Ten years ago, the split was 55-45 for Republicans. Population growth has been astronomical, with many new residents escaping high tax, heavy-handed blue states.  The hope is these future South Carolina voters left any liberal leanings they might have had in New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and New Jersey behind, and vote Republican moving forward.

How did Congresswoman Nancy Mace fall out of Trump’s graces?  She voted in favor of certifying the 2020 Presidential Election.  She also voted in favor of Steve Bannon being held in Contempt of Congress for not appearing before the January 6^th Committee. In explaining her vote Mace said, “Executive privilege protects the advice given to the President. That protection can be invoked when called before Congress.  When Congress issues a subpoena, that individual must appear before Congress and invoke that privilege.” 

Mace’s explanation is reasonable, but not to Trump.  According to Trump, who did endorse Mace two years ago, Mace is now “crazy” and “a terrible person” who “has no idea what she’s doing.”  Meanwhile Arrington was overheard on the Florence stage telling Trump, “I love you”.  Less than two years ago Trump gave Mace his “complete and total endorsement”.  Today it’s Arrington’s googly eyes and abundance of adoration that have gained Trump’s nod of approval.