Republican lawmakers running for reelection are demanding President Donald Trump give them the same help he just extended to Sen. Darline Graham Nordone (R-SC), according to a new report.
On Tuesday, Nordone pulled out a narrow victory over Rep. Ralph Norman (R-SC) in a runoff, allowing her to be the Republican nominee for the Senate seat her brother Lindsey previously held.
That happened, in large part, experts said, because Trump went all in for her with both personal appearances and a large cash infusion.
According to a report from Politico, GOP lawmakers in battleground states now want the same treatment.
GOP strategists working on critical swing state campaigns are eager for Trump to finally direct his attention to them.
"Obviously the president's support is still super powerful," a Republican strategist working on Georgia and several other battleground races told Politico. "The president's operation still has the ability to move the needle in a lot of these states."
The strategist added, "Hopefully, this is a sign of things to come that the president is willing to get involved and really start to move the needle in some other places that obviously matter a little bit more than South Carolina."
Trump championed Nordone's appointment to her late brother Sen. Lindsey Graham's seat, he coaxed her into the race with an early endorsement, stood by her as she struggled on the debate stage, and flew down to Myrtle Beach for a rare political rally. MAGA Inc., Trump's super PAC, even spent cash from its $400 million stockpile in the closing days of the race.
Yet the president hasn't taken a "meaningful step" into the states that will matter in a few short months — even as battleground Republicans have been clamoring for him to spend his MAGA Inc. money.
"It's now or never. It's put up or shut up time, and it's really time to start to see if he's going to get serious," the GOP strategist said. "You've got September and October to really move the needle here, and it just doesn't seem like there's any sense of urgency, or like we understand that we are down big in some of these states."
During her victory speech in Columbia, Nordone acknowledged Trump's heavy hand: "Our victory would not have been possible without you, and we are truly grateful," she said of the president. "South Carolina is truly Trump country."
Norman's reaction to the president's participation differed: "The president got involved. He has that right. That's his prerogative," Norman said in his concession speech, as the crowd jeered, Politico is reporting. "His policies are good. I never understood why he got in this race. It is what it is, and I'll accept it."
Several national and South Carolina Republicans "expressed confusion" as to why the president would expend energy for the safe Republican seat when his MAGA allies like Mike Collins in Georgia, Ken Paxton in Texas and Michael Whatley in North Carolina are facing tough Senate battles against Democratic opponents.
"There's the principle," a North Carolina-based GOP strategist complained to Politico. "If you're not Trump and you have these people shoved down your throat, you're like, 'Okay, are you gonna help?'"