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Henry McMaster Wins Gubernatorial Primary Day After Trump Holds Rally for Him

Incumbent South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster (R.) won the Republican gubernatorial nomination runoff Tuesday night.

The Associated Press called the race two hours after the polls closed. As of Wednesday morning, McMaster had secured 54 percent of the vote.

Just a day earlier, President Donald Trump held a rally in South Carolina to help push McMaster over the finish line.

The New York Times had argued Trump's rally was "the sort of risky move that some politicians might not have taken," and Trump himself conceded the primary put his name on the line.

"They will say Donald Trump suffered a major, major defeat in the great state of South Carolina, it was a humiliating defeat for Donald Trump, so please get your asses out tomorrow and vote," Trump said to applause, describing what might happen should McMaster fail to secure the nomination.

The president tweeted his congratulations to McMaster for his "BIG election win!"

https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1011789419521675264

The governor's opponent in the runoff was businessman John Warren, who the governor faced after falling short of a majority in the five-way Republican primary two weeks ago.

McMaster has been one of the president's longest allies, being the first statewide South Carolina official to endorse him in January 2016 when he served as the state's lieutenant governor.

He became governor in January 2017 after Trump nominated then-Gov. Nikki Haley to be U.S. ambassador to the United Nations.

McMaster will face Democratic candidate James E. Smith Jr., a state legislator, in the November election.