In South Carolina primary, ardent Trump backer defeats Rep. Mark Sanford
COLUMBIA, S.C. - President Donald Trump is crediting his Election-Day tweet in part for the defeat of a South Carolina Republican congressman who has been critical of his administration.
Trump tweeted Wednesday that his advisers didn't want him to get involved in the Republican primary, thinking Rep. Mark Sanford "would easily win."
But Trump says Rep. Katie Arrington "was such a good candidate, and Sanford was so bad, I had to give it a shot."
Arrington narrowly defeated Sanford after Trump tweeted that Sanford had been unhelpful, adding, "He is better off in Argentina."
That was a reference to Sanford's surprise disappearance from the state as governor, which he later revealed was to further his affair with an Argentine woman.
Sanford's loss was perhaps the most dramatic result in primaries across five states Tuesday.
He becomes the second incumbent House Republican to lose a primary this year - the latest victim of intense divisions among the GOP in the Trump era.
Sanford's voting record is generally conservative, but his criticism of Trump as unworthy and culturally intolerant made him a target of dedicated Trump supporters who often elevate loyalty over policy.
Arrington blasted Sanford as a "Never Trumper," and Trump tweeted a startlingly personal attack hours before polls closed, calling Sanford "MIA and nothing but trouble ... he's better off in Argentina."
Even for a political figure with no shortage of confidence in challenging party decision-making, the attack was a bold case of going after a sitting member of Congress. It's almost certain to make other Republicans even more reluctant to take him on, even as Trump stirs divisions on trade, foreign policy and the Russia investigation.
Sanford said Tuesday night that "I stand by every one of those decisions to disagree with the president."
Sanford had never lost a political race in South Carolina, and his defeat Tuesday came amid a roller-coaster political career. Despite the scandal over the affair, he completed his second term as governor and voters sent him to Congress two years later.
In her victory speech, Arrington asked Republicans to come together, saying "We are the party of President Donald J. Trump."
Four other states voted Tuesday, including several races that will be key to determining which party controls the House of Representatives next year.
In other races:
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IN SOUTH CAROLINA, INCUMBENT GOVERNOR FACES RUN-OFF
Sanford was not the only establishment Republican to face a challenge Tuesday. South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster, a close ally of Trump, was forced into a runoff after failing to muster the required 50 percent vote to win outright.
McMaster, an early supporter of the president's 2016 campaign, had Trump's full endorsement, marked by a weekend tweet.
But while Trump remains very popular in the state, McMaster has been shadowed by a corruption probe involving a longtime political consultant. McMaster received the most votes of the four Republicans running, but will face Greenville businessman John Warren in a second contest June 26.
McMaster, the former lieutenant governor, assumed the governorship last year after Nikki Haley resigned to become U.S. ambassador to the United Nations.
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GOP'S 'VICIOUS' VIRGINIA VICTOR
Trump is tweeting that people shouldn't underestimate his loyalist Corey Stewart, who won Virginia's Republican primary to face Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine. The president tweeted Wednesday that Stewart has "a major chance of winning!"
Stewart, known for his ardent defense of Trump and of Confederate symbols, said he plans a "vicious" campaign against Kaine, who has a huge fundraising advantage going into the general election.
Kaine gives passionate campaign speeches, but Trump's tweet calls him a "total stiff."
As Trump's top campaign aide in Virginia, Stewart accused the Republican Party of inadequately defending the candidate after the release of a recording in which Trump bragged about groping women.
Stewart also has called efforts to remove Confederate monuments "an attempt to destroy traditional America."
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A HOUSE BELLWETHER IN VIRGINIA
Democratic State Sen. Jennifer Wexton was the clear winner in a six-way primary in a northern Virginia district considered key to the House battleground map this fall, and will challenge Republican Rep. Barbara Comstock.
Democrats in two other districts they hope to retake nominated women: Abigail Spanberger in central Virginia and Elaine Luria in the district that includes Virginia Beach.
In Comstock's district, Wexton was the best-known in the field, and was viewed as the Democratic Party's establishment choice. She had the endorsement of Democratic Gov. Ralph Northam.
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