Latest news with #AndreBauer
Washington Post
2 days ago
- Politics
- Washington Post
Bauer, South Carolina's former lieutenant governor, ends GOP primary challenge to Sen. Graham
WASHINGTON — Former South Carolina Lt. Gov. André Bauer is suspending his GOP primary challenge to Sen. Lindsey Graham , shuttering his effort to oust the four-term incumbent after just more than a month and eschewing a 'political climate that rewards deception over honesty, or ambition over unity.' In posts on social media, Bauer wrote Friday that he had decided to shutter his campaign 'after deep prayer and reflection,' saying he believed 'we must stop tearing one another down with lies and division.' He stopped short of endorsing any of the remaining candidates in the race to challenge Graham, who already has backing from President Donald Trump . In a statement, Graham said he wished Bauer well. Graham campaign spokesperson Abby Zilch called it 'abundantly clear' that South Carolina stood behind reelecting the incumbent. Bauer, a wealthy developer and longtime Trump backer, launched his effort 38 days ago, arguing that Graham isn't conservative enough to represent South Carolina. In a pre-launch interview with The Associated Press , Bauer described himself as 'a real, America First conservative' intent on representing what he sees as South Carolina conservatives' true values, and he said 'Graham's been there too long, and he votes like it.' Republicans dominate South Carolina's statewide-elected positions, meaning that the most intense political competition takes place in GOP primaries. Official filing for the June primary doesn't open until March. Graham — whose relationship with Trump has undulated through the years — has faced previous primary challenges from the right, with opponents accusing him of kowtowing to Democrats on issues from immigration to climate change. But Graham also hews to Republican priorities on national security. Ahead of the U.S. strike on Iranian facilities in June, Graham called for Trump to 'go all-in' in backing Israel and destroying Iran's nuclear program. For this cycle, Graham kicked off his reelection campaign in February and quickly secured Trump's endorsement, and Chris LaCivita, a co-campaign manager of Trump's 2024 bid, is serving as a senior adviser. Bauer has backed Trump since before his win in South Carolina's 2016 GOP primary. At his 2024 campaign's South Carolina launch event, Trump called Bauer, who served on his state leadership committee, 'a friend of mine, somebody that could, I think, run for almost any office and win.' Bauer served in the South Carolina legislature before, at age 33, he was elected the youngest lieutenant governor in the country in 2002. After two terms, he mounted an unsuccessful 2010 gubernatorial bid, finishing last in a four-way GOP primary ultimately won by Nikki Haley. Two years later, Bauer ran for Congress, losing a GOP runoff to eventual Rep. Tom Rice in South Carolina's newly created 7th District. ___ Kinnard can be reached at .
Toronto Star
2 days ago
- Politics
- Toronto Star
Bauer, South Carolina's former lieutenant governor, ends GOP primary challenge to Sen. Graham
FILE - South Carolina Lt. Gov. Andre Bauer answers a question during the Republican primary debate for governor, June 1, 2010, in Florence, S.C. (AP Photo/The Morning News, John D. Russell, File) PU flag wire: true flag sponsored: false article_type: : sWebsitePrimaryPublication : publications/toronto_star bHasMigratedAvatar : false :
Associated Press
2 days ago
- Politics
- Associated Press
Bauer, South Carolina's former lieutenant governor, ends GOP primary challenge to Sen. Graham
WASHINGTON (AP) — Former South Carolina Lt. Gov. André Bauer is suspending his GOP primary challenge to Sen. Lindsey Graham, shuttering his effort to oust the four-term incumbent after just more than a month and eschewing a 'political climate that rewards deception over honesty, or ambition over unity.' In posts on social media, Bauer wrote Friday that he had decided to shutter his campaign 'after deep prayer and reflection,' saying he believed 'we must stop tearing one another down with lies and division.' He stopped short of endorsing any of the remaining candidates in the race to challenge Graham, who already has backing from President Donald Trump. In a statement, Graham said he wished Bauer well. Graham campaign spokesperson Abby Zilch called it 'abundantly clear' that South Carolina stood behind reelecting the incumbent. Bauer, a wealthy developer and longtime Trump backer, launched his effort 38 days ago, arguing that Graham isn't conservative enough to represent South Carolina. In a pre-launch interview with The Associated Press, Bauer described himself as 'a real, America First conservative' intent on representing what he sees as South Carolina conservatives' true values, and he said 'Graham's been there too long, and he votes like it.' Republicans dominate South Carolina's statewide-elected positions, meaning that the most intense political competition takes place in GOP primaries. Official filing for the June primary doesn't open until March. Graham — whose relationship with Trump has undulated through the years — has faced previous primary challenges from the right, with opponents accusing him of kowtowing to Democrats on issues from immigration to climate change. But Graham also hews to Republican priorities on national security. Ahead of the U.S. strike on Iranian facilities in June, Graham called for Trump to 'go all-in' in backing Israel and destroying Iran's nuclear program. For this cycle, Graham kicked off his reelection campaign in February and quickly secured Trump's endorsement, and Chris LaCivita, a co-campaign manager of Trump's 2024 bid, is serving as a senior adviser. Bauer has backed Trump since before his win in South Carolina's 2016 GOP primary. At his 2024 campaign's South Carolina launch event, Trump called Bauer, who served on his state leadership committee, 'a friend of mine, somebody that could, I think, run for almost any office and win.' Bauer served in the South Carolina legislature before, at age 33, he was elected the youngest lieutenant governor in the country in 2002. After two terms, he mounted an unsuccessful 2010 gubernatorial bid, finishing last in a four-way GOP primary ultimately won by Nikki Haley. Two years later, Bauer ran for Congress, losing a GOP runoff to eventual Rep. Tom Rice in South Carolina's newly created 7th District. ___ Kinnard can be reached at
Yahoo
02-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
MAGA rival attempts to push longtime Trump ally out of Senate
A top Senate ally of President Donald Trump is facing a primary challenge from the right. Former South Carolina Lt. Gov. Andre Bauer is running for the Senate in 2026, mounting a Republican primary challenge against longtime GOP Sen. Lindsey Graham. "Lindsey Graham has lost his way, and South Carolinians deserve a true conservative fighter to represent them in the United States Senate – 100% guaranteed," Bauer, a wealthy developer and longtime Trump backer, charged in a statement early Wednesday, as he declared his candidacy. Graham in February kicked off his campaign for a fifth six-year term representing the red state of South Carolina in the Senate. On U.s. Strike On Iran, Graham Says Trump Showed There's 'A New Sheriff In Town' The senator was endorsed by Trump in March and this week he announced that veteran Republican consultant Chris LaCivita, who served as co-chair of the president's 2024 campaign to win back the White House, was coming on board as his re-election campaign's senior advisor. Read On The Fox News App Bauer – who unsuccessfully ran for governor in 2010 (in an election won by now-former governor, former ambassador to the U.N. and 2024 GOP presidential candidate Nikki Haley) and Congress in 2012 after serving eight years as the Palmetto State's lieutenant governor – touted his Trump and MAGA credentials. First On Fox: Former Trump Ambassador Launches Senate Bid "One of the first leaders in the country to endorse Trump in early 2016, André has been on the front lines of the America First movement, and has stood firmly with Trump on every issue," his campaign touted in their email release. "André is a proven conservative fighter who will unapologetically stand with President Trump and put South Carolina first." Bauer stood alongside Trump at the South Carolina Statehouse in January 2023, as the former president announced his leadership team in the key early-voting primary state. Trump, at the time, called Bauer "a friend of mine, somebody that could I think run for almost any office and win." Graham, along with Republican Gov. Howie McMaster of South Carolina, also stood alongside Trump at that event. Eight years earlier, Graham was highly critical of Trump as he was part of a large field of rivals who ran against the real estate mogul and reality TV star for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination. But Graham became a close friend and top ally to Trump during the president's first term. The senator has survived primary challenges from the right in his past re-election campaigns, and has been attacked for his more moderate stances on the issues of illegal immigration and climate change, as well as his advocacy for a muscular U.S. national security and foreign policy. Ahead of last month's U.S. strike on Iran's nuclear facilities, Graham urged Trump to "go all-in" to prevent Tehran from acquiring nuclear weapons. Bauer, in his campaign launch, attacked the senator as "Globalist Lindsey Graham" and charged that he "has spent three decades sending your tax dollars overseas and funding regime change wars all over the world instead of helping South Carolinians. Lindsey voted over and over again for big spending and that has grown the national debt by trillions." Bauer also argued that "Graham has repeatedly called for amnesty for illegal immigrants." Graham, on Tuesday, hours ahead of Bauer's launch, spotlighted his efforts to help Trump's so-called "big beautiful" landmark spending and tax cut bill pass the Senate by a razor-thin one-vote margin. "I just had a great phone call with President @realDonaldTrump about his excitement regarding the Senate's passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill," Graham wrote in a social media post. And he highlighted that he's "incredibly proud to have led the fight to move President Trump's 'One Big Beautiful Bill' through the Senate Budget Committee and onto full passage by the United States Senate." Graham re-election campaign spokeswoman Abby Zilch also took aim at Bauer. "Andre Bauer has spent his career chasing titles to feed his ego, running for five different offices and even trying to leverage Senator Graham and the White House for an ambassadorship. When that failed, he launched his sixth campaign – proving once again, this is all about Making Andre Great Again," Zilch claimed in a statement. Republicans dominate statewide elections in South Carolina and the winner of next year's GOP Senate primary will be considered the clear frontrunner in the 2026 general article source: MAGA rival attempts to push longtime Trump ally out of Senate
