COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — In the closing weeks of the primary campaign, a Republican challenging South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster got a congressional campaign boost on Thursday with the endorsement of U.S. Rep. Ralph Norman.
Norman, a first-term Republican, is a real estate developer and former state lawmaker who was elected to the U.S. House in a special election last year. His district crosses 11 counties extending from near Columbia north to spillover suburbs of the banking hub of Charlotte, North Carolina.
“I proudly endorse Catherine Templeton for governor because she is the conservative businesswoman South Carolina needs,” Norman said during an appearance with the candidate. “She will do the right thing.”
Norman also lauded Templeton’s reputation for trimming government spending during her time heading up South Carolina’s labor and public health departments, accomplishments the candidate has frequently referenced during the campaign.
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“Catherine epitomizes Winston Churchill’s famous quote that ‘sometimes it is not enough to do our best; we must do what is required,'” Norman said. “I know Catherine Templeton will do what is required for the people of South Carolina.”
Also Thursday, Templeton got backing from Wes Climer, a Republican state senator from Rock Hill. Appearing alongside Templeton and Norman on Thursday, Climer called Haley “a foot soldier for Nikki Haley in the battle to liberate South Carolina from the cabal of entrenched corruption in Columbia,” adding that Templeton “will pick up the mantle of conservative reform right where Nikki Haley left off.”
The language was similar to that used Wednesday by Charleston businessman Pat McKinney in describing John Warren, the Republican gubernatorial hopeful who picked him as his running mate.
Templeton, Warren, Lt. Gov. Kevin Bryant and former Lt. Gov. Yancey McGill are challenging McMaster for their party’s nomination. South Carolina’s primary elections are June 12.
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