Why SC Dems think Trump won’t help McMaster as much as he hopes

You might think having the sitting president fly in for your fundraiser would be a big boost to a candidate’s campaign. But S.C. Democrats say Gov. Henry McMaster may not benefit as much from President Donald Trump’s visit Monday to South Carolina’s Upstate as the Republican incumbent might hope.

“I think swing voters are tired” of Trump, said Trav Robertson, the S.C. Democratic Party’s chairman. “Trump is not as popular as you might think.”

Speaking to the press ahead of Trump’s visit, Robertson highlighted two issues specific to Greenville, where Trump spoke Monday night, that could drive a wedge between McMaster and Trump.

One is Trump’s criticism of German automakers in an area where German-based BMW is one of the area’s largest employers. The other is the effect that Trump’s efforts to roll back the Affordable Care Act could have on Greenville’s hospital system, another major employer.

“He spits in the face of people here, but he’ll come and take their money,” Robertson said.

Democrats also say McMaster calling in Trump so early in the 2018 campaign is a sign the Republican incumbent needs help in a contested GOP primary, where he is caught in a tight fundraising race with Catherine Templeton.

Robertson compared McMaster to Luther Strange, the Republican U.S. senator from Alabama who lost his primary race despite an endorsement and campaign appearance from Trump.

Democrats joined forces Monday with activist groups to organize protests around Trump’s visit — at the Greenville-Spartanburg airport, where the president and Air Force One arrived, and at Greenville’s Falls Park while Trump was at the closed-door fundraiser.

This story was originally published October 16, 2017 at 4:10 PM with the headline "Why SC Dems think Trump won’t help McMaster as much as he hopes."