Republican Paul Dans, who oversaw the conservative policy blueprint known as Project 2025, announced Friday that he is ending his primary campaign against Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., and backing another candidate in the race.
Dans, noting he was recently endorsed by conservative commentator Tucker Carlson, wrote in a post on X that he was dropping out of the race “because we cannot Make America Great Again until Lady Graham is taken out of office. @MarkLynchSC has the resources to make that happen.”
Dans launched his campaign last year, telling NBC News that he was running because "we need to have a government of, by and for the people, again. Not by swamp critters like Lindsey Graham.”
But Dans struggled to raise money for his campaign, pulling in nearly $630,000 last year as Graham, who is seeking a fifth Senate term, raised more than $19 million. Mark Lynch, a businessman, has been self-funding his run, loaning his campaign $5 million last year.
President Donald Trump slammed Lynch in a Truth Social post on Friday as a “lunatic,” saying that Lynch backs Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., who frequently clashes with Trump.
"I don’t have to go into great detail, but needless to say, Mark Lynch would be a DISASTER for the Republican Party, and Lindsey Graham just, GETS THE JOB DONE," wrote Trump.
Although Trump has endorsed Graham in the primary, Lynch argues that he is more closely aligned with Trump's "America First" movement.
"South Carolinians deserve a God-fearing, conservative businessman to fight alongside President Trump against the powers of evil that have such a tight grip on career politicians, not a traitorous, back-stabbing flimsy flip flopper like Lindsey Graham who pretends to put America first when the next election comes around," Lynch said when he launched his campaign last year.
Graham, meanwhile, shared Trump's Truth Social posts about the race on Friday, writing on X, "Thank you for your support, President @realDonaldTrump. With your endorsement, I will not let the great people of South Carolina down!"
The South Carolina primary is set for June 9.
