南卡罗来纳州默特尔比奇——周六，南卡罗来纳州的共和党人选择德鲁·麦克基西克(Drew McKissick)领导他们第三次担任主席，这是对该州最近一次移植的挑战，他在现任主席之外，将自己描绘成与前总统关系最密切的候选人唐纳德·特朗普。
投票是在全州范围的代表集会上进行的。
特朗普在该州领导该州共和党的竞争——特朗普2016年的初选胜利标志着巩固其提名的转折点，在他的整个任期内，对他的支持一直很高——已经演变为关于谁对这位前总统的支持最高的辩论。
一方是麦克基西克(McKissick)，他寻求继续领导一个去年进一步加强了权力的政党，扩大了对立法机构的控制，赢回了一个国会席位，并确保了美国参议员林赛·格雷厄姆(Lindsey Graham)的第四个任期。麦克基西克成功地取消了该州2020年的共和党初选，支持现任总统，麦克基西克说特朗普“没有合法的初选挑战者”，而且在那里有“成绩记录”。
麦克基西克面临三个挑战者，其中最直言不讳的是林·伍德，一位佐治亚州的律师，他错误地坚持认为特朗普实际上赢得了2020年的选举。特朗普称赞伍德在提出法律挑战方面做得“很好”，尽管特朗普的竞选团队有时与他保持距离。法院驳回了数十起提出此类指控的诉讼。
伍德没有出席星期六的会议。他刚到南卡罗来纳州，最近在查尔斯顿以南的沿海地区博福特县购买了三个种植园，总价值超过1600万美元。
在今年早些时候与南卡罗来纳州共和党人的一次通话中，伍德说，在与茶党团体的活动人士交谈时，他感觉到了对麦克基西克领导层的“不满”，他说麦克基西克被描述为“RINO”——名义上的共和党人——他认为这样的人不适合该州。
麦克基西克在早些时候获得了特朗普的支持，这位前总统在2月份表示，麦克基西克在领导该州的政党方面做得“很好”，该州作为南方第一次总统初选的所在地，在提名过程中发挥了至关重要的作用。
在伍德对该职位感兴趣的报道浮出水面后，特朗普弯下腰，再次称赞麦克基西克，但没有提到伍德。周六投票的前一天，特朗普发表了第三次背书，再次赞扬了麦克基西克的政党领导。
伍德的支持者一再质疑特朗普代言的真实性，没有提供任何虚假证据。
“我仍然爱唐纳德·特朗普，”伍德上个月在被问及特朗普对麦克基西克的支持时表示。“没有什么能改变我对一个我认为是在为这个国家执行上帝旨意的人的看法。”
麦克基西克对自己不是特朗普的坚定支持者的指控一笑置之，他说，这位前总统询问了伍德的情况，但在与代言有关的电话中没有提到他的名字。
“(特朗普)就像，‘这个和你竞争的律师是谁?“他甚至住在南卡罗来纳州吗?”"麦克基西克告诉美联社. "然后他说，‘真奇怪’，或者类似的话。有点滑稽。"
McKissick easily wins 3rd term as South Carolina GOP chair
MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. -- South Carolina Republicans on Saturday selected Drew McKissick to lead them for a third term as chairman, turning back a challenge from a recent transplant to the state who portrayed himself, over the current chairman, as the candidate most closely aligned with former PresidentDonald Trump.
The vote came during a statewide gathering of delegates.
The contest to lead the state’s Republican Party in the state — where Trump’s 2016 primary victory marked a turning point in solidifying his nomination, and where support for him remained high throughout his term — had devolved into a debate over whose support for the former president was highest.
On one side was McKissick, seeking to continue leading a party that last year further strengthened its power, expanding control in the Legislature, winning back a congressional seat and securing a fourth term for U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham. McKissick successfully call ed off the state’s 2020 Republican primary in favor of throwing support behind the incumbent, with McKissick saying Trump faced “no legitimate primary challenger” and had a “record of results” there.
McKissick faced three challengers, the most vocal of whom was Lin Wood, a Georgia attorney who has falsely insisted Trump actually won the 2020 election. Trump has praised Wood as doing a “good job” filing legal challenges, though Trump’s campaign has at times distanced itself from him. Dozens of lawsuits making such allegations were rejected by the courts.
Wood didn't show up to Saturday's confab. New to South Carolina, he has recently purchased three plantations totaling more than $16 million in Beaufort County, a coastal area south of Charleston.
During a call earlier this year with South Carolina Republicans, Wood said he sensed “dissatisfaction” with McKissick’s leadership during conversations with activists affiliated with tea party groups, saying McKissick had been described to him as a “RINO” — Republican In Name Only — and that he felt such a person was the wrong fit for the state party.
McKissick secured Trump’s endorsement early on, with the former president saying in February that McKissick had done a “great job” leading the party in the state, which, as home of the first-in-the-South presidential primaries, plays a crucial role in the nominating process.
Trump doubled down after reports of Wood’s interest in the position surfaced, again praising McKissick but making no reference to Wood. The day before Saturday's vote, Trump issued a third endorsement, again praising McKissick's party leadership.
Wood's supporters have repeatedly questioned the authenticity of Trump’s endorsements, offering no evidence of them being fake.
“I still love Donald Trump,” Wood said last month, asked about Trump’s support of McKissick. “Nothing’s going to change my mind about a man who I believe is doing God’s will for this country.”
McKissick, who has laughed off the allegation he wasn't a strong Trump supporter, said the former president asked about Wood, though didn’t name him on a phone call related to the endorsement.
“(Trump) was like, ‘Who’s this attorney guy who is running against you? Does he even live in South Carolina?’" McKissick told The Associated Press. "Then he said, ‘That’s weird,’ or something like that. It was kind of comical.”
