On the campaign trail, Republicans face questions about Iran

NEWBERRY, S.C.—South Carolina’s first Republican gubernatorial debate of the year was held on Wednesday night at a newly renovated opera house in Newberry, a town a short drive northwest of Columbia. U.S. Reps. Nancy Mace and Ralph Norman are battling a crowded field of other state officials all vying for an open governor’s seat.

But at the debate, questions about foreign policy loomed large, complicating each candidate’s pitch for how he or she would improve life in South Carolina.

“If you were governor right now and received a request for military assistance regarding the war in Iran, would you authorize a deployment of South Carolina troops?” the moderator asked.

The answers revealed a notable rift between the four conservative candidates on stage, most of whom hold similar views on infrastructure, fiscal policy, and social issues. Two candidates emphatically declared they would deploy troops. Two hedged.

“I do not want to see boots on the ground, but actually, the governor has no authority to stop the federal government from federalizing the National Guard,” state Attorney General Alan Wilson said. “But I would absolutely support the South Carolina National Guard remaining in South Carolina and supporting the president at a diplomatic level.”

“I agree with the attorney general on boots on the ground,” Mace said. But she added that she supported Israel’s right to defend itself and was proud of the U.S. military’s actions thus far.

The responses of the Republican candidates in South Carolina pointed to a larger divide among conservatives who do not all see eye to eye about the U.S. campaign in Iran. As President Donald Trump defends his military incursion in the Middle East, conservative politicians campaigning at the state level are finding themselves having to field questions about the war from potential voters.

Later on Wednesday evening, Trump delivered a national address to the American people to make his case for his military operation in Iran. The remarks announced no new information, but the president explained why he believed Iran to be a threat and outlined his demands of the new regime.

“We are going to hit them extremely hard over the next two to three weeks. We are going to bring them back to the Stone Ages, where they belong,” Trump said from the White House. “Regime change was not our goal. We never said regime change, but regime change has occurred because of all of their original leaders’ death. They’re all dead.”

Among conservatives, the reception to the speech was not entirely enthusiastic.

“I wanted so much for President Trump to put America First,” former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., posted on X. “All I heard from his speech tonight was WAR WAR WAR. Nothing to lower the cost of living for Americans. Nothing to reduce our near $40 trillion in debt.”

Jeff Davis, the chair of the Greenville County Republican chapter, said he’s willing to give Trump the benefit of the doubt that the operation was necessary. But he wants to hear an announcement soon that it’s over.

“Before this, I think [Treasury Secretary] Scott Bessent and those guys were moving the economy to peak right at midterms. I think they still have that plan,” Davis said. “I think it’s a little bit of a distraction with the war, but hopefully we can end this thing quickly and move forward.”

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., has also made discussion of Iran a major topic during his reelection campaign events. In a typical midterm year, Washington lawmakers like to highlight their wins for each state. Graham has been center stage on advising the president to attack Iran.

“Did you watch the president’s address last night?” Graham asked a room full of Republican voters at a luncheon in Greenville on Thursday. “I was a happy man.”

But Graham also tried to mitigate concerns about the operation, which has claimed 13 American soldiers’ lives thus far. An average of recent polls has shown Trump’s approval ratings steadily falling, hovering around 40%. A new CNN poll found 64% of Americans disapprove of his handling of Iran. Graham is on a damage control tour.

“Here’s the deal: We’re negotiating with the Iranians to put their nuclear program in a real box,” Graham said at the luncheon. He also predicted that Republicans can not only overcome the dip in polls but also buck historical trends and overperform in November’s elections.

“2026 is going to be different than you think it is now,” he said. “Inflation is going to stabilize when Iran is taken off the board. The big disruptor can’t disrupt anymore, and people in Israel can go to bed knowing the ayatollah is no more.” Graham also predicted an eased oil market, more stable interest rates, and an impending stock market boom.

Nate Leupp, director of the Fourth District Republican Club in Greenville, hosted Graham for the event and has endorsed him in the primary. He described the current situation as essential for national security but problematic during an election year.

“President Trump, Sen. Graham, they understand a world reality that very few people understand. They probably have information that we don’t understand,” Leupp said. “The economic fallout from Iran is what gets most people, and so I fill up on gas and I’m thinking, ‘I’m doing this for the safety of America, the extra 15 bucks I paid at the pump, that’s my contribution to Israel existing as an independent Jewish state, for the countries in the Middle East that are our allies, and then eventually that works back to the safety of Americans.”

Nevertheless, Leupp said the political fallout will continue to worsen for the president and the Republican Party the longer the Iranian conflict drags on. In the past few weeks, Leupp said he’s lost $15,000 in stock investments.

“I quit counting it,” Leupp said. “But what is a retiree that needs to draw on that thinking? That’s going to affect Trump big time, and he knows it, and that’s why I think he wants to resolve it as quickly as possible.”

During the first week of Operation Epic Fury, the White House gave several estimates for how long it would last, eventually landing on four to six weeks. This is week five. Last night, Trump said it would be two to three weeks more.

But back in South Carolina, Graham says this is all part of a plan. He also said it is fully MAGA.

“I represent the heart and soul of the Republican Party,” Graham told me. “Hit them before they hit you. Stand up to them now so you don’t pay more later. Keep the war over there, so it doesn’t come here.”