S.C. joins state parties seeking to complicate Trump's run

The South Carolina Republican Party is joining the push to tie Donald Trump’s hands.

The state party announced on Tuesday that for presidential candidates to qualify for the South Carolina primary, they must pledge to support the Republican presidential nominee — and not run as a third-party candidate — in the general election.


The move comes as two other state parties, North Carolina and Virginia, ponder similar loyalty pledges. It’s an offensive that is implicitly aimed at Trump, who has repeatedly refused to rule out a third-party run.

It comes amid mounting frustration in Republican establishment circles over Trump’s candidacy. Despite coming under a hail of criticism in recent weeks, Trump has gained strength in the contest, holding steady atop state and national polls.

To qualify for the South Carolina primary — a critical early-state contest that has traditionally played a key role in shaping the Republican nomination battle — Republican candidates are being asked to sign a pledge saying they “hereby affirm that” they “generally believe in and intend to support the nominees and platform of the Republican Party in the November 8, 2016 general election.”

The state party said that four candidates — Marco Rubio, Ben Carson, John Kasich and Jeb Bush — have signed the pledge, and that three others — Scott Walker, Ted Cruz and Lindsey Graham — are expected to in the coming days.

On Tuesday morning, Roger Stone, a longtime Trump strategist who parted ways with the campaign earlier this month, wrote on Twitter that the state party effort would backfire. “The kind of thing that could make @realDonaldTrump bolt the GOP and run 3rd party or Indy,” he said.