Dans’ decision on Friday reshaped a South Carolina Republican primary race that AP described as a test of loyalties to President Donald Trump and his MAGA movement ahead of the June 9 vote. Paul Dans, identified by AP as a chief architect of Project 2025, had been challenging Sen. Lindsey Graham in a contest set to put Graham’s standing with Trump-aligned voters under scrutiny.
AP reported that Dans ended his bid in time for him to be removed from the ballot, making Friday the last day to withdraw before the state primary. With Dans out, the remaining contest inside the GOP field becomes centered on whether voters rally behind Graham or instead back a different Republican alternative.
AP also said Trump reacted quickly on social media, posting that Tucker Carlson’s endorsement of Dans had been the “KISS OF DEATH” for Dans’ campaign. The AP report tied that exchange to a broader feud between Trump and Carlson over the Iran war, which Carlson had described in harsh terms and Dans later denied had influenced his withdrawal decision.
Dans told AP he was not stepping aside because of Carlson’s endorsement, according to AP’s account of Dans’ remarks. AP reported that Dans said he was endorsing another Republican in the contest: Mark Lynch, an appliance business owner. In a separate social media post, Trump said Lynch “would be a DISASTER for the Republican Party” if elected, according to the AP report.
Before entering the primary fight, Dans had risen to prominence as one of the people behind Project 2025, which AP described as a blueprint for conservative governance in the event of Trump’s comeback. AP quoted Dans describing the aim of Project 2025 as “change the game in terms of closing the door on the progressive era,” and said Dans pointed to the U.S. Senate as the “headwaters of the swamp.”
AP further described Dans as an attorney who worked in the first Trump administration as White House liaison to the office of personnel management, and said he often commuted on weekdays to Washington while helping organize Project 2025 at the Heritage Foundation. AP said the nearly 1,000-page policy blueprint included chapters written by leading conservative thinkers.
Challenging Graham, who has faced and defeated primary contenders over the years, was described by AP as a political long shot. AP said a half-dozen other Republican candidates remain in the race and, citing Graham’s campaign, said Graham had more than $11.6 million cash on hand and raised nearly $1.4 million in the first quarter.
In addition to Graham’s campaign finances, AP reported that Trump early on endorsed Graham, even as their relationship has had on-and-off moments. AP also said Graham, when announcing he would seek a fifth term in the Senate, secured South Carolina’s leading Republicans—Sen. Tim Scott and Gov. Henry McMaster—to chair his 2026 run.