Trump-backed candidates in Ohio, Pennsylvania and North Carolina face active and well-funded challengers seeking the Republican nomination to run for the U.S. Senate. The former president also backed a challenger to Georgia’s incumbent Republican governor, who angered Trump by dismissing his false claims that his 2020 election defeat was a result of fraud. He is one of the highest – and in the case of the Senate, the most critical for the party – of the more than 150 candidates for federal, state and local races that Trump approved this year. Their struggles will be scrutinized for signs that Trump’s iron-clad party in his party could decline as he flirts with a possible 2024 White House term. “It’s important for him to maintain this perception, and perhaps a reality, that he is a king in the Republican Party,” said Mike DuHaime, a Republican general. . “ Victories in May of some of Trump’s most controversial choices in the Senate, including former Georgia soccer star Herschel Walker and TV doctor Mehmet Oz in Pennsylvania, do not guarantee success in the November 8 general election. allow Democrats to keep their razor. slim majority of the Senate. Polls show that at least one of Trump’s candidates in May, Senate nominee JD Vance in Ohio, is leading in his primary on Tuesday. But Oz follows his rival David McCormick ahead of the May 17 Pennsylvania primary, and former Sen. David Perdio lags behind Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, who heads to the race on May 24. The poor performance of Trump-backed candidates may not diminish his support for his key supporters. A Reuters / Ipsos poll last week found that 83% of Republicans viewed the former president positively and 40% said he was the leader best represented by their party, well ahead of 25% for his closest possible opponent. for the anointing of 2024, Florida Gov. Ron DeSadis. . “His base of power is tens of millions of disgruntled voters across the country,” said Justin Saif of Ballard Partners, a Florida-based lobbying firm with ties to Trump. “No matter what happens to the candidates he has approved, I do not think he will change the conventional wisdom that he would continue to be the pioneer for the GOP nomination for 2024.” Trump is expected to complete an interim spending plan for his huge war chest after contests in Ohio and Pennsylvania, sources told Reuters last month. Read the whole story A Trump spokesman did not respond to a request for comment.
TRUMP CANDIDATES
Trump stunned Ohio Republicans on April 15 by backing Vance, a businessman and writer who harshly criticizes the former president. More than 40 Republican officials had written to Trump urging him not to back Vance, arguing that his story in criticizing Trump would be food for his Democratic opponent. Following Trump’s support, a Fox News poll showed Vance jumping 12 percentage points from a previous poll to win 23% of the vote in the first place, while rival Josh Mandel lost 2 points to 18%. . However, 25% of voters said they were undecided. In Pennsylvania, Trump’s support for Oz on April 9 has done little to mobilize opinion polls, with the latest poll showing a tight race with former hedge fund CEO McCormick. In a Monmouth University poll last week, 61% of Pennsylvania Republicans said they were “very likely” to vote for McCormick, compared with 51% for Oz. In North Carolina, opinion polls show Trump-backed Senate nominee Ted Bud leading former rival Pat McCroy’s opponent, though a crowded field in that race could force him to run for a second term. . Read the whole story In Georgia, Trump defied the Republican establishment by encouraging Perdue to challenge incumbent Governor Kemp, who angered Trump by validating the 2020 election results that showed President Joe Biden defeated him in the state. Perdue was about 20 points behind Kemp in a recent poll published by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “Georgia will be the testament to what the rest of the country is going to see: It’s time to turn the page,” said Republican Gov. Jeff Duncan, an anti-Trump Republican. Even Trump’s allegiance to Perdie seems to be faltering. At a rally in Georgia in March, Trump turned to Pardew and said, “I hope you, David, become governor. Or I’re just wasting a lot of time tonight.” (Report by Alexandra Ulmer in San Francisco and Jarrett Renshaw in Philadelphia; Edited by Scott Malone and Daniel Wallis)
