Trump’s picks challenge GOP rivals
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Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp meets people during his campaign at a Get Out the Vote event at DGD Farms at Hadden Estate on May 21, 2022, Watkinsville.
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Georgia’s Tuesday primary elections will have a profound impact on the nation. Key races across Georgia are testing former Presidents. Donald Trump’spolitical power, and created the stage for a fight over who controls Congress.
Trump has supported more than 12 candidates in the Peach States primaries. Some of these are competing with incumbent Republicans up for reelection.
These are Georgia’s governors. Brian Kemp and Brad Raffensperger are two Republicans who resisted Trump’s pressure to overturn the President Joe Biden’sThe key swing state wins the 2020 election.
Trump-backed rivals in these GOP primaries repeated the claims of former President Donald Trump that the 2020 presidential election result was tainted with widespread fraud and misconduct.
Trump also supported Herschel Walker who was a running back for the NFL, and is likely to win against Democratic Senator Raphael Warnock in the general election for Senate. Democrats secured a slim majority of the Senate by winning Warnock’s election over Republican Kelly Loeffler during a crucial 2021 runoff election.
Trump has also supported Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene. She is known for her extreme conspiracy theories, which have been polarizing in politics as well as being a devil among Democrats.
In some races today, it may not matter which candidate gets more votes but whether or not a candidate is able to avoid a runoff election if they receive over 50% of votes.
The Georgia primaries will be held as Republicans try to seize control of both the House and Senate in the fall. Democrats are rising: Democrats face a difficult task. The party of the president tends to perform poorly in midterm elections. Inflation and low support ratings for Biden have been major factors in the rise to the primaries.
That dynamic holds true in the four other states — Alabama, Arkansas, Texas and Minnesota — that are also holding elections Tuesday.
Arkansas’ ex-press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders is Trump’s Arkansas counterpart. She also happens to be the daughter of an ex-Gov. Mike Huckabee is likely to win the GOP governorship primary. In Alabama, GOP Rep. Mo Brooks will be fighting for the open Senate seat. Trump rescinded his endorsement.
The polls for Georgia’s primaries are open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday ET from 7 p.m. ET.
This is what you should be watching:
Governor
Georgia’s former senator David Perdue has re-emerged to run for governor. losing in last year’s Senate runoff raceDemocratic Senator Jon Ossoff
Perdue has been endorsed Trump, and has campaigned partly on Trump’s falsehoods regarding the 2020 election. But Perdue seems to be far behind the incumbent Governor. Brian Kemp.
Recent polls showKemp leads Perdue by a significant margin heading into the primaries. The gap is also due to polls taken after Trump’s political actions committee reported spending $500,000 advertising against Kemp in the governorship contest.
Kemp was the one who signed an agreement for a highly restrictive abortion lawHe is known for being a conservative and steadfast. Former Vice President Mike Pence has endorsed him, which Trump has criticized for refusing to accept the Electoral College vote on January 6, 2021.
Trump sees Kemp as an enemy and has called him a weak governor who “failed Georgia.”
“Most importantly, he can’t win because the MAGA base — which is enormous — will never vote for him,” Trump said in a statement endorsing Perdue, which was re-posted by Trump’s social media account on Monday.
Trump did not plan to run for Perdue in his personal campaign as Perdue’s campaign ads had also stopped. NBC News reportedSources close to Trump were cited.
Stacey Abrams (progressive Democrat) will be the likely opponent of the Republican candidate who makes it to the general election. She narrowly defeated Kemp in the 2018 governor’s race.
Kemp refused to leave Georgia as secretary of state during his run for governor. This was in response to criticisms that he participated in an election. his office was in charge of overseeing. Abrams has repeated his belief that the race was unfair in the aftermath of the loss.
Secretary of State
Trump supported Rep. Jody Haice (Georgia’s Top Election Officer) in his GOP primary. This is among the many Republican congressional candidates who voted to contest the Electoral College results.
Days before that riot, then-President Trump called Raffensperger and urged him to “find 11,780 votes” — the number that Trump believed was required to overturn Biden’s victory in Georgia.
Raffensperger declined, and Raffensperger’s phone conversation was quickly leaked to media. Trump had publicly attacked Kemp, Raffensperger and others before. He wrote after the phone call on Twitter that Raffensperger was “no clue!”
This phone call is currently being investigated in a criminal investigation into Trump’s attempt to overturn election results. It’s being overseen by Fulton County district attorney Fani Williams, a Democrat.
Hice was a supporter of a legal effort to overturnThe 2020 elections results in key swing states. Raffensperger’s 2020 election handling has been the subject of a flurry of criticisms. fact-checkers have labeled false.
Senate
Walker, who is both a Heisman trophy winner and a businessman, will easily be elected Republican nominee for Senate in Tuesday’s primary.
Recent polls indicate that Walker has a lead of more than 50 points over his nearest competitor, according to an average survey by RealClearPolitics.
Walker, however, will face much more opposition if it is elected to the November elections against Sen. Warnock.
Politically untrained athlete who skipped debates, and was accused of avoiding non-friendly pressHe can anticipate more heat from the general public, perhaps about his reported historyOf domestic abuse allegations and their making exaggerating claimsLearn more about his company.
Early polls for the Walker-Warnock hypothetical matchup indicate that the candidates are virtually tied according to RealClearPolitics.
House
Trump also endorsed several loyalists, who have challenged the results of the 2020 election in Republican House primaries. Rep. Andrew Clyde was one of those who fueled outrage when he said in an hearing last year that the pro-Trump mob which surrounded the Capitol Jan. 6 seemed more like a normal tourist visit than a riot.
Georgia’s most closely watched House race will probably be in the 14th district. This is where freshman Rep. Greene seeks a second term. Greene lost her position in a committee last year because of conspiracy theories and extremist views she was spreading before becoming an elected official.
Recent media reports revealed that Greene texted Mark Meadows, the White House Chief of Staff, in order to urge him to speak with Trump about the possibility of imposing martial law.
A group representing election reform had brought a suit against Greene to get her out of the race. They claimed that Greene’s comments and actions regarding the Capitol Riot disqualified her. A judge rejected the suit and Secretary Raffensperger declared that Greene could continue her reelection campaign.
An endorsement test for Trump
Georgia’s primaries are a testament to Trump’s power over the direction and policies of the GOP, more so than in any other election cycle.
Political watchers see Trump’s endorsement record during the current primary cycle to be a crucial indicator of his power. Others have pointed out that Trump’s win/loss record might not be a full story.
Although most Trump endorsees won their primary elections, there were some candidates who ran without opposition. Some others, including Doug Mastriano from Pennsylvania, were supported by Trump right before the election. He did this after their frontrunner status had been established.
The Georgian primaries are: Trump endorsed threeJust days before Election Day, Republican House Members are in Safe Districts
Trump’s track record in high-profile, contested races is mixed. Trump’s endorsements did make a difference. He endorsed Rep. Alex Mooney in West Virginia, who was elected to the House as the Republican nominee. J.D. Vance prevailed after Trump supported him in the Ohio Republican Senate primary.
Other Trump-endorsed candidates were also defeated. Charles Herbster, a businessman, failed to win the GOP nomination for Nebraska governor. This was despite Trump holding a rally there and standing by Herbster in defense of him against the recent allegations of sexual misconduct that have afflicted his campaign. Herbster has denied multiple accusations made by women.
Madison Cawthorn from North Carolina was a first-term Republican and lost his primary. He is an incumbent but Trump has endorsed him. Cawthorn (the youngest member of Congress) was made to suffer from a series of scandals which alienated many of his fellow Republicans in Congress including North Carolina Sen. Thom Tillis.
Janice McGeachin (the Trump-backed lieutenant governor of Idaho), lost wide to the incumbent Republican governor. Brad Little. Little did not publically stoke Trump’s anger before he endorsed McGeachin, unlike Kemp and the other incumbent Republicans who are being challenged by Trump.
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