According to a recent report from the Washington Post, more and more Republicans are “actively campaigning — or quietly maneuvering — against Trump’s picks in a way that could undermine his sway over the party” and jeopardize his kingmaker status.
In key swing states across the country, Trump’s potential 2024 presidential primary opponents — like former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Texas Senator Ted Cruz, South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem, former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley, and former Vice President Mike Pence — “are working or stumping for candidates running against Trump-endorsed candidates.”
At the same time, influential Republican corporate special interest organizations, like Club for Growth, have spent millions of dollars, in some instances boosting relatively unknown insurgent candidates who are threatening to dethrone Trump-endorsed nominees’ frontrunner statuses.
In places like Ohio, Trump has already bested the likes of Cruz and Noem, but later this cycle he will face off against them and other Republican presidential hopefuls: a preview of what’s to come in 2024.
The Washington Post: More Republicans are working to undermine Trump endorsements
By: Michael Scherer & Josh Dawsey | May 13, 2022
Key Points:
- “But their united front disguised far more complicated relationships that have developed between the former president and elected Republican leaders like McCarthy — a fact that is now playing out in a series of primary proxy battles across the country. From Nebraska and Idaho to Pennsylvania and Georgia, Republicans have been actively campaigning — or quietly maneuvering — against Trump’s picks in a way that could undermine his sway over the party.”
- “One prominent example came Tuesday when Trump’s endorsed candidate for Nebraska governor, Charles Herbster, lost in the GOP primary after significant opposition from Gov. Pete Ricketts (R) — the first of what could be several potential setbacks in coming weeks for the former president.”
- “In several cases, some of Trump’s own Cabinet members and advisers, along with other longtime allies in the Republican Party, are working or stumping for candidates running against Trump-endorsed candidates.”
- “In his sharpest political challenge yet to Trump, for example, former vice president Mike Pence announced Friday that he would campaign for Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp (R), who is seeking reelection over Trump endorsee David Perdue. Trump has targeted Kemp — a key figure on his political enemies list — for refusing his efforts to overturn Joe Biden’s 2020 win in Georgia, but has struggled to help Perdue gain traction ahead of Georgia’s May 24 primary contest.”
- “In Pennsylvania, former Trump secretary of state Mike Pompeo and Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.), a strong Trump ally, are stumping for Senate candidate David McCormick, who has also hired a coterie of Trump’s former advisers — even though Trump is backing candidate and television personality Mehmet Oz in next Tuesday’s Republican primary there.”
- “And the Club for Growth, an influential Republican organization with deep pockets that had been aligned with Trump, is also buttressing Kathy Barnette, a third GOP Senate candidate in Pennsylvania. Before the May 3 primary in Ohio, the Club for Growth had enraged Trump by running ads against winning Senate candidate J.D. Vance that Trump viewed as negative about him — and then increasing their spending after Trump attacked them.”
Read the full report here.
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Published: May 16, 2022 | Last Modified: May 17, 2022