Trump still holds sway in GOP as MAGA candidates win in key primary races
PUBLISHED WED, AUG 3 20221:40 PM EDTUPDATED WED, AUG 3 20225:38 PM EDT
Kevin Breuninger
Election results in a slate of key primary races Tuesday night underscored former President Donald Trump’s enduring influence over the Republican Party.
Multiple Trump-backed winners in Arizona’s primaries have cast doubts on the 2020 election results.
Rep. Peter Meijer, a Republican who voted to impeach Trump after the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, lost in his primary race to a Trump-endorsed Republican.
Former U.S. President Donald Trump departs following remarks at the America First Policy Institute America First Agenda Summit in Washington, July 26, 2022.
Former U.S. President Donald Trump departs following remarks at the America First Policy Institute America First Agenda Summit in Washington, July 26, 2022.
Sarah Silbiger | Reuters
Election results in a slate of key primary races Tuesday night underscored former President Donald Trump’s enduring influence over the Republican Party, despite signals that his status as its de facto leader may be eroding.
In Arizona, multiple candidates up and down the ballot who modeled themselves as true Trump loyalists — embracing both his election conspiracy theories and the Make America Great Again agenda — either won or appeared to be nearing victory in races that were still too close to call by Wednesday morning.
And in Michigan, a House Republican incumbent who earned Trump’s scorn by voting for his impeachment after the Jan. 6 Capitol riot lost is his primary race against a Trump-endorsed challenger.
Trump took a victory lap on social media early Wednesday, suggesting the results demonstrated the power of his endorsement as a deciding factor in each race where he had weighed in. But some of those candidates were already front-runners by the time they received Trump’s endorsement — and in one GOP primary in Missouri, Trump hedged his bet by endorsing “Eric” in a race where multiple contenders shared that first name.
In Washington, meanwhile, results were too early to call Wednesday morning in races involving two other House Republicans who voted to impeach Trump for inciting the Jan. 6 insurrection.
The election outcomes, nevertheless, highlight how currying Trump’s favor and emulating his brand of hard-right populism — including by parroting his doubts about the integrity of elections — has become a widespread tactic among candidates looking to secure primary wins by appealing to Trump’s base.
The Arizona results in particular yielded numerous victories for backers of Trump’s false claim that his 2020 election loss to President Joe Biden was “rigged” by widespread fraud.
Among those primary winners is Republican secretary of state nominee Mark Finchem, who
https://www.cnbc.com/2022/08/03/tru...maga-candidates-win-in-key-primary-races.html
