Primary season is gearing up, and Tuesday’s primaries in four states are proving as pivotal as national elections. Once again, candidates endorsed by Donald Trump are in hot races with others in the primary. Once again, America waits to see if those Trump endorsements continue to pay off.
Last Tuesday, the first Trump-endorsed candidate was unable to make it past the primary in his state. Charles Herbster, a businessman who was accused of sexual misconduct, was a front runner until the accusations surfaced. However, Trump’s candidate in West Virginia, Alex Mooney, won his race handily, beating an incumbent for the Republican nomination for a Congressional seat in November.
All eyes are on Pennsylvania, where celebrity physician, Dr. Mehmet Oz, is running for a Senate seat in the state. Dr. Oz is currently a front runner, and he’s had Trump’s endorsement for some time. It’s no surprise that Trump endorsed Dr. Oz; Trump had previously asked him to be on the president’s sports, fitness and nutrition council.
Dr. Oz is running against against David McCormick. McCormick is a former CEO. However, last week, a candidate who had previously been near the bottom of polls. Many polls have the three candidates in a tight race.
Another hot race in Pennsylvania is Democratic primary in which John Fetterman, former lieutenant governor and a progressive Democrat, and Connor Lamb, a Congressman who is currently sitting in the U.S. House of Representatives.
In North Carolina, retiring Richard Burr leaves an open seat in the U.S. Senate. Two Republican candidates are battling it out in the primary tomorrow. One is former North Carolina governor, Pat McCrory. McCrory is considered fiscally conservative and chiefly associated with the Tea Party era. Trump is endorsing Congressman Ted Budd. Budd refused to vote to certify the 2020 election results. Among multiple opinion polls, Budd appears to be leading the twelve candidates vying for Burr’s seat.
With so many candidates in the North Carolina race, if no candidate achieves the 30 percent threshold, another run-off will take place in July.
Perhaps one race that’s getting a lot of national attention is between incumbent Madison Cawthorn and Chuck Edwards. Cawthorn has found himself mired in controversy after controversy, with lots of individuals expressing personal opinion on whether Cawthorn is fit to run. Cawthorn has introduced a number of bills in the U.S. House of Representatives, including one that would strike down vaccine requirements for travel in the United States. Cawthorn also invoked the 25th Amendment regarding President Biden’s chaotic exit of Afghanistan.
Edwards leads a Republican list of candidates looking to unseat Cawthorn.
Trump has not made an endorsement in the Cawthorn race.
However, Trump has endorsed a candidate in Idaho. Gubernatorial candidate Janice McGeachin has acted in the role of Idaho’s governor multiple times when incumbent Brad Little has been out of state. McGeachin currently serves as Little’s lieutenant governor. During her interim gubernatorial stretches, McGeaching issued executive orders banning mask mandates and ordering Idaho’s National Guard troops to the Southern border.
In Kentucky, Republican incumbent Rand Paul is fighting for his seat. Paul is up against five others in the Republican primary.
In the 4th Congressional district of Kentucky, Representative Thomas Massie is also facing challenges to a seat he has held since 2012. Massie’s race features four candidates total. Whoever wins the primary tomorrow will face Democratic contender Matthew Lehman and Independent candidate Ethan Osborne.
With Trump endorsements once again at play, the nation is watching to see if the 45th president’s influence is still as powerful as it was a few weeks ago when JD Vance won his primary in Ohio. Many Republicans are grabbing on to what was intended to be a negative nickname – “the Ultra-MAGA crowd.” In fact, some of the primary candidates are embracing the description in hopes that will win them more votes.