Woodstock, Georgia (AP) – Donald Trump opened in May by nominating a backward candidate for the Ohio Senate to the Republican nomination, seemingly consolidating the status of the former president of the king before another possible candidacy in the White House. However, it ends the month, suffering from a series of lesions that suggest declining growth.
Trump faced a series of failures in Tuesday’s primary election as voters rejected his efforts to bring down two main retaliatory targets: Georgia’s Republican governor and secretary of state, and both rejected Trump’s overwhelming pressure to overturn the 2020 presidential election But the scale of the governor’s defeat – more than 50 percentage points – was staggering and raised questions about whether Republican voters were moving away from Trump.
Nearly seven years after the former reality TV star launched something that looked like an incredible White House campaign, the Trump-led “Make America Great Again” movement is going nowhere. But voters are increasingly saying the party’s future is more than just Trump.
“I really like Trump, but Trump is in the past,” said David Butler of Woodstock, Georgia, who voted for Gov. Brian Kemp on Tuesday, saying Trump’s approvals had no “any” effect on his thinking.
It was the same for Will Parbhu, a 22-year-old dental assistant who also voted for Kemp.
“I’m not really Trumper,” he said after the vote. “I did not like him at first. With all the election stuff, I said to myself, “Dude, keep going.”
One thing Parbhu liked about the current governor? “Kemp is focused on Georgia,” he said.
Trump tried to downplay the losses of his favorite candidates by saying on his social media platform on Wednesday that he had “a very big and successful night of political approval” and insisted that some contests were “impossible to win”. .
Still, the pattern of major damage is hard to ignore.
After JD Vance climbed from third to first place after Trump’s approval in the late stages of the Ohio Senate primary, the momentum reversed. Trump’s election in Nebraska’s primary election as governor, Charles Herbster, lost the race after allegations that he touched women.
In Idaho, a week later, the governor defeated a Trump-backed candidate. In North Carolina, voters rejected Trump’s request to give a congressman a second chance overwhelmed by scandals. And in Pennsylvania, the primary election in the Senate with the approval of the famous cardiac surgeon Mehmet Oz, approved by Trump, remains too close to be invited.
But his biggest disappointment was in Georgia, a decisive swing state, where former Sen. David Purdue, whom Trump lobbied to run for and helped clear the ground, lost to Kemp. The governor was among Trump’s main targets after he refused to undo the results of the 2020 White House elections in his state.
Georgia’s Secretary of State Brad Rafensperger, who opposed Trump’s call to “find” votes to change the outcome two years ago – a call now under investigation – also won his party’s nomination. Attorney General Chris Carr and Insurance Commissioner John King – both opposed to Trump – were also successful in their primary election.
In Alabama, MP Mo Brooks, whose Senate approval was annulled by Trump because he was fighting for power, reached a runoff after receiving support after Trump removed him.
Trump has supported himself in nearly 200 contests, from governor to county commissioner, often participating in non-competitive contests and helping to strengthen his compilation of victories. Part of his work, even in competitions with many candidates, paid off.
His early support helped football great Herschel Walker and agent Ted Bud sail to their respective primary nominations in the Senate in Georgia and North Carolina. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, Trump’s former spokesman, easily won the Republican nomination for governor of Arkansas. And even in Georgia, all Trump-approved candidates in open competitions have won or will run in the runoff.
Some allies say the number of Trump’s approvals is a bad measure of his influence, even if Trump continues to promote the record.
They say voters may support the former president and want him to run again, but may not be convinced by his election, especially in races with governors like Kemp, who have a long history with voters. And even without Trump on the ballot, the party is transforming into Trump’s image, with candidates embracing his “America First” platform, mimicking his tactics and his parrot’s lies about stolen elections.
But after Trump was fired and taken to post on his own social media platform, other voices began to fill the void. Fox News presenter Tucker Carlson, the most watched figure on cable television, is becoming a driving force in the party. Republicans like embracing conspiracy MP Marjorie Taylor Green, who won her party’s nomination for re-election on Tuesday, took over his mantle in Washington.
Meanwhile, potential presidential rivals of Trump are waiting for 2024.
Former Vice President Mike Pence, who is distancing himself from Trump, met with Kemp in the suburbs of Atlanta on Monday night and told the crowd that “elections are for the future” – a silent knock on his former boss.
Trump has also spawned a new generation of candidates who have targeted his MAGA brand, but who have done so despite his support and see themselves as the next iteration.
“MAGA does not belong to him,” said in an interview Katie Barnett, the Pennsylvania Senate candidate, whose rise at a later stage surprised party insiders. “Trump came up with the word. He doesn’t own it. “
While the left, she said, may see the MAGA movement as a “cult of Trump’s electorate,” she said it goes beyond one person. She claims that Trump succeeded in 2016 because he took into account the concerns of voters and said out loud what people already think, especially about immigration. She said she tried to do the same in her race.
“I believe Trump still has an important voice,” she added, but he “needs to find better advisers, and in addition he needs to do better, remembering why we agreed with him.” And it wasn’t because we were in line with his values. This was because he was in line with our values. And I think he needs to remember that in order for his voice to stay relevant.
Other Republicans are unhappy that valuable time and money have been wasted on Trump’s ego-driven revenge campaign, forcing those in power to defend themselves in primary elections instead of focusing on general elections. They are worried that Trump has nominated some candidates who may be ineligible for the general election in November, and has exacerbated the division.
“There’s no doubt that unnecessary battles with the party’s extremes, Trump’s grievances party, have made it difficult for us to win in November,” said Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, a potential 2024 Republican candidate for the Republican Party. of the current governors.
Hogan, a critic of Trump, said the races have been “a bit mixed” so far.
“We are in the middle of a battle for the soul of the Republican Party, and frankly the battle is not over yet,” he said. “I do not think we can still say exactly what the outcome is. And I think we still have a lot of primary elections. “
Others are more confident that Trump’s power has waned over time.
“Trump’s approval is useful, but it is not something that can put someone above the top. And that means he’s less powerful than he was when he was president, and it seemed like a fait accompli when he was approved, “said Mike Duheim, a longtime Republican strategist.
However, he acknowledged that Trump was “still the most influential man in the party,” even if that influence diminished.
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Colvin reported from New York.
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