The Trump touch is definitely not golden, if we are to believe the polls. Trump himself has always under polled, it is believed because people don’t want to tell pollsters the truth and admit that they’re voting for him, but with respect to people he has endorsed the polls have been more reliable. And lately they are reliably bad. Mediate:
According to a Fox News poll released Tuesday, Trump’s effort to take out Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp (R) is finding little success. The survey reveals that Kemp is dominating his Trump-endorsed primary challenger, former Sen. David Perdue, by a 50-39 margin.
Equally, Trump’s pick in the North Carolina Senate race is crashing and burning. The former president threw his weight behind Rep. Ted Budd (R) to defeat former Gov. Pat McRory (R), who is also seeking the seat. Yet Budd is only pulling in 24 percent of the vote — according to new polling published by Politico — down 5 points since January. McCrory leads the way at 35 percent, and former Rep. Mark Walker has 17 percent.
That has led to Trump deciding it would be better to “dilute” his appeal in cases where he is feeling “penned in.” The logical extension of this would be of course to endorse everybody, Democrats included, right?
Playbook’s Tara Palmeri noted that Trump has “grown so distrustful” of his advisers and has become so wary of “conflicting advice” that he believes “dual endorsements would mean, ‘I get two chances to win.’”
“He isn’t clear about which advisers have significant personal or financial ties to the candidates they’re bending his ear about,” Palmeri further explains, reporting that Trump is “at times suspicious of the recommendations that people give him when he knows they’re being paid,” an adviser to the former president told her. “He’s been asking who is paying who.”
Palmeri broke down the dynamic in the Missouri Senate Republican primary as a clear example of Trump being pulled in multiple directions, she writes:
In the Missouri Senate race, Pam Bondi, who heads Trump’s super PAC, has advocated for her longtime friend, state A.G. Eric Schmitt. But Kellyanne Conway is advising Rep. Billy Long’s campaign, and Kimberly Guilfoyle serves as national chair of former Gov. Eric Greitens’ campaign.
Trump’s endorsement is seen in many states as the ticket to winning a Republican primary, but in some cases, like in Pennsylvania, it has already backfired for the former president.
Trump picked Sean Parnell in September last year as his candidate, despite lingering allegations of domestic abuse. Parnell eventually dropped out of the race in November after losing a contentious custody battle.
Palmeri reported that “Trump was already getting gun-shy about endorsements after feeling burned by several of his early nods.” She notes that Trump was pushed by his former Chief of Staff Mark Meadows to endorse Rep. Ted Budd (R-NC) for senate in North Carolina and that Stephen Miller urged him to endorse Rep. Mo Brooks (R-AL) in the Alabama race – both of whom are now struggling in the polls.
Parnell’s endorsement came at the uring of Donald Trump Jr. and, as a result, Trump now faces an uncomfortable dynamic in Pennsylvania, as he is pulled in multiple directions:
In the Pennsylvania Senate race, former White House aide Dina Powell is pushing Trump to endorse her husband, hedge fund magnate David McCormick. But Sean Hannity is urging him to back celebrity doctor Mehmet Oz.
Palmeri explains a similar dynamic has emerged in states like Arizona and Ohio – both of which will be critical wins for Republicans to recapture the U.S. Senate in 2022.
Arizona is crazy land right now with Wendy Rogers drawing a reprimand from local Republicans and dragging other GOPers running for other offices down in the mud with her, and Ohio is far from locked up. J.D. Vance still is eternally optimistic, but don’t look for that to last forever as the year progresses and reality continues to rear its ugly head.
It’s a judgement on our culture that a rapist & serial killer has ANY influence over our democracy. The only decision he should face is what to do 23 hrs out of a day locked in a cell. ‘Justice’ is justa word in the dictionary. I hope the democrats here in North cackalacky find a candidate without a penis since they couldn’t do so last time & traitor Tillis got re-elected. Our former governor has been in the pocket of Duke Power for a long time. He’s a perfect candidate for the gop. A lying, religious hypocrite in the pocket of large corporations. Fucking perfect.
I have been here awhile. I have never seen someone’s personal endorsement be so important. Newpaper endorsments used to be important. not any more. maybe NRA or klan endorsements. or maybe machine/union endorsements. trump has nothing but a brand name, he has no machine, publications, even social media. he is the adolf hitler of our generation.
One bigoted idiot supports other equally bigoted idiots and they don’t win.
Gee, who’d a thunk it?