Trump being toxic to GOP candidates has been apparent for a while now. With the election now a month away an increasing number of Republican candidates don’t want anything to do with him. It made news recently when in Florida the Trump endorsed candidate for Governor (Byron Donalds), a supposed rising GOP star suddenly erased mentions of Trump from his website and campaign materials. Now, in what until recently had been ruby red Georgia, GOP nominee for Governor Rick Jackson has suddenly decided to try what Donalds has tried and ‘cancel’ Trump!
Jackson it should be noted had until now been an ardent supporter of Trump even though in the primary Trump had endorsed his opponent. Georgia as we know matters to Trump and it has to bug him that despite his efforts the state has not one but two Democratic Senators, and that Jon Ossoff seems headed towards re-election next month. Controlling the Governor’s mansion, especially with 2028 around the corner is important for both Trump and the GOP. Yet as The New Republic reports their nominee who worked so hard to tie himself to Trump suddenly wants to pretend he’s barely heard of Donald Trump:
Rick Jackson, the Republican gubernatorial nominee in Georgia, is the latest MAGA candidate to delete mentions of President Donald Trump from his campaign website.
A version of Jackson’s website from June stated that he “will work with President Trump to protect Georgians from the consequences of Washington’s failures.” As of Monday, the mention had been removed, MeidasTouch reported.
This sudden deletion (read: defection) comes after Jackson spent months tirelessly tying himself to Trump. In February, his campaign aired a 30-second Super Bowl commercial comparing him to the president. “Like President Trump, I don’t owe anybody anything,” Jackson said. On the campaign trail, Jackson promised voters he’d be Trump’s “favorite governor,” and framed himself as similar to Trump, but with a “Southern tone.”
“Trump with a southern tone” isn’t exactly ‘Trumpier than Trump’ but there’s no doubting that Jackson worked, and worked hard to establish himself as someone who’d be Trump’s guy in Georgia. After months and months of painting a picture of himself as everything Trump and Georgia voters wanting ‘more Trump’, even enduring Trump having endorsed his primary opponent Jackson wants everyone to forget all that stuff. Will it work? We’ll have to wait and see but for now Jackson is joining a bunch of other GOPers fleeing like cockroaches when someone turns on the light!
For those who assumed that given it’s Georgia the GOP candidate would almost certainly win Jackson has good reason to, like so many others worry that being tied to Trump will weigh him down like an aircraft carrier sized anchor. According to none other than Newsmax heading into the first debate his race with Democratic nominee Keisha Lance Bottoms is virtually tied! Worse, there are easily enough undecided voters to swing the election and do what was not that long ago highly improbable – put a Democrat in the Governor’s Mansion. With just two years to go before the next Presidential election in which Georgia’s electoral votes are likely to be crucial to GOP hopes. From Newsmax:
Three September surveys put Jackson ahead by between 1 and 3 percentage points, but none showed either candidate reaching 50% and each left a meaningful share of voters undecided.
An InsiderAdvantage survey of 1,200 likely voters conducted Sept. 22-23 found Jackson leading Bottoms 48% to 46%, with 6% undecided. The 2-point difference was within the poll’s 3-percentage-point margin of error.
A YouGov survey conducted Sept. 15-18 put Jackson ahead 45% to 44% among registered voters, with 9% undecided. A Rasmussen Reports survey of 1,019 likely voters conducted Sept. 14 found Jackson at 48% and Bottoms at 45%, with 7% undecided. The Rasmussen poll had a 3-percentage-point margin of error.
To be honest I haven’t paid much attention to the Governor’s race in Georgia. Only Jon Ossoff’s re-election bid. However as I said a Democratic Governor would be a game changer in that state. It stands to reason if Ossoff and Bottoms win, they will have coatails long enough to cut into GOP majorities in the state legislature. Since as I admitted I haven’t been focusing on the Governorship I don’t know how sharp or charismatic Jackson is. If he’s kind of a dweeb I’m pretty sure Ms. Bottoms will do a number on him in their impending debate. If so it might be their only one of the scheduled three. Whatever happens it’s likely it will be close when the votes are counted. So keep an eye on this one folks.
In the meantime, we have GOP candidates not just wishing Trump would STFU and spend most of his time on the golf course. Many are making excuses to avoid having to appear with him in his visits to red states to stump for his Party. Frankly I’m surprised that Donalds’ having ‘cancelled’ Trump didn’t blow up into a bigger story. Florida is after all Trump’s adopted home state. However we now have another GOP candidate in what should be a safe red state cancelling Trump. Folks, we might see a lot more of this in the next week or so as the GOP grows more desperate. Pick your analogy. Playing whack-a-mole, stamping out fires, whatever. The fact is they are playing defense all over the country and in lots of places they never thought they’d have to do so. The original news source, The New Republic concluded by saying:
Jackson’s sudden switch-up is part of a wider trend of Republicans toning down their ties to the president ahead of the midterm elections. Jackson is at least the second candidate to remove Trump from their campaign website, after Florida Representative and gubernatorial candidate Byron Donalds. The shift appears to indicate that the Republicans’ leader has become the party’s biggest liability.
Control and at least some ability to curb Trump’s excesses is there for the taking. However we can’t assume anything. We have to seize the moment. Until the last polling place has closed on election night we have to grab hold with both hands by working like hell to get every voter who wants Trump and Trumpism politically neutered to the polls. To quote Yogi Berra “It ain’t over till it’s over” so get to work!
Friends, I know everyone begs you for money. I promise, among all those asking for spare change, we are the smallest and the hardest working. We’re a group of old, disabled people, except for one writer in his mid-50s. The rest of us are in our sixties and seventies, and this is a labor of love. All we’re asking for is the chance to keep telling the truth about Trump and help ensure democracy survives. If you can help, please do. Thank you. Ursula
