Hotair
Yes, this is now officially a running joke on the site following Republican primaries.
But I do think it’s true about last night’s results, and not just for the usual reason of Trump’s endorsees underperforming.
Although they did underperform in Georgia (where else?), for the record:
Georgia Republican voters rebuked Donald Trump for the second time in a month Tuesday by rejecting his picks for a pair of open U.S. House seats, another blow to the former president after his attempt to unseat Gov. Brian Kemp and other incumbents collapsed.
Vernon Jones, a former Democrat who tried to transform himself into a far-right Republican, was walloped by Mike Collins in the race for the rural 10th District runoff despite boasting Trump’s endorsement.
And Jake Evans fell to Dr. Rich McCormick in the 6th District race despite a late push by Trump that described the Georgia attorney as a “MAGA warrior” who would fight for his priorities in Washington.
Trump was 0 for 2 — and to add insult to injury, Brian Kemp had endorsed Collins in the race where Collins prevailed over the Trump-backed Jones. For the second time in a matter of weeks, Kemp proved that he’s the true king of the GOP in his state. Any evidence that Trump’s influence over the party looks to be slipping is good news for that other guy who might be thinking of running for the GOP nomination in 2024. “At this point in time, the Trump endorsement is neutral. It’s not a plus and it’s not a negative,” said one local GOP chair to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution about the Georgia results. “People are moving beyond that.”
Remember, though, that all storylines about Trump losing his proverbial grip on Republicans come with a momentously important caveat:
You can win a Republican primary if Trump hasn’t endorsed you but there’s no evidence that you can win a Republican primary if you haven’t endorsed him. Look no further than Kemp’s candidate Collins, who turns out to be a “rigged election” crank about 2020. He told a local paper recently that Trump’s victory was “stolen,” questioned mail-in ballots being received in “stacks,” and called for all 50 states to conduct post-election audits. Does he believe any or all of that? Who knows?
But what does it matter? The point is, he feels obliged to say it. He recognized that he was probably non-viable in a Republican primary unless he embraced Trump’s most destructive lie. Viewed that way, there’s only one truly big winner among the GOP’s 2024 hopefuls from this year’s primaries. And it ain’t Ron DeSantis…
