Further evidence that former President Trump may be a weakened general election candidate emerged Tuesday in the results of the Republican primary, which he won almost unopposed.
Significant numbers of Republican voters continue to vote for the former president’s former rivals in primaries in Ohio and other states.
This could be a big problem for Trump, as it suggests that not all Republican primary voters favor him.
“I think there are absolute doubts about his strength as a general election candidate,” said Kirk Adams, former chief of staff to former Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey (R). Ta.
“He certainly has my back on some issues that I think are very important, one is border security and the other is inflation,” he continued. “But the voters who voted for Nikki Haley in the primaries in those states clearly weren’t moved by that.”
Several states, including Ohio, Florida and Arizona, voted in their presidential primaries on Tuesday. Trump won Ohio and Florida by about four-fifths of the vote, while former U.N. ambassador Nikki Haley won about 14 percent each.
Meanwhile, in Arizona, Trump won 78% of the vote to Haley’s nearly 19%. Notably, South Carolina Republicans received even more support (about 21 percent of the vote) in the key counties of Maricopa and Pima counties.
Mike Madrid, a Republican strategist and vocal critic of Trump, said some of the data on Haley’s vote is difficult to parse, given that some of the primaries are still open.
In Ohio, for example, the state’s primaries are partially open, so voters can vote in either party’s race, but those who vote in the opponent’s race essentially change their registration to that party. I will do it.
Still, Madrid likened the main result to a “five alarm bell”.
“These are very, very ominous signs for a general election campaign,” he said. “Is it fixable? Of course it’s fixable. A lot of that vote will come back. But if he loses 10 percent of the Republican base, even if he’s a third-party candidate, It’s very difficult to see how he will pull this off.”
Trump’s campaign largely ignored the key results, insisting that Trump was uniting disparate voters.
“Americans of all backgrounds, including Republicans, independents, and disillusioned Democrats, have rallied around President Trump to help end Joe Biden’s chaos and make America strong, safe, and successful again. political campaign,” Caroline Levitt, Trump campaign national press secretary, told The Hill.
Many Republicans also ignored the votes cast for Haley on Tuesday. They argue that much of their base will return to the party this fall, and that it is too early to decipher what the results mean, with voters turning against President Biden in the Democratic primary. He also pointed out that he saw people casting their votes.
Indeed, Mr. Biden has had to contend with concerns from within his own party about his administration’s handling of the Israel-Hamas war. Voters in states like Michigan and Minnesota voted “irresponsible” or left their ballots blank to signal the president to change the course of international conflicts.
The effort may not hurt Biden in states that are reliably blue at the presidential level, like Minnesota, but those supporters will return to Biden in November in key states like Michigan. The question arises as to whether or not. In the Great Lakes state, 13% of Democratic primary voters voted “uncommitted.”
“They’re trying to make a big deal about all the people who didn’t vote for Biden in the primary,” and “I think it’s leveled out to some extent,” said Sen. Lindsey Graham, R.C. Ta. A Trump ally told The Hill.
Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.), another supporter of the former president, said the primaries highlighted differences among Republican voters, but those resistances ultimately weighed heavily on the party. He said he believed he would return.
“At the end of the day, I think for us, we all need to come together. We’ve got eight months to do it, and I think we’ll do it,” Tuberville told The Hill. Told.
At the same time, Trump and Haley are giving each other the cold shoulder. In a post on Truth Social in January, President Trump said anyone who donated to Haley would be “forever banned from the MAGA camp.”
Meanwhile, Haley has refused to formally endorse Trump in the Republican primary, even though she has secured the nomination. Instead, in announcing her departure, she said, “It’s up to Donald Trump to win the votes of those who didn’t support him, inside and outside the party.”
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (Republican) resigned from the race despite supporting Trump. reportedly expressed concerns Regarding what happened to the former president. Some party members say it is Trump’s duty to win over these resistance groups.
“I think a primary is a primary. You know, when you have a head-to-head contest in November, it’s going to be a very different situation,” said Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas), who supported DeSantis in the primary. said.
“I think…it would be most powerful if a former president went out and made an appeal to rally people.” [that] I didn’t want to go behind him,” he added. “If you’re looking backwards, if you’re talking about past elections, if you’re talking about a stolen election… you’re bashing a former vice presidential candidate or something, your primary opponent, etc. If so, it’s a waste of time. ”
But even some of the former president’s critics suggest that Trump should not be underestimated.
Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah), a critic of President Donald Trump, was asked how he would interpret the results of Tuesday’s primary election, in which Haley won some support in Ohio and Arizona, and said with a laugh: answered. It’s not my job. ”
“At this point, if the election were held today, Trump would win. Let’s see what Biden can accomplish,” he said.
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