former president trump His influence in Republican primaries and among fellow Republicans remains unmatched.
In the two countries’ congressional showdown on Tuesday, the candidate he supports, who is considered the likely Republican presidential nominee, came out on top.
Meanwhile, in Oregon, a state where Democrats have a firm lead, progressives suffered a major defeat at the hands of moderates and establishment-backed candidates in the closely watched Democratic House primary.
Candidates backed by Trump and McCarthy win tickets to Congress
Here are two important points.
President Trump has the highest level of support within the Republican Party
California Congressman Vince Fung won a special legislative election to fill the seat vacated by former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy after he left Congress late last year.
Mr. Fong had the support of President Trump and was backed by Mr. McCarthy, who was once the district director. He defeated local sheriff Mike Boudreau and filled out the final six months of Mr. McCarthy’s term in a reliably red Central Valley district in an overwhelmingly blue state.
Trump called Fong a “true Republican” when he endorsed her in February. Among Mr. Boudreau’s supporters was Richard Grenell, who served as acting director of national intelligence in the Trump administration and is a top surrogate for the former president as he seeks to retake the White House.
Mr. Fong and Mr. Boudreau will face off again in November for two-year terms.
Congressional candidate Brian Jack (right) served as White House political director under former President Trump. (Brian Jacques for Congress)
Trump also sided with Georgia in the Republican primary for the open seat in Georgia’s 3rd Congressional District in the Midwestern state, where the former president backed former adviser Brian Jack, who faced off against five rivals in a far-right field in a red state.
Jack finished in first place, far ahead of his rivals. However, he won by just over 50% and will face Mike Dugan, who came in second place, 21 points behind Jack, in the June runoff.
The victories of the two Trump-backed candidates are the latest examples this election cycle of the former president’s ability to influence contested elections.
“This endorsement from Donald J. Trump is the strongest endorsement in modern political history,” Republican Ohio Senate candidate Bernie Moreno told FOX minutes after winning the state’s Republican primary in March. told the news. This is largely due to the former president’s support. “There’s never been anything like this before, and there probably won’t be anything like it again.”
Former President Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican candidate, boards a plane after speaking at a campaign rally in Freeland, Michigan, Wednesday, May 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Paul Sancia)
Longtime Republican strategist and 2016 Trump campaign veteran Mike Biando earlier this spring cited Trump’s successful endorsement, saying, “Trump is moving the numbers and handing victory to the people he supports.” It’s just a fact,” he told Fox News.
Progressive blue after primary setback
The sister of Washington progressive leader Rep. Pramila Jayapal will not join her colleagues in Congress next year.
Former Multnomah County Commissioner Susila Jayapal lost to state Rep. Mazin Dexter in the Democratic primary to replace longtime Rep. Earl Blumenauer in Portland’s heavily Democratic 3rd Congressional District.
Shusheela Jayapal lost her bid for the Democratic nomination for Congress in Oregon’s 3rd Congressional District. (Multnomah County)
In addition to his sister, Jayapal also co-stars with Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, a progressive and two-time Democratic presidential runner-up, and U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, one of the original members of the Squad. Lawmakers also supported it.
The first showdown saw millions of dollars spent on attack ads by outside groups.
The 5th District is a key seat stretching south from the Portland suburbs that will likely determine whether Republicans maintain their majority, with establishment Democrats in a race against Republican Rep. Lori Chavez. So he came forward to fight against the leftists. -Delimar, who narrowly won two years ago.
Squad doesn’t have enough support in key showdown in Democratic primary
Two years ago, progressive Jamie McLeod-Skinner ran to the left of the incumbent and defeated Democratic Rep. Kurt Schrader in the primary, but narrowly lost to Chavez-DeRemer in the general election after Republicans flipped a seat that President Biden won by about 10 points in 2020.
Aiming to avoid a repeat of the setback in 2022, national Democrats worked to block McLeod-Skinner from winning the nomination for a second consecutive year. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee supported state Rep. Janelle Bynum, spending about $1 million on her behalf.
Rep. Janelle Bynum (left) and Rep. Jamie McLeod-Skinner. (Rep. Janelle Bynum/Rep. Jamie McLeod-Skinner)
“Primaries are often driven by voters who are invested in their local communities, who understand local budgets, issues, and dynamics. They see themselves as gatekeepers to these local issues. “Voters haven’t been looking to Sanders or AOC to determine whether a candidate is viable or not.” Democratic strategist Michael Ceraso told Fox News.
Mr. Ceraso, who has been involved in numerous presidential election campaigns and currently runs the communications company Winning Margins, said, “Progressive candidates are more likely to conduct their campaigns based on big national ideas than local ones.” “There are a lot of them. I don’t think there is any demand for such ideas right now.”
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He added: “Progressives are very good at running for office, but sometimes they’re not very good at building local relationships and organizational memory to gain the trust of voters.” suggested.
Another potential hurdle for Oregon progressives is that Nathan Vasquez, a centrist candidate who has vowed to take a tough stance on crime, is the top prosecutor in Portland-based Multnomah County. This is led by a certain Mike Schmidt.
Members of the far-right Proud Boys group and anti-fascist demonstrators spray bear mace at each other during a clash between politically opposing groups, Sunday, August 22, 2021, in Portland, Oregon. . (AP Photo/Alex Milan Tracy)
Schmidt, a progressive, took office in 2020 as Portland was one of the epicenters of massive social justice protests nationwide.
The race was seen as a referendum on voters’ concerns about homelessness and public drug use in Portland, as well as the larger national debate over crime and criminal justice reform.
If Schmidt loses his re-election bid, he will join a growing list of progressive district attorneys in blue forts who have suffered defeat at the ballot box in recent years.
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