| | Trump falters in Nebraska |
© Associated Press/Nati Harnik |
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© Associated Press/Joe Maiorana |
For Donald Trump, Tuesday night was a wash. The good news for Trump: Voters in West Virginia's 2nd congressional district handed the former president a win, choosing Rep. Alex Mooney (R-W.Va.) over Rep. David McKinley (R-W.Va.) in an incumbent-on-incumbent primary that offered the latest evidence that the state's Republican voters are still firmly in Trump's corner. The primary fight between Mooney and McKinley was a classic battle between a Trump loyalist and a more compromise-minded Republican. Mooney campaigned as a conservative crusader deeply committed to Trump and his political movement. Establishment takes a hit: McKinley, meanwhile, ran as a pragmatic legislator who hoped that his record – including his vote for a $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill last year – would be an asset to his reelection bid. McKinley also went into the primary with an advantage. West Virginia's newly redrawn 2nd District included far more of his old district than of Mooney's. But Trump's endorsement of Mooney, combined with a relentless campaign to cast McKinley as a so-called "RINO," ultimately doomed McKinley's hopes for a seventh term in the House and proved Trump's continued sway over West Virginia Republicans. And now the bad news: But Tuesday's primaries also handed Trump a high-profile defeat. In Nebraska, his preferred candidate for governor, Charles Herbster, was defeated by Republican Jim Pillen, who was backed by current Gov. Pete Ricketts and his powerful political operation. Herbster faced difficulties in the final weeks of his campaign. Nine women accused him late in the race of sexual misconduct by nine women. Herbster denied those allegations and accused his political opponents, including Pillen and Ricketts, of trying to smear him. What Herbster's loss tells us: Still, Herbster's loss on Tuesday makes him the first Trump-endorsed candidate to lose a Republican primary in 2022 and deals a blow to the former president's belief that his support alone can determine winners and losers. The primary is also a reminder of an age-old rule in politics: candidate quality matters. Herbster's defeat also might not end up being the only loss for a Trump-backed candidate this month. In Georgia, Gov. Brian Kemp is seen as the heavy favorite to beat former Sen. David Perdue (R-Ga.) in the state's gubernatorial primary. Trump endorsed Perdue late last year.
Read more: Five takeaways from the Nebraska, West Virginia primaries, by Tal. |
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180 days until the 2022 midterm elections |
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Kemp taps Trump's 'RINOs' for help |
© Associated Press/Brynn Anders |
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp is bringing in reinforcements ahead of his May 24 primary battle against former Sen. David Perdue (R-Ga.). Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey, who is also the chair of the Republican Governors Association (RGA), is set to join Kemp on the campaign trail in metro Atlanta on Saturday, becoming the latest high-profile Republican to come to Kemp's aid in the final stretch of the primary campaign. Ducey isn't the only governor stumping for Kemp before the primary. Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts and former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie are also expected to campaign for him in the coming days. And then there's former President George W. Bush, who is set to attend a fundraiser with the Georgia governor next week. The big picture: Kemp may have one of the best shots in the country at taking down a Trump-endorsed candidate in a state that has haunted the former president since 2020. Trump is backing Perdue, though polling shows him badly trailing Kemp in the runup to Primary Day. Despite his lead, Kemp and his allies are running through the tape in hopes of securing an outright win in the primary. He'll need to notch more than 50 percent of the vote to avoid a runoff. Trump lashes out: In a sign of the stakes for Trump, the former president released a statement Wednesday blasting the three governors for helping Kemp. "Today, the worst 'election integrity' Governor in the country, Brian Kemp, loaded the great state of Georgia up with RINOs," Trump said. "That's right, he had them all. Chris Christie, Doug Ducey from Arizona, and Pete Ricketts from Nebraska. That tells you all you need to know about what you are getting in Georgia – just a continuation of bad elections and a real RINO if you vote for Brian Kemp." Max has more on the effort to boost Kemp: Republicans make final push for Kemp in Georgia, bucking Trump. |
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Democrats' new attack line: The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) is out with its first ad responding to the Supreme Court draft ruling overturning Roe v. Wade. The 30-second digital spot is set to begin Wednesday with a homepage takeover on MSNBC's website. Here's the ad.
"If Senate Republicans win in November, they will light women's rights on fire," a narrator says in the ad. "They will make abortion illegal everywhere, punishing women even in cases of rape, incest or to save a mother's life. And they're coming after birth control, unless we vote. If we protect and expand our Democratic majority in the Senate, we'll protect women's rights to make their own decisions." The ad is the latest example of Democrats' push to make abortion rights a central theme of the 2022 midterms, believing that the issue has the potential to energize their voters and help them overcome steep odds in what has been shaping up to be a difficult election year. While the DSCC is starting with a five-figure investment on the ad, it's being billed as an initial buy, suggesting that the group could eventually spend more. |
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A new Monmouth University poll out on Wednesday shows souring sentiment over the Supreme Court, with a majority of Americans — 52 percent — saying they disapprove of the job that the high court is doing, up from 42 percent in March. The poll results come amid the backdrop of a leaked Supreme Court draft opinion, purportedly written in February, which showed the Supreme Court overturning the 1973 landmark ruling in Roe v. Wade. Roe leak fallout: Nearly equal percentages of respondents believed that, should the 1973 decision be overturned, Congress should pass legislation allowing the medical procedure nationwide — 44 percent — while a separate 43 percent said Congress should leave it up to the states.
Interestingly, larger portions of respondents also believed that Republicans and Democrats were devoting too much effort on abortion issues, 46 percent and 40 percent respectively. Twenty-one percent of respondents said Republicans did not devote enough effort on the issues in addition to 34 percent who said the same about Democrats. |
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How abortion is tipping the scales
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© Associated Press/Alex Brandon |
The topic of abortion is increasingly being highlighted as a campaign issue, especially ahead of next week's primaries in Pennsylvania, Oregon and elsewhere. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) announced on Wednesday she would be endorsing state Rep. Andrea Salinas (D), saying in a statement, whose endorsement was first reported by Politico, that she "helped Oregon pass one of the nation's strongest abortion rights laws." Spending ramps up: The Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC) campaign arm, Bold PAC, last month invested $1 million into her election efforts, whom they have endorsed. The Democratic leadership PAC had earlier thrown in a similar investment to back efforts for her challenger, newcomer Carrick Flynn.
Over in Pennsylvania, the issue of abortion has been used to hold Trump-endorsed candidate Mehmet Oz accountable, where primary challengers last week hit the heart surgeon over a 2019 interview he did in which he expressed concerns over anti-abortion legislation in Alabama and said "I don't want to interfere with everyone else's stuff" while acknowledging he was against the procedure for his family members. |
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That's it for today. Thanks for reading and check out The Hill's Campaign page for the latest news and coverage. See you next week. |
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