After Georgia Governor. While Trump rejected his pleas to reverse his 2020 election loss, Brian Kemp and Brad Raffensperger won Tuesday’s primaries.
This is a warning sign about how Republican voters will view the crusade of the former president to punish those who did not want to overturn the will to the voters in 2020.
Voters were also open to accepting scandal-plagued candidates, depending on the scandal and the candidate.
These are some key takeaways from Tuesday’s primary elections in Georgia and Texas, Arkansas, Texas, Minnesota.
TRUMP’S BIGGEST PRIMARY DEFEAT
Trump had hoped that Georgia would become the governor. Brian Kemp was a prime example of the danger that comes with defying Trump. On Tuesday, Kemp became an example of why Republican incumbents may not have as much to worry about Trump as they once did.
In the Republican primary, Kemp swept past David Perdue, a former U.S. senator. This victory came one year and a quarter after Kemp rejected Trump’s requests to help overturn Trump’s presidential election. He declared Trump the winner of Georgia, instead of Joe Biden who had actually won.
Perdue’s campaign was focused on Trump’s lie about 2020 that he stole it, but Kemp won the election by using the power of his office. He signed laws that allowed most Georgians to own guns and banned abortions after a fetal beat is detected. This was done in order to rally his base. Hyundai announced a investment in Georgia to build batteries for electric cars.
In a rematch their 2018 gubernatorial battle, Kemp will now face Democrat Stacey Abrams. Perdue, unlike Trump in 2020, accepted his defeat Tuesday night. He even seemed to ignore some supporters who raised a chant suggesting fraud.
Perdue stated, “I’m sorry. But what we’re going do now is ensure that Stacey Abrams doesn’t become governor of this state.”
DANGER OF ELECTION DENYIAL
Trump’s grudge match with Georgia’s governor wasn’t the only one that backfired. Trump-backed primary challenger, Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger was also defeated by him, Brad Raffensperger.
Trump recruited Jody Hice, U.S. Rep., from a safe congressional seat to challenge Raffensperger in this Republican primary. Hice lost. Trump also endorsed primary challengers for the attorney general and insurance commissioner. They, too, lost.
Evidently, the ex-president’s incessant harping about 2020 did not reach Republican voters in Georgia. Georgia is the country’s newest battleground.
“Georgia underscores Trump’s biggest problems if/when it runs again,” Brendan Buck tweeted Tuesday. Buck was a former spokesperson for Paul Ryan. “He won’t be capable of letting go of 2020 nonsense and nobody wants his whining anymore.”
Trump has won some primary victories over election deniers, most notably in Pennsylvania last week, where Republican voters chose Doug Mastriano to be their gubernatorial nominee. He said that he would not have certified Biden’s win for 2020.
Multiple Republicans, including Pence (Florida Gov.), have stated that they are interested in the 2024 presidential race. Ron DeSantis. They have also distanced themselves from Trump’s election accusations in many ways. Elections are often about the future. November 2020 will be history by the time that the 2024 GOP primary rolls around.
DECLINING THE POWER OF SCANDAL
Trump scored some wins on Tuesday. They arrived with baggage, but it didn’t seem like that stopped them.
Herschel Walker, an ex-football star and Trump’s choice for U.S. Senate, won the election. Because of his rocky past, party leaders initially shied away.
Walker admits to having mental illness in his autobiography. According to Walker’s ex-wife, he threatened to kill her and held a gun to his head during their marriage. Although he claimed to have started a chicken processing business employing hundreds, he only reported eight workers when he applied for a loan during a coronavirus epidemic. He claimed he had founded a charity to aid veterans with their mental health.
