OPINION: This article contains commentary which may reflect the author’s opinion
President Trump is on a hot streak that even the FBI can’t stop.
Trump endorsed a slate of candidates for the 2022 midterm primaries, some intended to take out the RINOs who voted with Democrats to impeach him for the violence at the Capitol on January 6th.
Four of the 10 Republicans who voted to impeach retired rather than run for re-election, a battle they would have likely lost if they had run. The four members of Congress are Rep. Anthony Gonzalez (R-Ohio), Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.), Rep. Fred Upton (R-Mich.), and John Katko (R-N.Y.).
That left 6 for Trump to take out. He got 4 this cycle.
Eight of the ten House Republicans who backed Trump’s second impeachment won’t be returning to Congress after Liz Cheney lost her Republican congressional primary on Tuesday.
“Perhaps the biggest win for Trump in this year’s election cycle came Tuesday night when Harriet Hageman thumped incumbent Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY) in Wyoming’s Congressional race. Cheney, an impeachment Republican in the House of Representatives and the vice chair of the January 6 Select Committee, did not come close to her challenger in the contest for the At-Large Congressional District,” according to Breitbart News.
With 95 percent reported as of Thursday, Hageman, backed by Trump, secured 113,025 votes (66.3 percent) to Cheney’s 49,316 (28.2 percent), according to the Associated Press election results compiled by the New York Times. Around 30 minutes after the polls closed in Wyoming, Decision Desk HQ and Dave Wasserman of the Cook Report both called the race for Hageman. Following her loss, Cheney seemed to compare herself to the first Republican President Abraham Lincoln, as Breitbart News reported:
The great original champion of our party, Abraham Lincoln, was defeated in elections for the Senate and the House before he won the most important election of all. Lincoln ultimately prevailed. He saved our union and he defined our obligation as Americans for all of history.
A total of five candidates endorsed by former president Donald Trump won their primary elections Tuesday night in Wyoming and Alaska, bringing his endorsement record in 2022 to 209-17.
“Trump had three other endorsements on the line in Wyoming Tuesday, all of which were at the state executive level. State Rep. Chuck Gray secured the nomination for Secretary of State, betting out Tara Nethercott. Wyoming Treasurer Curt Meier advanced to the general election in his renomination bid for Treasurer, while Superintendent of Public Instruction Brian Schoeder came up short in his effort for renomination to challenger Megan Degenfelder,” the outlet continued.
In Alaska, both Trump-endorsed candidates advanced to general election races.
Kelly Tshibaka, who has Trump’s backing, advanced to the ranked-choice election from the open primary for U.S. Senate. Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), who voted to impeach Trump and has the support of Sen Mitch McConnell (R-KY), also advanced. With 82 percent of the vote tabulated as of Thursday morning, Tshibaka garnered 39.8 percent of the response, while Murkowski took 44.2 percent. Two other candidates will also advance from the open primary, though it has not been officially declared who as of yet.
A Sirius XM interview with Tshibaka over the weekend provided an overview of the ranked-choice election system.
“In November, what happens is everyone gets to go in and vote for their top candidate first – if you want, you get to vote for a backup candidate or two back-up candidates or three – so you rank your second, third, and fourth choice,” she elucidated. “If the candidate that comes in first doesn’t cross the 50% line – get at least half the votes in the election – then the fourth candidate drops off. Their second, third, and fourth place votes get reallocated. The third candidate drops off, their second, third, and fourth place votes get reallocated.”
In addition, she criticized Murkowski.
“She doesn’t tell us the truth. She says one thing here in Alaska and then does the exact opposite in D.C.,” Tshibaka declared. “She’ll talk about writing the infrastructure bill with Bernie Sanders, but she won’t tell us that the radical extremists in the Biden administration are piling up all these new regulations on us [in the bill.]”
“Sarah Palin advanced to the general election for Alaska’s at-large Congressional District along with Democrat Mary Peltola and Republican Nick Begich. As Alaska’s election system is ranked-choice, one more candidate will advance to the general, and with 82 percent of the vote reported, Tara Sweeney looks to be the favorite for the final spot,” the report continued.
Trump’s 5-1 score in one night puts his overall record in statewide and federal races at 188-12 this election cycle. Such races are comprised of gubernatorial, U.S. Senate, U.S. House, and statewide executive contests.
The record of Trump in governor’s races this year is 15-3. As a result of Tshibaka’s win, his record in Senate endorsements has increased to a flawless 19-0. His primary record in Congressional races is 136-5.
Though Trump has been very successful in picking candidates for federal races, his losses have mainly come in statewide executive and legislative races.
“In statewide executive contests, his candidates are 16-4, and in county and state legislature primaries, his record sits at 21-5. Moreover, two of his candidates – former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin and Rep. Connie Conway (R-CA) – have taken home a special primary and special election victory, respectively,” the report concluded.
Source: The Republic Brief