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Donald Trump has long had a solid grip on the Republican Party, and he likes to say that none of the party’s candidates will win an election without his recommendation, which explains why hopeful candidates make a pilgrimage to Trump’s resort Mar-a-Lago in Florida.
But on Wednesday, Trump’s recommended candidate lost an election in Texas.
Republican Congressman Ron Wright of the 6th District of Texas died of corona in February. The widow Susan Wright ran as a candidate to take over the man’s seat in the House of Representatives, and the ex-president left all his prestige behind a recommendation to party colleagues to vote for her.
But Navy veteran Jake Ellzey surprisingly won a fairly clear victory 53 against 47 percent after an intense election campaign spurt. Susan Wright, for her part, was almost invisible at the end of the election campaign, after being far ahead in the first round and in the polls.
Will turn it into victory
Politically, the difference between the two is small – both are conservative Republicans. The difference is that Wright is a more outspoken supporter of Trump.
Trump and his associates will now according to the news site Axios and several other American media outlets are furious at the conservative interest group Club for Growth, and in particular its leader, Republican David McIntosh.
David McIntosh, president of the Club for Growth, is blamed for Donald Trump being humiliated. (Photo: Joe Skipper / Reuters / NTB)
According to Trump, the Club for Growth itself has pushed hard to recommend Wright, and McIntosh is said to have presented opinion polls for Trump which showed that she would win an easy victory. McIntosh is also said to have argued that Ellzey is neither conservative nor one hundred percent Trump loyal.
Trump, who never admits defeat, is also trying to turn it into a victory, since Wright won the first round. He also maintains that both candidates are good Republicans, and that the outcome is therefore a victory.
Rick Perry, a former Texas governor and energy minister under Trump, is also furious. He tells Axios that the Club for Growth was simply fooling Trump, and that the organization actively went out to slander Ellzey.
Perry further says that he urged Trump to stay away from the by-elections in Texas, both because Ellzey is an excellent candidate, but also to avoid Trump betting on the wrong horse.
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Trump’s power weakened?
Trump critics see the defeat as a sign that the ex-president’s power over the party has now weakened.
This may be partly correct, at least when it comes to supplementary choices. But it is still the case that a Republican candidate has a much greater chance of winning with a recommendation from Trump. Ballotpedia has conducted a survey of Trump’s recommendations in connection with the 2020 election, reproduced by CNN, which shows just the chance to win with a recommendation from Trump in the back:
- Regular Election of Representatives to Congress: 141 – 42 (77 percent).
- Supplementary choice: 3 – 2 (60 percent).
- Close nomination choices: 21 – 2 (91 percent).
Part of the problem with the statistics is that the vast majority in regular elections are sitting candidates without real challengers, who would win regardless, Trump or not. But in close nominations between two Republican candidates, support from Trump is almost crucial, and the former president demands one hundred percent loyalty.
The loss of elections comes at the same time as the hearings surrounding the storming of Congress on 6 January are ongoing. Neither Donald Trump nor the Republican Party comes out particularly well from the testimonies.(Terms)Copyright Dagens Næringsliv AS and / or our suppliers. We would like you to share our cases using a link, which leads directly to our pages. Copying or other use of all or part of the content may only take place with written permission or as permitted by law. For additional terms look here.
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