(PresidentialHill.com)- Former President Donald Trump has played a significant role so far in the lead-up to the midterm elections later this year, and the first test of his continuing influence in the GOP is set to kick off this week.
GOP primary elections for various posts start this Tuesday in Ohio, and that’s just the first of many primaries that will start to shed light on whether voters support the candidates Trump has endorsed, or whether they will shy away from them.
In Ohio, Trump has thrown his support behind JD Vance for the open seat on the U.S. Senate. He is up against several GOP contenders who all tried to attract the support of the former president.
Following that will be key primary battles in North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Nebraska — all of which could serve as either full-blown support for Trump and his policies or a referendum on them.
Throughout the country, Trump has endorsed multiple candidates for multiple political positions — federal and local — who have fallen in line with his policies and stances. Though he doesn’t hold any official political office, the former president is still attempting to wield his influence and shape the GOP in his vision.
One of Trump’s biggest critics in the GOP, Governor Larry Hogan of Maryland, is stepping up to support incumbent Republican governors in the states of Idaho, Ohio and Georgia, all of whom are facing challenges by candidates backed by Trump.
As he commented recently:
“The month of May is going to be a critical window into who we are. I’m just concerned that there are some people trying to tear the party apart or burn it down.”
Georgia is particularly high-stakes, both for Trump and for others. The primary there isn’t until May 24, but early voting began on Monday.
Trump has been particularly active in the race for governor in Georgia, where the Republican incumbent, Brian Kemp, has turned into one of Trump’s most hated “RINOs,” or Republican in Name Only.
Kemp was once on Trump’s side, but drew the president’s ire on multiple occasions when he was in the White House — first by not conferring with the president when picking a replacement for an open seat in the Senate and then for not working harder to overturn results in his state during the 2020 presidential election.
Trump recruited former Republican Senator David Perdue to challenge Kemp, and he’s thrown his full support behind him. The former president isn’t stopping there in Georgia, though. He’s also supported candidates for Senate and is trying to take down Georgia’s secretary of state, Brad Raffensperger.
May certainly won’t be the only time Trump’s endorsements and support will be put to the test. But, it is the first time he’ll be tested and in some of the most significant races where Trump has focused a lot of his time.
Some prominent Republicans believe that in the end, Trump’s policies and candidates will win out. As Republican Senator Ted Cruz of Texas said recently of Trump:
“The voices in Washington that want him to fade into obscurity or to be silenced are engaged in their own form of wishful thinking. That’s not going to happen. Nor should he.”
