May primaries will continue to test Trump’s strength
(NewsNation) — A total of 10 states will be holding primary elections during the rest of May, a key test of former President Donald Trump’s influence over the GOP.
On Tuesday, voters in Nebraska and West Virginia will go to the polls to vote in gubernatorial and U.S. House primaries. In both states, Trump’s endorsed candidates are going up against candidates backed by other factions in the party.
In Nebraska’s Republican gubernatorial primary, the former president endorsed Charles Herbster, an agribusiness executive who has been a major donor to Trump. Herbster is facing off with Jim Pillen, a fellow agribusiness executive who is backed by the influential Ricketts family.
In West Virginia, Trump is supporting Rep. Alex Mooney in a House Republican primary. Mooney is running against Rep. David McKinley for the nomination for the state’s newly formed 2nd Congressional District.
NewsNation’s Tom Dempsey noted that the race has an unusual dynamic: “Senator Joe Manchin crossed party lines to support his support behind Congressman David McKinley,” he noted during a Sunday segment on NewsNation Prime.
Trump had a strong streak of Republican primary victories earlier this month, boasting that he was “22-0,” after all of his endorsed candidates won in Ohio and Indiana. In Ohio, Trump-backed author and venture capitalist JD Vance won the Republican Party’s Senate nomination after a bitter primary season that included millions of dollars spent by outside groups. In Indiana’s 1st Congressional District GOP primary, Trump backed veteran Jennifer-Ruth Green, who excoriated her opponent for being insufficiently loyal to the former president. She coasted to victory by around 25 points.
“He’s hoping to keep that undefeated streak alive this upcoming Tuesday,” Dempsey said of Trump.