“Pennsylvania’s primary race illustrates how Trump has maintained his iron grip on the Republican Party”
PENNSYLVANIA — New reporting from Reuters and NBC News outlines how large Trump looms over the country’s nastiest primary.
As both articles outline, this race is defined by appeals to Trump himself and his MAGA base. Regardless of which candidate wins, they will be severely out of step with the voters who will decide this election.
See excerpts below:
Former President Donald Trump is nowhere to be seen in Pennsylvania’s U.S. Senate race, but he nonetheless is shaping the election as Republican candidates vie for his support and the state party considers skipping an endorsement to avoid being at odds with him.
Trump has not revealed whether he will back any of the current candidates in the contest that could decide control of Congress in November’s midterm elections.
The crowded Republican field vying to replace retiring Senator Pat Toomey includes several contenders with connections to the former president: Carla Sands, former ambassador to Denmark under Trump; celebrity doctor Mehmet Oz, a Trump friend; and hedge fund CEO David McCormick, whose wife served in the Trump administration.
Trump’s silence has left the state party considering the rare – and perhaps unprecedented – step of not endorsing a candidate in the state’s marquee race for fear of not moving in step with Trump, sources told Reuters.
Pennsylvania’s primary race illustrates how Trump has maintained his iron grip on the Republican Party as he aims to play king-maker in the midterm elections ahead of a possible 2024 presidential bid.
As of now, Trump is not convinced that McCormick is the right Republican and has voiced misgivings about his ability to make inroads with Pennsylvania’s blue-collar voters, said one person who recently discussed the race with the former president. Oz, meanwhile, has made frequent appearances on Fox News. And Fox News’s Hannity has touted Oz’s candidacy in conversations with Trump, according to two people close to the former president. A spokesperson for Fox News did not respond to a request for comment.
Trump is intrigued by Oz’s “national star power” and sees him as the better bet at this stage of the race, said the person who recently discussed the race with him.
But that hasn’t been enough to earn the endorsement. A source close to McCormick’s campaign who also has ties to Trumpworld said that Trump had learned of Oz’s single-vote, last-place finish in a recent GOP straw poll and was surprised by the poor performance.
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None of this swayed Trump to quickly endorse McCormick. Trump’s view of the McCormick campaign, said the person who recently discussed the race with him, is, “I don’t care how many people they hire who they think are my friends.”
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