The former president has issued coveted approvals in matches ranging from governor to state insurance commissioner. His support for football legend Herschel Walker essentially paved the way for the party’s candidacy for a crucial US Senate seat. Trump has taken a particularly active role in shaping the governor’s race, recruiting former Sen. David Perdue to challenge incumbent President Brian Kemp in retaliation for not compromising on lies about the theft of a 2020 election. In an effort to pave the way for Perdue, Trump pushed another Republican in the race – Vernon Jones – to run for Congress. Trump returns to Georgia on Saturday night for a rally with Walker, Perdue, Jones and other Republicans he has backed ahead of the May 24 state qualifiers. The campaign is emerging as an early, critical test of whether the former president can live up to his declared role as king in the GOP. “I think it could be the beginning, I do not want to use the word fall, but it could be the beginning of reducing his influence,” said Eric Tannenblatt, a former chief of staff to former Republican Gov. Sonny Perdio. . and former fundraiser for David Perdue supporting Kemp in the qualifiers. There are warning signs for Trump. While Walker advances to the qualifiers with minimal opposition, other races are more complicated. Jones, for example, is now competing in a busy congressional qualifying round in which no one can exceed the 50% threshold required to avoid a run-off. Perdue, meanwhile, could be an even bigger challenge for the former president. He struggled to raise money and, in a Fox News poll released this month, was 50% to 39% behind Kemp. If that momentum were to work, Kemp would be within walking distance of qualifying, preventing a run-off. Trump is obsessed with this once-Republican stronghold in the wake of the 2020 campaign, when he became the first Republican candidate for the presidency to lose the state in 28 years. He could still be central to his political future if he decides to run for the White House in 2024. That’s why his work in the state is so remarkable, as Trump is essentially gathering voters behind candidates who could continue to play crucial roles in certifying future elections in which he will run. He has already shown a great willingness to pressure officials to overturn results he does not like. In the last days of his rule, Trump has pressed Georgia’s Secretary of State Brad Rafensperger to “find” enough votes to overturn Joe Biden’s victory, a debate now under investigation in Atlanta. The results in Georgia were certified after a triad of re-measurements, including one that was done partially by hand. Everyone confirmed Biden’s victory. Elsewhere, federal and state election officials, including Trump’s attorney general, have said there is no credible evidence that the election was rigged. The former president’s allegations of fraud were also rejected by the courts, including the judges appointed by Trump. Given the former president’s particular focus on Georgia, a stumbling block here could weaken his efforts elsewhere to defend candidates who have vowed allegiance to his vision for the GOP, which is dominated by electoral lies and cultural strife over issues related to the race and gender. Some of these candidates are already struggling. Trump canceled his support for Republican challenger Alabama Sen. Mo Brooks on Wednesday. He will travel to North Carolina next month to try to bolster his choice in the controversial North Carolina Senate by-election Republican Ted Bad, who is lagging behind in polls and fundraising over the former governor. McCrory. The election of Trump in the Pennsylvania GOP GOP primary has been withdrawn, and Trump has so far not sided with a candidate in the primary but melancholy Ohio State and Missouri primary. A Trump spokesman did not answer questions, but the former president, allies say, has been disappointed by Perdue’s failure to win traction. While Trump has put a lot of stock in his ratification record, so far he has refused to open his checkbook – despite the fact that the PAC opened the year with $ 120 million. Meanwhile, some of Trump’s top national rivals, including Wyoming Republican Liz Cheney and Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski, have not backed down from seeking re-election despite Trump promising more time. that he would make sure they were defeated. Kemp, who is holding his own Saturday meeting with the Columbia Republican Party in the Augusta suburbs, said he had $ 12.7 million in his main campaign account on Jan. 31. That far surpassed Perdue, who had less than $ 1 million in cash. January. The current governor has pledged to offer an initial investment of at least $ 4.2 million in television commercials ahead of Georgia’s primary. Other Trump critics are stepping up spending, including GOP 2.0, a super PAC set up by Lieutenant Governor Geoff Duncan, who is not seeking re-election but has been heavily criticized by the former president for defending the 2020 election. Duncan, a Republican, said Trump’s ratification was not the “golden ticket” it once was, and his team was launching the first 30-second TV spot to date the former president’s rally. in it, Duncan disapproves of politicians “who prefer to talk about conspiracy theories and past losses, letting liberal extremists go in the wrong direction.” “You almost feel bad for David Perdue. “This (he) is leaving the board that Donald Trump has put here in Georgia,” Duncan said in an interview. “We will see a rally that will confuse the Georgians again and who knows what Donald Trump will say,” Duncan said. “He is going to settle a score,” Duncan added, referring to Trump, “and this is not a way to keep conservative leadership in power.” Despite these concerns, Trump is not backing down. Just this week, he backed the near-unknown John Gordon to challenge Attorney General Chris Carr. He also backed Patrick Whit to face Insurance Commissioner John King. Republican incumbents are the government officials most aligned with Kemp, the main target of Trump’s anger. Randy Evans, Trump’s former ambassador to Luxembourg, said the former president, by putting so much support up and down on the Georgia ballot, would allow Trump’s preferred candidates to bolster each other. Evans said Saturday’s event could elevate that group: “Trump’s winning media is just changing the momentum.” But Tanenblatt responded that Trump trying to influence so many races – including the dark ballots – just to compete with Kemp for the long-awaited 2020 election “almost neglects the president’s approval.” “I do not think that because he is the former president and someone the Republicans would prefer to President Biden, if he supports someone, it automatically means that he is the obvious successor who will win,” he said.
Weissert reported from Washington. Associated Press author Jill Colvin contributed from New York.
