Ahead of Trump’s Iowa Rally, New Stories Highlight How He Could “Cost GOP the Senate”

Ahead of President Trump’s rally in Iowa this weekend, two new stories today highlight how Trump has spent the cycle escalating GOP Senate primaries and creating major headaches for Republicans who now fear that the intraparty fighting could “splinter the party”:

• The Associated Pressreports that Trump’s involvement in contested primaries is “contributing to anxiety among some Republicans who worry that Trump is lending his powerful political backing only to those who flatter his ego” and is endorsing candidates who will “struggle in the general election.”
  

• POLITICO Playbookdetailed concerns that the “endorsement-happy Trump” could “cost [the] GOP the Senate” as he hand picks “seriously flawed” candidates in key races.

Here’s the latest on the latest on how Trump is making GOP primaries worse across the map:

• In Arizona, Blake Masters’ super PAC is up on air attacking Mark Brnovich for his insufficient loyalty to Trump –– and Brnovich has come under pressure from Trump himself over the phony and fraudulent election audit.

• In Georgia, Herschel Walker, Trump’s hand-picked candidate, is coming under intense fire from his primary rivals for hiding from Georgians, and Georgia Republicans are admitting they fear Walker is “too closely aligned with his friend, former President Trump.”

• In Nevada, Trump’s candidate Adam Laxalt had a brutal first month in the race –– facing editorials from papers across Nevada criticizing his candidacy and highlighting how he is too close to Trump. Laxalt also experienced unrelenting national and local coverage after the AP reported that 14 months out for his Trumpian threat to  file litigation to potentially overturn the 2022 election results.

• In New Hampshire, Don Bolduc bragged that he is “talking directly” with Trump and even “thinks there is a chance he’ll endorse his candidacy” –– an “unwelcome development for the Senate Republicans.”
  

• In North Carolina, Trump-endorsed Ted Budd is facing brutal attacks from both Mark Walker and Pat McCrory –– during a recent interview, Walker hypothesized that Club for Growth’s massive spending to boost Ted Budd was “because the Trump endorsement for Mr. Budd did not push the needle like it had in some other states” and McCrory is publicly going after Budd for his family’s involvement in a business bankruptcy that cost farmers millions of dollars.

• In Ohio, five of the leading millionaire Republican Senate candidates have admitted they will need to spend $10 million each in a desperate attempt to stand out in this crowded primary and prove they’re the biggest Trump sycophant, and the Wall Street Journal recently wrote this primary demonstrated “how tight…Trump’s grip on the GOP” is.

• In Pennsylvania, after Trump endorsed Sean Parnell, Jeff Bartos and Parnell have “gone nuclear on one another:” Bartos “slammed” Parnell over his domestic violence allegations and an outside super PAC supporting Bartos spent six figures on an ad campaign over the past allegations –– worrying Republicans that the super PACs’ intraparty attacks “threaten to elevate damaging stories” about GOP candidates and hamper their chances in this critical battleground.

See also: Axios: GOP attacks its own; Wall Street Journal: Trump Looks for Challenger to Depose Mitch McConnell as Split Widens; National Journal: Trump’s takeover of the Republican Party is complete; The Hill: Trump, allies launch onslaught as midterms kick into gear; CNN: Donald Trump’s main goal? Kill off the Republican establishment; POLITICO: Trump acolytes poised to push out Senate dealmakers; Los Angeles Times: Mar-a-Lago primary: Trump wields power with endorsements, but some in GOP fear midterm damage; New York Times: Democrats See Edge in Early Senate Map as Trump Casts Big Shadow; The Hill: Trump getting tougher for Senate GOP to ignore; POLITICO: ‘Get on the team or shut up’: How Trump created an army of GOP enforcers; National Journal: Republicans suppressing their own voters in Arizona and Georgia; Vice: Trump’s Election Lies Are Taking Over Republican Senate Races; CNN: Republican candidates back Trump’s election lies across the 2021 and 2022 maps; Washington Post: In ramp-up to 2022 midterms, Republican candidates center pitches on Trump’s false election claims; Washington Post: Trump’s endorsements: revenge against enemies, rewards for friends and purveyors of election falsehoods; HuffPost: After Criticizing Trump, GOP Senate Candidates Now Desperate For His Endorsement; Roll Call: Trump could shake up key Senate races with endorsements; National Journal: Trump is sabotaging the GOP’s Senate prospects; Axios: Pro-McConnell PAC prepared to intervene in 2022 primaries; CNN Analysis: Mitch McConnell was asked about Trump and 2022. His answer is hilarious; The Hill: Past criticism of Trump becomes potent weapon in GOP primaries; CNN: McConnell, Trump On A 2022 Collision Course; Financial Times: Top Republican warns ‘hardcore’ pro-Trump candidates risk hurting party; Associated Press: Trump’s grievances cloud Republican agenda heading into 2022; New York Magazine: Republicans Face New Litmus Tests in Trump Era; Roll Call: Senate candidates walk Trump tightrope as he returns to Arizona; The Hill: Trump looms large over fractured Arizona GOP; CNN: How Donald Trump is already sabotaging one of Senate Republicans’ best takeover chances; Roll Call: Herschel Walker run for Senate in Georgia comes amid GOP concerns; Atlanta Journal Constitution: Gary Black gets tough on Herschel Walker in 2022 Senate bid; POLITICO: Another candidate in a key Senate race is publicly courting a Trump endorsement. Could it keep the establishment’s preferred pick out?; News & Observer: GOP Senate campaign heats up after report tying Budd to bankruptcy that hurt farmers; Washington Examiner: ‘Bad candidate’: Mark Walker says Trump made mistake backing North Carolina GOP Senate rival; Charlotte Observer Editorial: Donald Trump just threw NC’s U.S. Senate race into chaos. Democrats should be delighted; POLITICO: Nasty N.C. Senate primary tests Trump’s sway over the GOP; Washington Examiner: In Ohio GOP Senate primary, Trump is kingmaker; Wall Street Journal: How Tight Is Trump’s Grip on the GOP? Take a Look at the Ohio Senate Primary; NBC News: Ohio GOP Senate candidates escalate competition for Trump’s favor; National Journal: Ohio is the epicenter of the Republican civil war—and Trump is winning; Philadelphia Inquirer: Pa. Republicans see a big opportunity in 2022. But some are worried their candidates might blow it; Associated Press: Trump looms large in Pennsylvania’s GOP primaries in 2022; Pittsburgh City Paper: GOP Senate candidate Jeff Bartos donated to and praised Democrats in past, challenger Sean Parnell responds; The Philadelphia Inquirer: Bombshell or backlash? The nasty turn in Pa.’s GOP Senate primary leaves questions for both Jeff Bartos and Sean Parnell; National Journal: Could an ugly Senate primary hamper Pennsylvania Republicans?; Pittsburgh City Paper: Sean Parnell previously downplayed accusations against Roy Moore, latest in string of controversial statements.

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