GOP Senate Primaries Defined By “Expensive” & “Chaotic” Infighting

A wave of news coverage across the Senate battlegrounds continues to spotlight Republican candidates in GOP primaries engaging in “unprecedented,” “just plain craziness,” “expensive,” and “chaotic” infighting that will leave their candidates “bloodied and cash poor” heading into the general election.

Read the latest on the intra-party infighting playing out across GOP Senate primaries:

• In Arizona, Blake Masters and Jim Lamon engaged in a public feud on Twitter with Masters calling Lamon “so desperate” as GOP infighting in AZ continues to spill into the open.

• In Georgia, Herschel Walker continues to face attacks from primary opponent Gary Black, who told the Washington Examiner this past week “If you want to win the race, I’m the one who can win this race… If it’s Herschel Walker, the race will be about his noise.”

• In New Hampshire, Republican Corky Messner’s bizarre closed door meeting to try and anoint a candidate ended in disaster – prompting criticism from the conservative Union Leader editorial board, a far-right New Hampshire website, and the state’s GOP Senate leader. Messner in turn slammed his conservative critics in a radio interview as “useful idiots.” The entire incident is just the latest sign that the NH Republican Senate primary is set to be a GOP civil war, filled with chaos and “bloodletting.”

• In North Carolina, a flood of new reporting has highlighted the GOP primary as the “campaigns go negative.” After Club for Growth blasted out an “unprecedented,” 12-page mailer — a “hit job” on Pat McCrory over his past ethics and corruption scandals — McCrory hit back, accusing Budd of “hid[ing] behind DC special interests.” With the primary election delayed and former President Trump “struggling to clear the Republican field,” candidates are left to “fight among themselves.”

• In Ohio, local reporters see the GOP primary as “Ohio’s ugliest ever.” Attack ads are flying, with Gibbons recently slamming Vance for his past negative comments on Trump as the “showdown is fast becoming the most expensive and ugly GOP Senate contest in next year’s midterms.”

• In Pennsylvania, the GOP field has descended into a “chaotic” “free-for-all” as out-of-touch and out-of-state candidates rush to enter the field. Republicans are already attacking Mehmet Oz for his prior support for lockdowns, and slamming David McCormick for his ties to China and his history of outsourcing jobs. A new super PAC backing Oz will only add to what is already set to be an expensive and nasty primary battle.

• And in Missouri, GOP candidates are openly sparring, putting Republicans “on the edge of their seats” as they openly fret that their messy primary could “force the GOP to divert resources from more competitive races to shore up Blunt’s seat.”

See some of the many GOP infighting headlines here:

The Hill: GOP primary fights escalate after Trump’s endorsements; Bloomberg: GOP Primary Ads Target Candidates’ Trump Loyalty, Personal Lives, The Hill: Senate GOP worries Trump could derail bid for majority; Axios: GOP super PACs attack party’s own candidates  Politico: Trump endorsements jolt GOP races; New York Times: G.O.P. Is Energized, but ‘Trump Cancel Culture’ Poses a Threat; Politico: Trump’s Senate picks stumble out of the gate; The Hill: GOP grapples with chaotic Senate primary in Pennsylvania; CBS Pittsburgh: Dr. Oz’s Entry Into Senate Race Not Deterring Other Republicans From Running;  Washington Examiner: Dr. Oz Senate bid bolstered by new super PAC | Washington Examiner; CNN: ‘This crowd is so big and unknown’: Pennsylvania Senate scramble could include Dr. Oz and former Bush official; WVXU: Analysis: GOP Senate primary may be Ohio’s ugliest ever; Fox News: The frenzy to land Trump’s endorsement fuels an increasingly nasty GOP senate primary battle in Ohio; The Hill: Republican Ohio Senate candidate slams JD Vance over previous Trump comments; AP: NC GOP Senate primary intensifies as campaigns go negative; The Hill: Trump struggles to clear GOP field in North Carolina Senate race; Charlotte Observer: A new, brutal mailer on Pat McCrory is a troubling sign for Republicans; Politico: ‘Trump-hater’ vs. ‘Washington insider’: N.C. Republicans squabble over Senate seat; WBT: Pat McCrory: I Don’t Want The Club For Growth Buying A NC Senate Seat; WMUR: Messner organizes unprecedented meeting of potential Republican US Senate candidates; AP: Trump gets wish in Georgia, sparks ‘a political civil war’; Arizona Republic: Trump presses Attorney General Mark Brnovich, Legislature for action on election probe; Las Vegas Review journal: Donald Trump urged to drop Adam Laxalt by major GOP donor; The Hill: Republicans fret over Trump’s influence in Missouri Senate race; Springfield News-Leader: Long goes negative — Schmitt a ‘China softie,’ Greitens out ‘for himself,’ Hartzler not conservative

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