GOP Summer Of Chaos Envelops Ohio’s Republican Senate Primary

After Donald Trump kicked off his summer “revenge tour” in Ohio last weekend, a series of new reports are highlighting how the toxic former president is escalating and intensifying Ohio’s already “crowded and nasty” Republican Senate primary:

• NBC News reported that “competition for even the hint of Trump’s endorsement […] has gotten so intense in recent weeks that the contenders had turned his visit into a shadow primary” and “candidates approached the weekend as if it were a potential sequel to the tense, so-called ‘Hunger Games’ sit-down they had with Trump.”

• National Journal described Ohio as “the epicenter of the Republican civil war” with candidates in the crowded field who have “embraced Trump’s most egregious extremes.”

• The Sandusky Register editorial board eviscerated the “groveling” Republican Senate candidates for “parading like beauty contestants ready to repeat every lie” and “embarrassing our state.”

• WVXU columnist Howard Wilkinson detailed how the GOP Senate candidates were “desperate for [Trump’s] approval” and “scrambling around the fairgrounds like chickens with their heads cut off.” 

The latest developments in Ohio’s messy primary reflect how Trump is escalating Republican Senate primaries across the map and forcing GOP Senate candidates to face a long summer of chaos. 

See also: Washington Post: Trump’s endorsements: revenge against enemies, rewards for friends and purveyors of election falsehoods; The Hill: Past criticism of Trump becomes potent weapon in GOP primaries; 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.

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