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Do Trump’s Endorsed Candidates Always Win?

What Was Said

Posted Updated

By
Linda Qiu
, New York Times
What Was Said

“5 for 5!” — Donald Trump tweet at 10:31 a.m. ET Aug 8.

“As long as I campaign and/or support Senate and House candidates (within reason), they will win! I LOVE the people, & they certainly seem to like the job I’m doing. If I find the time, in between China, Iran, the Economy and much more, which I must, we will have a giant Red Wave!” — Trump tweet at 11:25 a.m. ET Aug. 8.

This requires context.

After Tuesday’s elections, Trump cherry-picked results to make the case that his endorsement always produces victories for candidates. While candidates backed by Trump in Republican primaries have almost always won, four of his endorsed candidates have lost their elections.

Republican voters did choose four out of the five candidates Trump backed in Tuesday’s primary elections. The fifth — Kris Kobach, the Kansas secretary of state who is running for governor — is also leading in the polls, but the race is too close to call.

In Ohio’s special congressional election, Troy Balderson, whom Trump endorsed in July, is leading his Democratic opponent by a razor-thin margin, but The New York Times and other news outlets have yet to declare a winner.

Beyond Tuesday’s elections, Trump has endorsed at least 18 other winning candidates in primary elections. But Republican voters rejected one of his picks: Luther Strange, who ran for the party’s nomination in Alabama’s Senate election last year.

Several of Trump’s endorsed Republican candidates — like Rep. Karen Handel of Georgia, Rep. Ron Estes of Kansas, Rep. Greg Gianforte of Montana and Rep. Ralph Norman of South Carolina — won special elections against Democrats last year. But three — Roy S. Moore in Alabama’s Senate race, Rick Saccone in a special Pennsylvania congressional race and Ed Gillespie in the Virginia governor’s race — lost their bids against Democrats.

Trump also encouraged his supporters to vote for Rep. Kevin McCarthy of California and “all of the great GOP candidates for Congress” in the state’s primary elections in June. Under California law, the top two finishers advance to the general election, regardless of party. While McCarthy did finish first in his primary, Republican candidates failed to qualify for the general election in California’s Senate race and its 44th Congressional District.

Sources: The New York Times, Twitter

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