Trump’s Endorsements Can Hurt the GOP
Will Donald Trump’s endorsements in the 2022 Republican primaries be a double-edged sword for the party?
Based on the surprising results of this week’s special House runoff election in Texas, they could be.
The Republican-only election in a congressional district near Fort Worth was a runoff between Susan Wright, who was endorsed by Trump, and a freshman state representative named Jake Ellzey.
According to all the experts, Wright should have won fairly easily.
She was the widow of Rep. Don Wright, whose COVID-19 related death in February triggered the election.
She was a solid conservative in a conservative district.
And she had the backing of Donald Trump.
Trump did not appear in person for her, and local pols say his support was “half-hearted,” but the ex-president appeared in TV spots for her and his political action committee gave her money and bought ads attacking Ellzey.
When the votes were counted, however, Ellzey beat Wright with relative ease, 53 to 47 percent.
Ellzey is a former Navy combat pilot and a conservative who out-hustled Wright and was endorsed by former Texas governor Rick Perry and fellow combat veteran Rep. Dan Crenshaw.
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