Former President Donald Trump applauded for a 100-6 primary endorsement record in the run-up to the 2022 midterms, following a mixed result—including a series of setbacks—in Georgia on May 24.
“Overall for the ‘Cycle,’ 100 Wins, 6 Losses (some of which were not possible to win), and 2 runoffs,” Trump wrote on May 25 on Truth Social.
It came after Pence-Backed Republican Gov. Brian Kemp, Secretary of State Brian Raffensperger, and Attorney General Chris Carr defeated Trump-endorsed opponents in Georgia by huge margins, surpassing the 50 percent support needed to avoid runoffs. The three GOP officials have drawn criticism from Trump for allegedly not doing enough to investigate allegations of illegal voting after the 2020 election.
Such setbacks have so far appeared to be largely confined to Georgia. And one bright spot for Trump in the state came from football great Herschel Walker, who won the Republican Senate primary on May 24 and received 68.2 percent of the vote, with 95 percent of the votes counted by May 25. The second-place candidate Gary Black, the state agriculture commissioner, received 13 percent of the vote.
Walker, also endorsed by Sen. Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), is taking on Democrat incumbent Sen. Raphael Warnock in the November general election.
“What a long distance you’ve come,” Trump said during a congratulatory speech over the phone at the victory party. “And I’m only going to be more proud of you after November,” he added.
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene also won the Republican House primary in Georgia’s 14th Congressional District.
Trump’s preferred candidates across Alabama, Arkansas, and Texas, many of whom ran a less competitive or unopposed race on Tuesday, swept to victories. The GOP nominees include incumbent Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who defeated state Land Commissioner George P. Bush in a runoff after the March primary, Arkansas governor nominee Sarah Huckabee Sanders, and Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Ala.).
“A very big and successful evening of political endorsements,” said the former president. “All wins in Texas (33 & 0 for full primary list), Arkansas, and Alabama. A great new senatorial candidate, and others, in Georgia,” he added, referring to Walker.
By Rita Li
