With Donald Trump going 55-0 over the last 2 months (33-0 Texas, 22-0 Ohio, Indiana) for endorsed candidates, his picks for Tuesday’s Primary Elections are on everyone’s mind.
Next up on the Primary calendar are Nebraska and W. Virginia with elections being held Tuesday, May 10th. Can Trump continue his undefeated winning streak or will we finally see a few fall during Tuesday’s Primary Election?
Two of the primaries this week that will certainly be closely watched include Nebraska gubernatorial candidate Charles Herbster (R), who is facing sexual misconduct accusations from eight women, and Rep. Alex Mooney (R-W.Va.), who is battling fellow Republican colleague Rep. David McKinley in a redistricted seat.
Here are the Trump-endorsed candidates to watch for in Tuesday’s set of primaries:
NEBRASKA
Charles Herbster, gubernatorial candidate
The former chairman of Trump’s Agriculture and Rural Advisory Committee, Herbster has touted his previous ties to the former president in his campaign and has beat out eight other candidates for Trump’s endorsement.
Trump held two rallies for Herbster this week, including one tele-rally, as the Republican candidate faces multiple accusations of sexual misconduct.
This isn’t going to be a walk in the park for Herbster by any means as last month a bipartisan group of Nebraska state senators, one of whom is one of Herbster’s alleged victims, called on Herbster to drop his gubernatorial bid in light of the allegations against him. Herbster has denied the allegations.
Rep. Adrian Smith, 3rd Congressional District
Rep. Adrian Smith (R-Neb.) is running to keep his seat in the state’s 3rd Congressional District and is being challenged by Marine Corps and National Guard veteran Mike Calhoun.
Personally, I’m not too concerned with Smith getting beat by Mike Calhoun as incumbent Smith has served in Congress for 15 years, according to Norfolk Daily News. This will certainly be a tough race for Mike Calhoun to win.
Smith was one of the congressmen who objected to the Electoral College’s certification of President Biden’s win in the 2020 presidential election.
West Virginia
Rep. Carol Miller, 3rd Congressional District
Rep. Carol Miller (R), who currently represents West Virginia’s 3rd Congressional District, is now running for the state’s 1st Congressional District due to new maps following the 2020 census. Miller has quite the list of competitors gunning for her position including former retired Army Lt. Col. Scott Fuller, optometrist Zane Lawhorn, and government contractor and Army veteran James Houser.
Rep. Alex Mooney, 2nd Congressional District
In the first Republican primary between two incumbents, Mooney is going head to head with Republican colleague McKinley.
The two are competing for the state’s 2nd Congressional District due to the new maps, and Trump placed his weight behind Mooney last November. The former president said he was supporting Mooney because he opposed the bipartisan infrastructure law and voted against the creation of the Jan. 6 committee.
The only concern I have for Alex Mooney is that Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) is publicly pushing W. VA for a McKinley win and even went as far as appearing in a campaign ad for McKinley and touting the fact that both of them opposed Biden’s Build Back Better plan.
“David McKinley has always opposed reckless spending because it doesn’t make sense for West Virginia. Alex Mooney has proven he’s all about Alex Mooney. But West Virginians know David McKinley is all about us,” Manchin added.
Manchin is very popular in W. Virginia with a 60%+ approval rating, the highest in America amongst all Senators. This will be a very interesting Trump-backed race to watch. Who does W. VA love more, Trump or Manchin, we’ll find out soon.
The list of Trump-backed candidates is nowhere near as long as the 55 he endorsed across Texas, Indiana, and Ohio, over the last couple of months, and a few of them are going to be nail biters for sure, but it’s Trump at the end of the day, and he’s proven time and time again that when he endorses someone, they tend to do well in the election.
