COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Republican figures trying to survive this year’s primaries often seek out people who have collaborated with Donald Trump for advice, convinced that connection could help them win support from the former president. Trump’s forays into the campaign, however, indicate that strategy doesn’t necessarily work.
In Ohio and Pennsylvania, two states that will launch a critical phase of the campaign ahead of the midterm elections, Trump ignored candidates who had hired some of his most prominent aides. He instead supported figures like Mehmet Oz and JD Vance, relative newcomers to politics but well known for their books and television appearances.
Trump is trying to establish himself as the great Republican reference and his decision to support those candidates is a reminder of what matters most to him in the people. On the one hand, he demands a loyalty that is often not reciprocated. And he is dazzled by the power of celebrity in politics.
“Obviously, Donald Trump is very volatile in his actions. Now, in hindsight, we know that maybe it wasn’t the best bet on that,” Republican strategist Doug Heye said, alluding to Trump’s hiring. “At the time, however, (those hires) seemed like the most logical thing to do.”
This dynamic is particularly clear in Pennsylvania, where Trump endorsed Oz, a heart surgeon who is a television personality as host of “The Dr. Oz Show.” He passed over investor David McCormick, who had hired two of Trump’s most trusted people: his national policy adviser Stephen Miller, who wrote many of his speeches for him, and longtime Trump communications adviser Hope Hicks. . (Miller distanced himself from McCormick as soon as Trump said he supported Oz.)
McCormick is married to Dina Powell, who advised Trump on national security issues, and was supported by other figures close to Trump, including one of his press secretaries, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, who is running for governor of Arkansas.
Kellyanne Conway, who ran Trump’s 2016 campaign and was his White House adviser, works for the Honor Pennsylvania Super PAC, which last month paid her firm $15,000.
Trump’s alliance with Oz generated deep frustration among some of his former advisers who backed McCormick and hoped that, in the worst case, Trump would remain neutral in that race.
Oz has known Trump for years and, like him, became famous through television.
“He is someone who has been very successful on television, which is the main poll,” Trump declared in announcing his endorsement last week. He also noted that Oz had the backing of Fox News host Sean Hannity and that he was the most likely to win in the November election.
Trump offered the same explanation in Ohio, where he was played by Vance, the author of the book “Hillbilly Elegy” and an investor who appears regularly on Fox News and conservative podcasts. He made a good impression on Trump with his performance in recent Republican debates.
At a rally Saturday night, Trump said he had studied the candidates “closely” and “liked a lot of them.” But you have to choose “those who are going to win,” he added.
The impact of Trump’s support is unclear. On the one hand, he allows candidates to raise a lot of money and focus attention on them. Every once in a while, Trump shows up at one of his rallies.
Vance is slightly ahead of his rivals since Trump endorsed him, according to a Fox News poll.
Oz is locked in a close race in Pennsylvania, where for now there are no polls to indicate whether Trump’s support helped or not.
But in Georgia, a state Trump paid close attention to, his gubernatorial candidate, David Perdue, is trailing in the polls and in fundraising. An Atlanta Journal-Constitution poll released Tuesday showed incumbent Gov. Brian Kemp, who is seeking re-election, 53% to Purdue’s 27% among likely voters.
Any major setback could dilute Trump’s image as the undisputed leader of the Republican Party, which is weighing the possibility of running for president again in 2024.
Trump gave his support to more than 100 candidates for different offices. Relatives say that he takes into account a series of factors, including the resentment that he may feel towards a person, his personal relationship with her or a simple television appearance that he liked.
After leaving the White House, for example, he endorsed candidates trying to snatch seats from representatives who voted for his impeachment as well as those who repeated his lies about his electoral loss.
Trump has on occasion expressed discomfort with former aides who cash in on the notion that they can win his support for a candidate.
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Steve Peoples contributed to this report.
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