Trump backers face uphill battle in midterm primaries
Republican candidates who echoed former President Donald Trump’s false claims of a stolen presidency were defeated in high-profile nominating contests in Colorado on Tuesday ahead of November’s midterm elections.
The two Colorado candidates, US Senate hopeful Ron Hanks and county clerk Tina Peters, who had sought the Republican nomination to be Colorado’s top election official, are among dozens of Republicans who support Trump’s denial of his 2020 election loss.
But Edison Research projected that Hanks would lose the Senate primary to businessman Joe O’dea, who has rejected Trump’s election fraud claims.
Hanks took part in a march on the US Capitol on January 6 2021, when it was attacked by Trump supporters.
Edison projected that Peters, who has been indicted for election tampering, would lose the Colorado secretary of state primary to Pam Anderson, a former county clerk who has also dismissed Trump’s allegations.
Trump acolytes prevailed in other elections.
In western Colorado, firebrand Republican representative Lauren Boebert was projected by Edison to defeat challenger Don Coram.
In Illinois, Republican representative Mary Miller was projected to defeat representative Rodney Davis in a primary contest that pit two incumbents against each other as the state lost a congressional seat due to its shrinking population.
Miller caused controversy at a rally with Trump on Saturday when she said that the Supreme Court’s decision to revoke the nationwide right to abortion was a “victory for white life”.
Miller’s aides say she meant to say “right to life”, but Davis says it is further evidence that she is unfit for office.
Miller was endorsed by Trump and has backed his claims of a stolen election.
Davis, by contrast, broke with his party last year to back the congressional inquiry into the January 6 attack.
With Biden’s approval ratings under water, Republicans are favoured to win control of the House of Representatives, where they need to flip only five Democratic seats for a majority. —