Takeaways from the primaries
primary vote.
Most alarming for Republicans was Rep. Robert Pittenger’s defeat in North Carolina, which might cost them a seat in the general election. But it was not just voters on the right showing dissatisfaction: Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia saw 3 in 10 Democratic primary voters cast ballots for a low-profile liberal activist instead. Manchin might face the most difficult race of his career against Republican primary winner Patrick Morrisey, the state’s attorney general who made his name by suing the Obama administration. Morrisey will enjoy the full support and financing of the national party.
• The mainstream prevails in Ohio: Ohio could have been welcoming ground for fiery rebels on the left and the right. But Trumpian politics fizzled in several important primaries, and voters chose a thoroughly conventional pair of candidates for governor in Republican Mike DeWine and Democrat Richard Cordray.
The failure of insurgents in both parties might signal that this swing state has not yet been remade in Trump’s image.
• Interventions work: National Republicans and Democrats waded into the West Virginia Senate primary. A Republican group backed by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s allies spent heavily attacking Blankenship. Then Trump issued a tweet Monday warning West Virginia Republicans that Blankenship “can’t win the General Election in your State.”
The controversial coal baron finished third.
Also significant was the role Democrats played in the state’s GOP primary, when a liberal super political action committee linked to Washington strategists aggressively attacked Jenkins. They feared the Democratturned-Republican with a base in the coal counties would be the strongest candidate against Manchin.
Perhaps most revealing was a race where the incumbent got no outside help. Two years ago, Pittenger was nearly defeated in his North Carolina primary by Mark Harris, a conservative pastor. Washington Republicans believed Pittenger would again ward off Harris, so they offered no assistance. Harris won by fewer than 1,000 votes.
• The Year of the Women, continued: Nineteen open House Democratic primaries had at least one female candidate Tuesday, and a woman won in 16 of them.
Some of the seats are safely controlled by Republicans. But the success of female Democrats illustrates how much women are driving the opposition to Trump.
• But it’s Trump’s party: On Tuesday, not one Trump critic won a Republican primary. The major candidates cast themselves as Trump allies and in some cases invoked him as a role model.