WASHINGTON – After President Donald Trump knocked off at least five Republican state senators in Indiana he considered disloyal, the question is whether he will command such outsized influence in GOP primaries this month for Congress and governor.
Rep. Thomas Massie in Kentucky, Sen. Bill Cassidy in Louisiana and Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger each earned Trump’s ire in different ways. But the common element is that Trump wants to replace them with Republicans he considers more reliable despite his interest in holding narrow Republican majorities in the House and Senate.
John Pitney Jr., a professor of politics at Claremont McKenna College in California, said the Indiana results confirmed Trump’s grip on the Republican Party.
“Sometimes, Republican politicians can cross him and survive, but usually they don't,” Pitney told USA TODAY. “If you're a Republican with doubts about Trump, you have a strong incentive to keep those doubts in a lockbox.”
Karen Hult, a political science professor at Virginia Tech, said to the extent the races are viewed as “one-shot ‘retribution’ or ‘payback races’ in safe Republican districts,” the campaigns likely convey little about the cost of gas, food and health care.
