WASHINGTON (AP) — Is there a future in politics for Republicans who cross President Donald Trump?The signs this year suggest no, and Trump has convinced his voters to defeat his adversaries again and again. The next test of the president’s power to extract retribution is on Tuesday, when Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky faces a Trump-backed primary challenger.Massie has been a thorn in the president’s side for pushing for the release of the Jeffrey Epstein files, opposing the war with Iran and voting against Trump’s signature tax legislation last year. Here are some things to watch as voters in Alabama, Georgia, Idaho, Kentucky, Oregon and Pennsylvania cast ballots on Tuesday.
Will Trump’s endorsement continue to carry the day? Trump has repeatedly shown that Republican primary voters will follow his lead, even as his popularity wanes with the broader electorate.In Kentucky, he’s supporting first-time candidate Ed Gallrein over Massie, who has been in office since 2012. Massie is trying to convince Republicans that they can support both himself and Trump at the same time, a proposition that has been tried unsuccessfully in other races around the country. On Saturday, Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana failed to even make the runoff, unable to repair his relationship with Trump five years after voting to convict him during his second impeachment trial. And earlier this month, Trump successfully dislodged five of seven Indiana Republicans he targeted for voting against his redistricting plan.
