US Republicans: Trump’s Long Shadow | tagesschau.de

All of America’s right-wing greedy Republicans, including former President Trump, are making an appearance in Florida this weekend. The primary results show that his influence in the party is unbroken.

It’s a conference of conservative youth, and all the right wing of the Republican Party is coming to Tampa, Florida: former President Donald Trump and his potential rival for the presidential nomination, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, Ted Cruz, Josh Hawley, Lauren Boebert, Matt Gaetz and others.

This section of the party is at the top. Internal party primaries are currently underway across the country — for congressional elections in the fall, but also for governorships and other offices at the state level. In the Republican primary, many are watching this time especially closely.

That’s because in many primary races, candidates Trump supports run against those who distance themselves from him. So the vote is a mood test: How firmly are Republicans still in Trump’s hands?

Anyone who enlightens is considered a traitor

In Wyoming, Liz Cheney has represented the state in the House of Representatives for nearly six years. But if you ask in the state these days, it quickly becomes clear: Cheney is considered by most to be a traitor because he voted for Trump’s impeachment measure and because he led the attack on the Capitol on January 6, 2021. The Washington position worked on the committee of inquiry.

And, of course, in Wyoming, Trump eliminated a rival candidate with his “endorsement,” his nomination: Harriet Hackman. He is well on his way to winning the party’s internal primaries in mid-August.

Believe the fraudulent election lie

Like Wyoming, things are happening in many places in the US: Gunner Ramer of the Republican Accountability Project in Washington watches the primaries. He’s also a Republican, but part of the establishment that wants to save the party from Trump. What Gunner has seen so far in the primary races is depressing him:

There are also defeated Trump candidates – in Georgia, for example. But according to a recent Washington Post analysis, more than 100 of the previous Republican primary winners support the lie about a stolen election.

Most of them will win the real election in the fall because their districts are firmly in Republican hands and Democrats have no chance there. Many of them will occupy positions that can influence the outcome of future elections – for example by blocking the certification of election results.

It’s also about suffrage

“From a Democratic point of view, it’s absolutely terrifying,” says Ramer, pointing to Pennsylvania, one of the states contested between Democrats and Republicans, as an example of an important swing state.

Doug Mastriano won the Republican primary for governor there. A man chartered buses to take people to Trump’s “Stop the Steel” demonstration in Washington on January 6. He said the state’s Republican legislature should decide which voters Pennsylvania sends to Washington for the presidential election.

Actually, parliaments have no say in this, but only after the votes are counted. If Mastriano wins the gubernatorial election in the fall, he will oversee the state’s upcoming 2024 presidential election.

A fundamentally different party

Trump’s influence remains strong in his party — and his refusal to recognize a lost presidential election has fundamentally changed the party. The same applies to the candidates he is running against this weekend “Student Action Summit” to show running in Tampa.

Trump has repeatedly hinted that he could run for president again in 2024. DeSantis is said to have ambitions for the same. There is now much speculation that the Republican presidential nomination will be decided by their right-wing camp.