President Trump’s handpicked MAGA candidates underperformed in their midterm races Tuesday.
QUICK FACTS:
- President Trump’s largely favored and highly endorsed candidates who soared in their primaries failed to win their midterm contests on Tuesday.
- Pennsylvania’s Doug Mastriano, heavily supported by Trump, lost in his race by 13 percentage points to Pennsylvania attorney general Josh Shapiro.
- Dr. Mehmet Oz, handpicked by the former President, was defeated in his match up with Democratic lieutenant governor of Pennsylvania John Fetterman.
- In Arizona, U.S. Senate candidate Blake Masters is trailing behind incumbent Mark Kelly and former astronaut by six percentage points.
- Also in Arizona, Gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake, who was vocally supported by Trump on numerous occasions, is in a close battle with Democrat Katie Hobbs.
ARIZONA GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE KARI LAKE ON THE INTEGRITY OF THE ELECTION:
“Do you think this is normal guys? My question is, do you think what’s happening here in Maricopa County is normal? We have had problems after problems,” Lake said.
BACKGROUND:
- In September 2022, top advisers in Trump’s orbit launched a political action committee geared toward spending the former president’s massive war chest on his preferred midterm election hopefuls, American Faith reported at the time.
- MAGA Inc. aimed to help Trump-endorsed Republicans in the homestretch of their races, an infusion of cash battleground Republican candidates sorely needed as they ran fundraising deficits relative to their Democratic rivals.
- The Trump political action committee was created to tap the roughly $100 million that the 45th President’s Save America PAC has raised since he left office. Unlike Save America, MAGA Inc. can spend without restraint on campaigns both in the 2022 midterm elections and Trump’s oft-teased 2024 presidential bid.
- The former president’s endorsement success rate in the primaries topped 90%, according to a Washington Examiner analysis.
