The Washington Examiner’s Sarah Westwood commented on the recent triumphs of Republican candidates, such as Rep. Nancy Mace (SC), who fended off primary challenges despite not wielding former President Donald Trump’s endorsement.
Westwood appeared on Fox News’s Your World with Neil Cavutoon Wednesday to point out the strategies from the “Glenn Youngkin playbook” utilized by Mace, Gov. Brian Kemp (GA), and Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger. Youngkin himself was endorsed by Trump despite never supporting claims that the 2020 election may have been stolen.
“Voters are showing a willingness to forgive Republicans that were critical of Trump in the aftermath of 2020 but who limited their criticism to what happened on Jan. 6 and what happened with the election but who are still complimentary of Trump as a person, of his agenda, and of the movement still,” Westwood explained.
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While Trump endorsed Mace’s opponent, Katie Arrington, he has since congratulated Mace and encouraged voters to vote for her as the Republican nominee.
“There’s enough of a constituency out there in the Republican Party that wants to see Trump completely eradicated,” Westwood continued. “I don’t know that that constituency is large enough anymore because in all of these races, you are seeing voters don’t want to hear them bad-mouthing Trump. They want to hear a vision for how the party moves forward.”
Trump has strictly endorsed Republican candidates who share the same policies that he enforced as president. Some of his endorsed candidates have fallen flat, including Nebraska gubernatorial candidate Charles Herbster as well as Arrington.
However, several of his picks have been successful. Rep. Tom Rice (SC) recently lost his GOP primary election to Trump-endorsed Russell Fry. Both J.D. Vance in Ohio and Dr. Mehmet Oz in Pennsylvania are advancing to their Senate elections with the coveted endorsements.
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“They still want to hear candidates talking about the same things that Trump was,” Westwood said. “You know, winning the trade war, securing the border, embracing populist ideas culturally. Those are the types of things that voters are interested in.”
