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Candidates backed by former President Donald Trump are now 58-1 in Republican primaries, as three Trump-endorsed candidates secured the Republican nominations in their respective races in West Virginia and Nebraska Tuesday, while one candidate came up short.
Trump-backed Rep. Alexander Mooney brought home the Republican nomination for West Virginia’s Second Congressional District. Mooney, who currently serves the state’s First Congressional District, ran against Rep. David McKinley for the Republican nomination. McKinley, who has been in office since 2011, represents the state’s Second Congressional District at the moment, but redistricting forced the sitting congressmen to square off in the primary as the state moves from three seats to two, as Breitbart News previously pointed out.
Sixty-six percent of the new Second Congressional, which covers the northern portion of the state, includes the district that McKinley currently serves.
McKinley voted and helped to pass the Democrats’ infrastructure bill, while Mooney voted against it, as Breitbart News previously noted. McKinley proclaimed the legislation “is good for West Virginia,” adding that his vote to pass the bill “is not a vote for anyone but West Virginia.”
In a political advertisement released this year, Mooney slammed McKinley, asserting he betrayed West Virginians by voting for the “trillion-dollar spending spree” that was the infrastructure package. He also ripped his opponent for “voting for the January 6 anti-Trump witch-hunt to attack our president and our values.” Mooney will face Democrat challenger Barry Wendell in November’s general election.
“Donald Trump loves West Virginia, and West Virginia loves Donald Trump,” said Mooney during his victory speech, the Associated Press noted.
Rep. Carol Miller, who currently represents West Virginia’s Third Congressional District and received an endorsement from Trump, secured the Republican nomination for the state’s First Congressional District. Miller will square off against the uncontested Democrat Candidate Lacy Watson this November in the general election. Watson was a failed Democrat primary candidate for the state’s Third Congressional District in 2020, the AP noted.
“Carol is pro-coal, pro-Second Amendment, and pro-Trump through and through, and is prepared to tackle the opioid epidemic that’s affected countless West Virginians,” Lara Trump, senior adviser to Donald J. Trump for President, Inc., previously said, according to Ballotpedia.
In Nebraska, Trump-backed candidate Rep. Adrian Smith won the Republican primary for Nebraska’s Third Congressional District. Smith, who has held office since 2007, beat out challenger Mike Calhoun handily.
The first snag in the road for a Trump-endorsed candidate occurred in Nebraska’s gubernatorial race Tuesday as Charles Herbster, a wealthy agriculture businessman, lost his bid for the GOP’s nomination. Herbster, who was present for the launch of Trump’s presidential campaign in 2015, lost to Jim Pillen, who is a wealthy agriculture business himself and currently serves Nebraska’s Third District on the Board of Regents. The race also included Brett Lindstrom, who campaigned as the most moderate candidate in the field.