In his role as the titular head of the Republican Party, the wins are stacking up for President Trump. Going into this week’s primaries, nearly every Indiana state senator who defied Trump’s push to redraw congressional districts in the Hoosier State found themselves without their own seat. On Saturday, Trump settled another score when Louisiana Sen. Bill Cassidy – who’d sided with the Democrats on impeachment – lost his primary election. Tuesday’s elections notched yet more payback.
“I want to thank President Trump for his support, his endorsement, and his counsel as I navigated this campaign, which is a journey of unto itself, and for his courageous leadership of our nation at this critical time,” is how Ed Gallrein opened his Tuesday night victory speech after ousting Trump nemesis Thomas Massie.
A former Navy SEAL, Gallrein had little previous name recognition in the state, no experience in public office, and ran in what became the most expensive congressional primary in the country to date. He credited his win to one not-so-secret weapon: “Thank you, Mr. President.”
In the past week, Trump endorsed 34 candidates. He deployed Vice President JD Vance to Iowa earlier this month to stump for candidates and sent Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to Kentucky to promote Gallrein over Massie, a seven-term incumbent. Gallrein won by nearly 10 percentage points.
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