Bloomberg, May 2021
Donald Trump could hurt Republicans’ chances of regaining control of Congress in the 2022 midterms, just by endorsing the candidates working so hard to win his backing. The former president is studying races and plans to bestow his superlative-laden endorsements around the country in many 2022 primary or general election contests for the U.S. House, Senate and governorships, according to a person familiar with his thinking.
While those nods can still be the golden ticket in a Republican primary and solidly GOP districts, they also can energize independents and Democrats who don’t like Trump in competitive districts — risking defeat for Republican candidates in the general election and with it possible control of the House, according to studies of the 2018 and 2020 campaigns.
History is on the Republicans’ side. Midterm elections generally favor the party out of power and redistricting is expected to change district lines in a way that gives the GOP an advantage. Republican leaders in the House obeyed Trump’s wishes by ousting their No. 3 leader, Representative Liz Cheney of Wyoming, on Wednesday for repudiating his false claims of a stolen election. His anti-endorsement of Cheney means he is looking for a primary candidate to wreck her 2022 re-election bid. ”Almost everyone in the Republican Party, including 90% of Wyoming, looks forward to her ouster — and that includes me!” he said in a statement Wednesday.
