As the 2022 midterm elections ramp up, GOP candidates continue to push for support from former President Trump. In many instances, Trump-backed candidates have been successful in the 2022 Republican primaries thus far.
A common line in the sand between who Trump will support and who he will not is whether a candidate is willing to repeat his lies that the 2020 election was rife with fraud.
That includes North Carolina, where Trump is backing Rep. Ted Budd in the state's open U.S. Senate race. Budd voted against certifying Biden’s election victory but has since said Biden is a legitimate president.
In his endorsement of Budd last year, Trump took shots at Pat McCrory, another GOP Senate candidate. “You can’t pick people who have already lost two races and do not stand for our values,” Trump said.
McCrory is a former governor and Charlotte mayor. He lost his first race for governor in 2008, won in 2012, but lost his reelection bid in 2016. He has been critical of Trump’s claims of fraud in the 2020 election.
Mike Collins and our panel of guests discuss Trump’s impact on this race and others across the country, how journalists should be covering Trump during the midterms and how much a Trump endorsement really impacts a candidates' success.
Guests:
Steve Harrison, WFAE political reporter
Domenico Montanaro, NPR senior political editor/correspondent
John Watson, journalism professor at American University
