Endorsements typically don’t influence voters’ decision making.
However, that hasn’t been the case with endorsements from former President Donald Trump – the most valuable endorsement in all of politics when it comes to GOP primaries.
But this one MAGA candidate for Governor in a battleground state is actually asking Trump not to endorse him.
The one endorsement that matters
So far in the 2022 Midterm election cycle, former President Donald Trump has a primary endorsement record of 137-10.
That’s a whopping 93% winning record.
While Big Media likes to focus on the loss of David Perdue in the Georgia Governor’s race to point to Trump’s supposed “waning power” within the Republican Party.
They ignore the empirical evidence of the above-mentioned winning percentage.
They also conveniently look past the anecdotal stories of J.D. Vance in Ohio, who went from fledgling contender in a crowded field to U.S. Senate nominee following an endorsement from the 45th President of the United States.
Or Blake Masters, who shot up past his two primary rivals to become the frontrunner in Arizona’s U.S. Senate race.
Or Ted Budd who knocked off a former Governor to win the Senate nomination in North Carolina.
And just days ago, in the race to replace term-limited Gov. Larry Hogan in Maryland, Trump-endorsed candidate Dan Cox defeated Hogan’s hand-picked successor Kelly Schulz, by Trump simply posting on Truth Social that Hogan is a RINO.
Republican candidates all over the country continue to vie for the former President’s backing.
Who is most MAGA in Michigan?
Including in Michigan, where the remaining GOP field in the Governor’s contest all are trying to “out-Trump” each other.
Businesswoman Tudor Dixon is backed by the DeVos Family and hopes Trump will follow his former Secretary of Education with an endorsement.
Auto industry businessman Kevin Rinke also is working to gain Trump’s support.
And small business owner Garrett Soldano is running a MAGA-type campaign as well.
However, Soldano has come out and asked the former President to “stay out” of the primary election, warning the former President that “the grassroots will be extremely, extremely unhappy” if he endorses “the establishment-backed” candidate.
“We want President Trump to stay out of this race to allow these great candidates to duke it out, and then allow ‘we the people’ to determine who we want to have represent us in our own party,” Soldano said in the livestream.
Who is the establishment-backed candidate Soldano is speaking of?
Tudor Dixon is endorsed by the Michigan Chamber of Commerce.
Dixon has also raked up tons of endorsements from sitting state legislators.
And the DeVos family name has a long history in Michigan.
In a Facebook live message to Trump, Soldano said, “the DeVos empire has basically abandoned you, sir.”
Betsy DeVos criticized Trump and resigned from his administration following Jan. 6 protests at the U.S. Capitol.
Rinke has also criticized Dixon as being “bankrolled by liberals, Never-Trumpers, and America’s betrayers.”
Dixon is firing back at her opponents, calling them “candidates who are failing to gain traction” and who are now trying to “weaponize” a potential Trump endorsement.
“It is sad to see a candidate attempt to manipulate President Trump,” Dixon said. “Desperate times call for desperate measures from desperate campaigns.”
To endorse or not to endorse
For his part, while it is tough to argue with Trump’s winning record with endorsements, some of the candidates he’s selected have raised eyebrows.
Chief among them would be Dr. Mehmet Oz in Pennsylvania – who even after eking out a primary victory in his Senate race, is still struggling to connect with America First voters in the Keystone State.
The Michigan primary will be held on August 2.
The winner will take on incumbent Democrat Governor Gretchen Whitmer.
