President Donald Trump‘s overall poll numbers are sliding, but among Republicans, the president’s approval ratings remain sky-high.
Trump’s grip on a Republican Party he reshaped over the past decade remains extremely firm, and his endorsements in GOP primaries are highly influential.
“The Trump endorsement is king in any primary,” longtime Republican strategist and communicator Jesse Hunt told Fox News Digital. Veteran GOP consultant Matt Gorman highlighted that a “Trump endorsement is extremely powerful… it’s an undeniable force.”
So what should a Republican running for re-election who is facing primary challenge from a Trump-backed candidate do to survive?
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In two high-profile cases this year, incumbents fighting for their political lives are trying to make it appear the president is supporting them anyway.
Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana is facing primary challenges from two Republicans in next month’s primary: Rep. Julia Letlow and former Rep. John Fleming, who is currently the state treasurer. Trump earlier this year weighed into the race by endorsing Letlow.
Cassidy was one of only seven Senate Republicans who voted in early 2021 to convict Trump after he was impeached by the House for his role in the violent Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol by supporters who aimed to upend congressional certification of former President Joe Biden’s 2020 election victory. Trump was acquitted by the Senate.
But since the start of Trump’s second term 15 months ago, Cassidy has been supportive of the president’s agenda and his nominees.
In his first campaign commercial after Trump endorsed Letlow, Cassidy, a doctor, highlighted a bill he authored that passed into law and increases penalties for criminals convicted of manufacturing and distributing fentanyl.
“President Trump said it was the most important legislation he would sign this year,” the senator said in the spot under pictures of Trump.
In another spot, the narrator highlights that “Cassidy worked with President Trump to pass tax cuts,” under pictures of the president and the senator and the words “Trump & Cassidy” repeatedly flashing on the screen.
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In Kentucky’s 4th Congressional District, Rep. Thomas Massie is facing a challenge from Trump-backed Ed Gallrein in next month’s primary.
Massie has long been one of Trump’s most vocal GOP critics in Congress, repeatedly taking aim at the president over the Epstein files and foreign policy.
Trump allies have spent big bucks to boost Gallrein, a former Navy SEAL, and to take aim at Massie.
Massie spotlighted an old picture of himself and Trump smiling together at the top of a campaign ad last month.
In Texas, longtime GOP Sen. John Cornyn is fighting for his political life as he faces off in a late May primary runoff election against state Attorney General John Paxton, who is a MAGA firebrand and major Trump supporter.
While Trump has stayed neutral in the showdown between the two Texas Republican titans, Cornyn has repeatedly spotlighted his support for Trump in his statements and on the campaign trail. He has also figuratively hugged the president tight in his ads.
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The narrator in a recent spot noted that Cornyn “had his back” as it showed a picture of Trump and the senator standing next to each other giving the thumbs up sign.
“We’re especially grateful to your wonderful senators,” Trump says in an old clip used in the ad, as the president referred to Cornyn and fellow Republican Sen. Ted Cruz.
While Cornyn’s ads aren’t a total stretch, since neither he nor Paxton has landed Trump’s endorsement, the messaging from Cassidy and Massie does not mention that their rivals are backed by the president.
Hunt warns that could backfire by earning Trump’s wrath.
“If you haven’t earned it but portray as though you have, it could be the end of your campaign,” Hunt said. “That’s if the President decides to take issue with it.”
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