Yeah, yeah, I know.
We just had an election
in Greensboro last month,
but there's another election coming up.
If you're feeling a little voter fatigue,
well, that's because some voters have had
three elections in a six month period.
The next election, of course,
is the general election.
It's less than three months away.
Races you'll see include both state and
US representatives and senators as well.
Arguably, one of the biggest races
here in North Carolina is the US
Senate race Democrat Sherry Beasley and
Republican Ted Budd are competing for
the current Senator Richard Burrs seat.
The one thing I said is the
race that's going to be going
into the night is McCrory bud,
and we knew it by 8:30.
You know, I didn't see that coming out.
I thought Bud would win,
but I sure didn't think
he was going to get 58%.
Product primary wasn't a huge shock,
as you just heard.
Bud Buds Win was a little
bit more surprising there.
So these are the three people that
you're looking at on the screen right now.
Bud was up against former
governor Pat McCrory and former
US representative Mark Walker.
What he had that the other candidates
didn't was a high profile endorsement,
but is not shying away from the
Trump endorsement. And it's going
to be if you look at his website.
Tagline is Trump endorsed candidate.
And with that,
for the rest of this half hour,
we're digging into former President
Donald Trump's endorsements,
what it means for the Republican Party,
what it means for our state
and national elections.
Tom Little is our expert.
We interviewed him at length.
We'll be dividing that up as
we go along. Along with Tom Little,
we have other resources as well.
Ballotpedia says that Trump endorsed
235 candidates in regular elections.
So far, 183 of his candidates
have won those seats.
80% of his endorsements have won
if they're in a competitive ratio,
it's about 95% because half the time
he endorsed people with no opponent
or an opponent with no chance.
But there are instances where Trump's
endorsements have lost the seat.
17 of his candidates did not succeed,
and little says part of the reason is
who won the elections in the past.
The power of incumbency,
the other places where he's failed,
you know, trying to to get rid of
Idaho governor Little Brad little,
I'm trying to think other incumbents
that he tried to go after, you know,
the power of incumbency still pretty strong.
But the power of incumbency does
not hold strong for everyone.
We saw it here in North Carolina
with the Trump backed candidate
Madison Cawthorne in the North
Carolina District, 11 U.S.
House race. Overall, though,
Trump's candidates are successful.
The concept of someone in his
position even making these kinds of
endorsements is not something that
any of us really have ever seen.
This is something that,
at least in my memory,
is unheard of. Normally,
when a candidate loses for President,
they sort of fade into the background.
But the difference here is Trump
has convinced about half the
Republicans that he didn't lose.
So in their mind he's not a loser.
Little says Donald Trump has dramatically
changed the Republican Party.
One place we can see such a
big change is in Wyoming.
Incumbent Congresswoman Liz Cheney,
a more traditional Republican with
a strong Republican lineage's
loss to a Trump endorsement.
You know there's not much you can do
there in the state of of Wyoming.
I mean, I'm still shocked
that she lost by 33 points.
Not not shocked that she lost,
but it's really a sad state
statement about our politics.
When somebody who's given that
much and has a family name like she
does in Wyoming loses by 30 points.
Cheney was defiant in her defeat.
She warned voters that they're embracing
a former President Trump in his lies
is a threat to democracy itself.
Now she weighs a run for
the White House in 2024.
This primary election is over,
but now the real work begins.
Moments after conceding in one
of this summer's marquee races,
Congresswoman Liz Cheney took the
stage at dusk with her father,
former Vice President Dick Cheney,
looking on and outlined her next mission.
I will do whatever it takes to ensure
Donald Trump is never again anywhere
near the Oval Office. And I mean
it. Janey quickly moved to set up
a new political action committee,
explicitly focused on stopping Trump,
whom she sees as a threat to democracy
due to the way he has convinced.
For Republicans to echo his baseless
claim that the 2020 election was stolen,
she also did not rule out a
possible run for president in 2024.
Abraham Lincoln was defeated in elections
for the Senate and the House before he
won the most important election of all,
while Cheney has a national
profile and fundraising base,
her ambitions for a revival of
traditional Republican politics
face a stark political reality.
The GOP here in Wyoming.
And in most red states
remains the party of Trump.
Chaney's Trump backed challenger Harriet
Hageman beat Cheney in a route we
are no longer going to tolerate.
Representatives who don't represent us
in a statement Trump crowed about her defeat,
saying Cheney can now finally disappear
into the depths of political oblivion.
She is now the 8th House Republican who
supported Trump's impeachment following
the Capitol attack to be heading for
the exits after this term meanwhile.
Election deniers across the country are
gaining traction inside the Republican Party,
and here in Wyoming last night,
the Republican nominated for Secretary
of State is someone who has made
repeated and baseless claims about the
2020 election being stolen from Trump.
Robert Costa, CBS News, Jackson, Wyoming.
All the elections with Trump endorsements,
we've seen so far have been primary races,
so it's Trump's Republican candidates
up against other Republican candidates.
Now we have to wait and see
how things will play out.
Then these Trump endorsements are
up against Democratic candidates.
What I wonder,
and I wonder this nationwide.
In the cases where Trump endorsed
candidates won the primary,
what are the other Republican,
the quote, UN quote establishment
Republicans going to do?
Are they going to go ahead and
line up behind that candidate?
Are they going to stay home?
Here in North Carolina we have
a kind of different situation.
Ted Budd was not only endorsed by Trump,
but also club for growth.
That's a conservative organization
focused on cutting taxes and
other economic policy issues.
But even with the establishment endorsement,
little says Budds Trump endorsement could
impact some Republican voters decisions.
Now some will actually jump.
Some may jump to Sherry Beasley,
but even if they stay home,
those are boats that he might need.
Again, WFMZ News 2 spoke to
Tom Little for over 15 minutes.
He gave us his prediction for the
North Carolina Senate race as well.
You can find out who he thinks will
win and watch the complete interview
on WFY News two.com just search.
Dig in to it WFMZ News 2 at 6 is next.