Commentary: Trump Tightens Grasp over GOP

Trump Crowd

Former President Trump continued his romp through the Republican primary, easily winning all but one Super Tuesday contest and demonstrating a dominance so absolute that his stacked victories now seem nearly routine.

“We want to have unity,” Trump told a crowd gathered at Mar-a-Lago, “and we’re going to have unity, and it’s going to happen very quickly.” On the eve of perhaps the greatest political comeback in modern American history, his remarks were relatively subdued by his standards. He never mentioned his former UN ambassador, Nikki Haley, almost as if the competition did not exist and a third nomination was guaranteed all along.

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Commentary: Trump Makes History by Winning Both Iowa and New Hampshire Primaries

Trump NH

Former President Donald Trump easily won the New Hampshire primary against rival former South Carolina Republican Gov. Nikki Haley with a record number of votes for the contest, 166,000 and counting with 92 percent of precincts reporting, and the third highest percentage total, 54.6 percent, for a Republican in a competitive primary after Richard Nixon’s 78 percent in 1968 and Dwight Eisenhower’s 56 percent in 1952.

The margin, Trump’s 54.6 percent to Haley’s 43.3 percent, was an 11-point rout leaving little doubt about Trump’s dominant position in the race, continuing to display all the elements of the incumbency advantage even though he is not in the White House.

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Former U.S. Rep. Bob Gibbs Endorses Kevin Coughlin’s Bid for Ohio’s 13th Congressional District

Former Ohio U.S. Representative Bob Gibbs endorsed Kevin Coughlin’s campaign for Ohio’s 13th Congressional District this week.

“I served with Kevin Coughlin in the Ohio Senate. He is a proven, dependable conservative who can be counted on in Congress to stand up for taxpayers. Kevin knows how to get things done and will quickly become an effective voice for the 13th District,” Gibbs said in a statement.

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Trump Up 39 Points in New Hampshire: Poll

Former President Donald Trump holds a commanding lead in the battle for a pivotal primary state that could help him stave off the multitude of Republicans seeking to claim the party nomination.

Trump took 49.7% support among New Hampshire likely GOP primary voters in the latest Trafalgar poll. Florida  Gov. Ron DeSantis claimed second place with 10.7% while tech mogul Vivek Ramaswamy came in a close third with 10.4%. Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie took 9.1%, South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott took 7.8%, while former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley took 3.1%.

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Mike Pence Expected to Launch 2024 Presidential Campaign Next Week

Former Vice President Mike Pence is reportedly planning on launching his 2024 presidential campaign next week, setting him up to face off against his old boss, former President Donald Trump, for the Republican nomination.  Pence is likely to launch his campaign on June 7, his birthday, at a rally in Des Moines, Iowa, according to multiple news reports. Later that day, he is scheduled to speak at a CNN town hall at Grand View University.

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Palin Leads Alaska GOP Primary, Will Advance to General Election to Fill Rep. Don Young’s Seat

Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin finished atop the Alaska special Republican congressional primary in early results released Sunday, advancing to the general election in the race to succeed the late Rep. Don Young.

Palin, who was endorsed by former President Donald Trump, finished atop the field of 48 candidates with nearly 30% of the early ballots counted, followed by fellow Republican Nick Begich at 19.3%, surgeon Al Gross, an independent, and Democratic state legislator Mary Peltola at about 7.5%.

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David Perdue Lambastes Brian Kemp in First Georgia Gubernatorial Debate

In the first gubernatorial debate faceoff hold on Sunday, April 24, former U.S. Senator David Perdue hammered his GOP primary opponent, incumbent Georgia Governor Brian Kemp.

During an exchange, Perdue blamed Kemp for failing to secure Georgia’s elections, leading to his 2021 Senate runoff loss. “The only reason I’m not in the United States Senate is because you caved in and gave the election to liberal Democrats in 2020.”

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Morgan Ortagus Campaign Announces She Raised ‘Nearly $600,000’ in First Quarter, But Refuses to Say How Much Was Out-of-State

Candidate for TN-5, Morgan Ortagus’ campaign refuses to answer questions about the nature and source of her campaign fundraising.

In a statement, Morgan Ortagus announced on Monday, April 11 that her campaign raised nearly $600,000 for the January 1 – March 31, 2022 FEC first quarter reporting. Ortagus’ campaign says that records will show the campaign ending the FEC first quarter with over $550,000 cash on hand.

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Dr. Oz Tied for Lead in Pennsylvania GOP Primary: Emerson Poll

Dr. Oz

Television personality Dr. Oz is in a neck-and-neck race for first in the Pennsylvania GOP Senate primary race, according to a new Emerson poll

With 14% support of those polled, Oz ties businessman David McCormick for the lead, with no other candidates garnering over 10% support. Notably, 51% of voters remain undecided, suggesting the primary race remains anyone’s game.

Oz is running to replace retiring GOP Sen. Pat Toomey who served a single term in office after winning his seat in the 2016 election cycle.

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Exclusive: Another National Republican Women’s PAC Endorses Beth Harwell in Race for TN-5

In an exclusive statement provided to The Tennessee Star, VIEWPAC, a Republican women’s political action committee that was founded in 1997, endorsed former Speaker of the Tennessee House of Representatives Beth Harwell in the race for Tennessee’s 5th Congressional District.

VIEWPAC “was created with the goal of electing qualified, serious Republican women to Congress and protecting and increasing the number of Republican women who hold federal office,” the announcement notes.

Harwell said, “I am honored to receive the endorsement of VIEWPAC and to join the ranks of so many other strong Republican women who are standing up and taking America’s future into their own hands. We have to get America back on track and that starts with some Tennessee common sense in Congress.”

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Tennessee Stands Executive Director Gary Humble Announces Run Against Tennessee Senate Republican Leader Jack Johnson in Primary

Gary Humble and Jack Johnson

Tennessee Stands executive director Gary Humble officially announced his run against Tennessee Senate Republican Leader Jack Johnson (R-Franklin) in a primary for SD27.

Humble told The Tennessee Star that he is challenging Johnson because that he is running because of what he says is a lack of true constituent representation and deferral to special interests. “Leadership – I just don’t feel that, in general in our legislature that we have strong leadership representing the people.” he said. What I see in our legislature is there too many bills that are championed by special interests and lobbyists. What I find is rare are legislators that stand up for the people and champion things that are simply in their interest.”

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TN-5 Republican Hopeful David Vitalli Addresses Candidacy, New York Carpetbagger Status

New York native David Vitalli, one of three carpetbagger candidates in the Republican primary for Tennessee’s 5th Congressional District along with Morgan Ortagus and Robby Starbuck, addressed his candidacy and relocation to Tennessee.

“My wife and I fell in love with Tennessee in 2013 and spent a lot of time here. We knew that we would move here as soon as our first visit. I may not be a long-time resident of Tennessee, but I got here as soon as I could. I am invested in Tennessee’s 5th district. My home is here. I operate my business here. I didn’t come here looking for a job or to punch another notch on my move up the D.C. social ladder.” said Vitalli.

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National Conservative Women’s PAC Maggie’s List Endorses Beth Harwell for TN-5

Former Speaker of the Tennessee House Beth Harwell has earned the endorsement of Maggie’s List in the race for Tennessee’s Fifth Congressional District. Maggie’s List is a federal political action committee (PAC) dedicated to electing fiscally conservative women.

In a release, Harwell said of the endorsement, “I’m honored to have the backing of such a prominent group, like Maggie’s List, that’s leading the way to get conservative women elected to Congress. We can restore America’s greatness by securing our border, lowering taxes, and ending the reckless spending that’s causing inflation.”

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GOP Primary for Tennessee’s 5th Congressional District Attracts Another Carpetbagger

Recent New York transplant David M. Vitalli, who told a magazine that he’s a JFK Democrat and will run for President of the United States in 2024, has joined fellow carpetbaggers Morgan Ortagus and Robby Starbuck in the Republican primary for Tennessee’s 5th Congressional District.

Vitalli is listed as collecting petitions for the TN-5 GOP primary by the Tennessee Secretary of State’s office and he has filed FEC paperwork. Twelve other individuals are currently collecting petitions for the TN-5 GOP primary.

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Carpetbagger Morgan Ortagus Dodges Questions from The Tennessee Star: ‘You Need to Stop Being Mean to Me’

The former State Department spokesman and candidate in the GOP primary for Tennessee’s Fifth Congressional district is clearly feeling the pressure of and takes issue with The Tennessee Star’s reporting on her parachute candidacy, telling The Star, “You need to stop being mean to me.” Ortagus did not take questions from The Star about her campaign.

Carpetbagger Morgan Ortagus made her unprompted remark to The Star as several people were milling about the room after a local Republican meeting of the Bellevue Breakfast Club, which took place Saturday morning at Plantation Pub. On several occasions prior to the unprompted remark, Ortagus campaign staff told The Star that she didn’t have time for questions about her campaign. Campaign staff made it clear that they would not allow The Star to ask Ortagus questions about the campaign. If allowed, The Star would have asked if Ortagus has attained residency in the district or not.

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Clermont County Republican Chair Greg Simpson Rescinds Endorsement of Ohio Governor Mike DeWine

Greg Simpson, County Executive and Party Chairman of the Clermont County Republican Party, rescinded his endorsement of Governor Mike DeWine in his re-election bid.

According to a statement obtained by The Ohio Star, Simpson mistakenly offered the endorsement to the incumbent. The Clermont GOP previously passed a resolution asking party leaders to not endorse a specific candidate in the GOP primary.

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Ignore the Man Behind The Curtain: Haslam Conspires to Block Diane Black Endorsement by Trump

In the audio below, conservative political commentator and Tennessee Star Political Editor Steve Gill of The Gill Report, broadcast live on WETR 92.3 FM in Knoxville, called out “Never-Trumper” Bill Haslam for his attempts to block a Trump endorsement for Tennessee’s Diane Black in the Tennessee Governor’s race and whether or not this will entice President Trump to do so. Gill reflected, “We were talking earlier in the show about the possibility of a Trump endorsement of Diane Black. Well now the Knoxville News Sentinel is reporting along with the Nashville Tennessean and Memphis Commercial Appeal that Governor Bill Haslam has said Trump should stay out of the republican primary for Tennessee Governor.” He continued: Now there’s been a few stories that have been done by the New York Times and the Tennessee Star pointing out that Bill Haslam was hoping to block a Trump endorsement of Diane Black. And we exposed that he was actually working behind the scenes to try and block that endorsement. Well now apparently, it’s been confirmed as the Governor has been outed that he is in fact telling people I don’t think it would be helpful for the White House to be in primaries.…

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