Nasty N.C. Senate primary tests Trump's sway over the GQP

Donald Trump has endorsed conservative Rep. Ted Budd in North Carolina’s critical Senate race, the former president's first foray into an open primary in a battleground. That state's retiring Republican senator has other ideas.

Sen. Richard Burr praised North Carolina's former GOP governor, Pat McCrory, as “the only one in the race that can win the general election" for the seat Burr is vacating. “Pat McCrory has a commanding advantage," Burr added.

Behind the scenes, Burr is even less subtle about next year's Senate battle. One Republican senator said Burr is “telling everyone that McCrory is the only one that has a chance to win.” And the laid-back incumbent, who voted to convict Trump of inciting an insurrection in February, also appeared puzzled by the former president's decision-making in North Carolina.

“I can’t tell you what motivates him," Burr said of Trump. "I’ve never seen individuals endorse a candidate a year before the primary. That’s unusual.”

As Democratic Washington becomes consumed with the challenges of enacting President Joe Biden’s agenda, Republican politics still revolve around Trump. But the open question is how long Trump's dominance will last: Budd’s internal poll released after the former president’s endorsement showed him lagging badly behind McCrory. Trump has lost his Twitter megaphone and the round-the-clock news coverage he had as president, potentially hamstringing the effectiveness of his seal of approval.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/nasty-nc-senate-primary-tests-trumps-sway-over-the-gop/ar-AALgqJm