Republican Party Presidential Primaries
First place by first-instance vote
| Donald Trump |
Presidential primaries and caucuses of the Republican Party took place in many U.S. states, the District of Columbia, and five U.S. territories from February 3 to August 11, 2020, to elect most of the 2,550 delegates to send to the Republican National Convention. Delegates to the national convention in other states were elected by the respective state party organizations. The delegates to the national convention voted on the first ballot to select Donald Trump as the Republican Party’s presidential nominee for president of the United States in the 2020 election, and selected Mike Pence as the vice-presidential nominee.
President Donald Trump informally launched his bid for reelection on February 18, 2017. He launched his reelection campaign earlier in his presidency than any of his predecessors did. He was followed by former governor of MassachusettsBill Weld, who announced his campaign on April 15, 2019, and former Illinois congressmanJoe Walsh, who declared his candidacy on August 25, 2019. Former governor of South Carolina and U.S. representative launched a primary challenge on September 8, 2019. In addition, businessman Rocky De La Fuente entered the race on May 16, 2019, but was not widely recognized as a major candidate.
Where Republican Voters Stand
Georgia Rep. Jody Hice speaks during a rally last September as former President Donald Trump looks on. Trump endorsed Hice, who falsely believes fraud tainted the 2020 election, in the Georgia secretary of state race, but Hice was defeated.
Sean Rayford / Getty Images
Even though polling data indicates a majority of Republican voters still believe fraud impacted the 2020 election, primary results this year suggest a more complicated picture, as a number of prominent election deniers have lost races running against more moderate candidates who did not spread misinformation about the 2020 results.
Overall, in contests held before August, States United found that election deniers have actually lost more GOP primary contests than they’ve won in races for governor, attorney general and secretary of state.
That includes in Georgia, which saw Trump-endorsed Rep. Jody Hice lose in the Republican primary for secretary of state to incumbent Brad Raffensperger, who has spent the past two years arguing that the 2020 election was free and fair.
Also notable was Colorado, where election denial hero and Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters, who is facing charges for allegedly tampering with election equipment, lost in her bid for the Republican nomination for secretary of state.
Peters finished second, and the winner, former Jefferson County Clerk Pam Anderson, told Colorado Public Radio that it was a sign that voters want professionals elected to these sorts of offices.
Attempts To Delay Or Deny Election Results
Republican reactions to Donald Trump’s claims of 2020 election fraudTexas v. Pennsylvaniaamicus curiae
In November, Trump focused his efforts on trying to delay vote certifications at the county and state level. On December 2, Trump posted a 46-minute video to his social media in which he repeated his baseless claims that the election was “rigged” and fraudulent and called for either the state legislatures or the courts to overturn the results of the election and allow him to stay in office. He continued to apply pressure to elected Republicans in Michigan, Georgia, and Pennsylvania in an unprecedented attempt to overturn the election result. Some commentators have characterized Trump’s actions as an attempted coup d’état or self-coup.
On December 15, the day after the electoral college vote, Republican Senate Majority leader Mitch McConnell, who was previously among those who would not recognize the election results, publicly accepted Biden’s win, saying, “Today, I want to congratulate President-elect Joe Biden.”
In a December 21 news conference, outgoing Attorney General William Barr disavowed several actions reportedly being considered by Trump, including seizing voting machines, appointing a special counsel to investigate voter fraud, and appointing one to investigate Hunter Biden.
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Gsa Delays Certifying Biden As President
Although all major media outlets called the election for Biden on November 7, the head of the General Services Administration , Trump appointee Emily W. Murphy, refused for over two weeks to certify Biden as the president-elect. Without formal GSA certification or “ascertainment” of the winner of the election, the official transition process was delayed. On November 23, Murphy acknowledged Biden as the winner and said the Trump administration would begin the formal transition process. Trump said he had instructed his administration to “do what needs to be done” but did not concede, and indicated he intended to continue his fight to overturn the election results.
Georgia Primaries Will Test Trump’s Revenge Campaign Against Gop Incumbents
Former President Donald Trump will face his biggest test yet of the midterm primary season Tuesday, when two candidates he is backing in Georgia go up against Republican incumbents who rejected Trump’s efforts to overturn the state’s 2020 election results.
Trump has already played a central role in some of the early Republican nominating contests this year, turning races in Pennsylvania and other states into a referendum on his popularity in the Republican Party.
But the former president has arguably more at stake in Georgia than in any other state that has voted so far.
Trump went to great lengths in Georgia to try to overturn the 2020 election results, prompting prosecutors last year to launch a criminal investigation into his actions. Earlier this month, a special grand jury was selected to determine whether Trump should be charged with illegally interfering in Georgia’s election in 2020.
The former president has also leveled some of his harshest personal attacks on the state’s two Republican officials Governor Brian Kemp and Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger who blocked his attempt to claim a victory over President Joe Biden in the state.
“Georgia is very personal for Trump,” said Jay Williams, a prominent Republican political consultant in the state.
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Biden And Trump Backers Priorities Expectations About Voter Access
Trump supporters overwhelmingly say it is very important that ineligible voters are prevented from casting ballots in the presidential election, yet far fewer are confident that this will happen: 93% say it is at least somewhat important , but only about a third say they are confident that ineligible voters will be prevented from voting this year.
Among Biden supporters, in contrast, more than eight-in-ten say they are at least somewhat confident that ineligible voters will be prevented from voting modestly larger than the 78% who say this is at least somewhat important.
Conversely, although about three-quarters of Biden voters say they are at least somewhat confident that all voters who are legally qualified and want to vote will be able to cast a ballot, nearly all say it is important that they be able to do so. Among Trump supporters, more than nine-in-ten say both that they are confident that all eligible voters will be able to cast ballots and that this is important .
Among Biden supporters, White voters are somewhat more likely than Black and Hispanic voters to say it is very important that all eligible voters be allowed to vote and are somewhat less likely to say they are very confident that this will be the case .
The Suburban Vote Mattered In Michigan Pennsylvania And Wisconsin
The three northern battleground states of Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsinwhich flipped to Trump in 2016again entered the Democratic fold in 2020. Here, even more than in the national analysis, the 2016 to 2020 suburban shifts to either greater Democratic or smaller Republican support were instrumental in Bidens victory. See Figure 2 and Downloadable Tables A and B.
Michigans swing from Trump to Biden had much to do with shifts in several suburban counties. In these counties, Trumps substantial seven point margin in 2016 changed to an almost even Democratic-Republican split in 2020. Thisalong with greater Democratic gains in urban cores and small metro areasmore than countered Trumps still large nonmetropolitan margins. The near erasure of Trumps 91,000 suburban vote lead from 2016 played an important part in his Michigan defeat.
Noteworthy shifts in Michigan came from counties in the Detroit suburbs, including Oakland County , and Macomb and Livingston counties, which registered smaller Trump vote advantages than in the last election. Counties in smaller metropolitan areasincluding Grand Rapids, Lansing, Ann Arbor, and Kalamazooalso showed greater Democratic or lower Republican support.
Pennsylvania was a closer win for Biden. Here, he depended heavily on lower Republican margins in suburban and small metro areas than in 2016. This, along with strong support from urban cores, allowed him to overcome continued Trump strength in rural areas.
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List Of Republicans Who Opposed The Donald Trump 2020 Presidential Campaign
| This article is part of a series about |
This is a list of Republicans and conservatives who opposed the re-election of incumbent Donald Trump, the 2020 Republican Party nominee for President of the United States. Among them are former Republicans who left the party in 2016 or later due to their opposition to Trump, those who held office as a Republican, Republicans who endorsed a different candidate, and Republican presidential primary election candidates that announced opposition to Trump as the presumptive nominee. Over 70 former senior Republican national security officials and 61 additional senior officials have also signed onto a statement declaring, “We are profoundly concerned about our nation’s security and standing in the world under the leadership of Donald Trump. The President has demonstrated that he is dangerously unfit to serve another term.”
A group of former senior U.S. government officials and conservativesincluding from the Reagan, Bush 41, Bush 43, and Trump administrations have formed The Republican Political Alliance for Integrity and Reform to, “focus on a return to principles-based governing in the post-Trump era.”
A third group of Republicans, Republican Voters Against Trump was launched in May 2020 has collected over 500 testimonials opposing Donald Trump.
Across The Country Republican Primaries Feature Candidates Who Deny Outcome Of 2020 Election
PHOENIX An Arizona lawmaker endorsed by former President Donald Trump who attended the Jan. 6, 2021, rally that preceded the violent assault on the U.S. Capitol and another lawmaker who also believes the 2020 presidential election results should be overturned are among four Republicans vying for the top elections post in the presidential battleground.
Its a trend seen in several Republican primaries this year that has led to mixed results for those who peddle conspiracy theories and promote the falsehood that widespread fraud led to Trumps defeat. Tuesdays primary elections feature similar candidates in Kansas and Washington state.
In Kansas, voters will choose between a challenger who questions the 2020 presidential results and the incumbent Republican who believes the election was secure in his state. Washington states open primary also has a candidate who backs Trumps unsupported claims, although thats not the toughest challenge the Democratic incumbent faces.
So far this year, Republican primary voters have split on whether to put election skeptics on the November ballot.
And Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, who rejected Trumps plea to find enough votes for him to win the state, easily survived a primary challenge to advance in that states May primary.
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Notable Expenditures And Allegations Of Grifting
Trump properties
In June 2018, ProPublica reported that Trump Organization properties had received “at least $16.1 million…from his campaign, Republican organizations, and government agencies” since late 2015. In October 2019, OpenSecrets found that total spending on Trump properties had increased to $16.8 million even when just considering payments made by the Trump campaign and other Republican political campaigns and PACs .
During the first three months of 2017, the Trump 2020 campaign reported spending $6.3 million, of which nearly $500,000 was to companies owned by Trump. In the Trump 2020 campaign’s first two years , it paid more than $890,000 in rent for space in Trump Tower, while the Republican National Committee paid $225,000. As of October 2020, the campaign’s committees had directed more than $17.9 million of campaign donor money to Trump properties, while the Republican National Committee had paid $3.0 million.
Legal and compliance work
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As of March 2019, Trump’s campaign had spent almost twice as much on Facebook and Google ads as the entire Democratic field combined.
Memorabilia
During the first three months of his presidency, his reelection campaign spent more than $4 million on memorabilia.
Money funneled through Brad Parscale
The Five Republicans Who Could Challenge Trump In 2024
Former President Trump has hinted repeatedly that hes weighing another bid for the White House in 2024.
And while hes made clear that, if he does so, the nomination should be his for the taking, he could still face some competition. A number of Republicans have begun maneuvering toward presidential campaigns of their own, some more overtly than others.
Of course, theres a political risk that comes with challenging Trump. But that doesnt appear to be deterring some prospective candidates.
Here are the five Republicans who could challenge Trump for the partys 2024 presidential nod.
Ron DeSantis
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has brushed off suggestions that he will mount a presidential campaign in 2024, saying that his No. 1 priority is winning a second term in the governors mansion.
But he also hasnt explicitly ruled out the possibility, and unlike several other prospective GOP presidential contenders, he hasnt committed to forgoing a White House bid if Trump launches a comeback campaign.
And with his clout among Republicans on the rise, its possible that, if DeSantis ultimately decides to run in 2024, he may not be deterred by the former president.
Early polling shows him as the heavy favorite for the Republican presidential nomination if Trump doesnt run again. There are even a few recent surveys that show him topping Trump in a hypothetical primary match-up.
Mike Pence
Mike Pompeo
Larry Hogan
Ted Cruz
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Business Executives And Leaders
Gen. Chuck Boyd
Candidates Who Did Not Qualify For Either Criteria
Whether they threw their name in the ring late or they’ve struggled to get the support they need, these candidates are still worth keeping an eye on:
- Tom Steyer Hedge fund manager and billionaire who entered the campaign late. Has long campaigned on impeaching Donald Trump and on climate change
- Deval Patrick A former governor of Massachusetts and civil rights lawyer. Hoping to appeal to the same moderate voters being courted by Joe Biden
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Tough Fight In Wisconsin Senate Race
If you take his word for it, Johnson shouldn’t be running. The Wisconsin Republican had pledged to step down after two terms, only to reverse himself this year.
Now, after coasting to victory in his primary Tuesday, Johnson’s reward will be a hard-fought campaign against Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes that could determine the balance of power in the narrowly divided U.S. Senate. It’s also certain to saturate the airwaves as millions of political advertising dollars flood the state.It will be the first time Johnson won’t be running against former Sen. Russ Feingold, the Democrat he ousted from office and defeated again six years later.
He’s also the only Republican senator up for reelection in a state Joe Biden won in 2020.
The matchup offers a study in contrasts. Johnson, 67, is a multimillionaire businessman whose father was a corporate treasurer. At 35, Barnes is close to half his age and the product of a working-class Milwaukee family. He would be the first Black senator from Wisconsin if elected.
Johnson has the former president’s backing. He has also been a major ally.
After the 2020 election, an aide to Johnson told then-Vice President Mike Pence’s staff in a text message that he wanted to hand-deliver to Pence fake elector votes from his state and neighboring Michigan. Pence’s staff rebuffed their request.
