Why Trump’s preferred candidates keep losing in Georgia

The state of Georgia is putting former President Trump’s grip on the Republican Party to the test.

Trump-backed candidates have faced a handful of setbacks in recent primary races, but nowhere has that been as evident as Georgia. Trump’s revenge-driven push to take down Gov. Brian Kemp (R) and Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger (R) fell short, and his preferred congressional candidates failed to win their runoff races this week.

Overall, six of the president’s eight endorsed candidates in competitive races lost their primaries, with the two exceptions being Senate candidate Herschel Walker and Burt Jones, who is running for lieutenant governor.

Experts say Trump remains popular in the state, and his backing of Walker in particular made a difference in that race, but that his primary setbacks show the limits of his endorsement power and of his singular focus on relitigating the 2020 election.