- Trump is considering putting a pause on endorsing GOP primary candidates, CNN reports.
- Some of Trump's biggest endorsements have lost or underperformed expectations.
- "This is not how he expected this to go," a Trump adviser told CNN of Dr. Oz's razor-thin race.
President Donald Trump is considering taking a hiatus from endorsing Republican primary candidates following some high-profile stumbles for his picks, CNN reports.
Trump bet big on several candidates in competitive races in the 2022 midterms, hoping to wield considerable influence in Republican primaries. And Trump's endorsed candidates for federal and state offices have won 63.5% of the vote, on average, so far in 2022, an Insider analysis found.
But Trump, who touted his endorsement record as a badge of honor, has seen some setbacks.
The former president's pick for Senate in Pennsylvania, celebrity doctor Mehmet Oz, is locked in a still-t00-close-to-call primary after Trump's first pick, Sean Parnell, dropped out after losing custody of his children. Trump's rubber stamp also failed to save embattled Rep. Madison Cawthorn, the first of his endorsed House candidates to lose in 2022, according to Insider.
Just 0.09 percentage points separate Oz from David McCormick as of Friday, meaning the race is almost certainly headed to a recount as Oz has resisted Trump's calls to declare victory.
One source close to Trump told CNN he has "burned a lot of bridges" by backing Oz, which went against his former close aides Stephen Miller and Hope Hicks who had supported McCormick.
"This is not how he expected this to go," a Trump adviser told CNN of Oz's razor-thin race. "If Oz loses, it puts him in an awkward spot because he absolutely trashed David McCormick at his rally and pissed off quite a few allies who never thought he should have endorsed Oz."
Trump boasted another win with the victory of state Sen. Doug Mastriano, an additional endorsement that roiled some Pennsylvania Republicans due to the candidate's extreme views. Critics also cite Mastriano's role in trying to overturn Trump's 2020 election loss in the state, which they worry could jeopardize the party's chances of flipping the governorship.
But Trimp's endorsed candidate for governor in Nebraska, Charles Herbster, lost an open primary to replace Gov. Pete Ricketts. Trump-endorsed Idaho Lt. Gov. Janice McEachin challenged the incumbent Gov. Brad Little and lost badly by 20 points. And Trump's pick to challenge Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, former Sen. David Perdue, appears to be on track for at least a loss and a potential clobbering.
Perdue has struggled to match Kemp in campaign spending, and Trump hasn't parachuted in to help him. NBC News reported that Trump is frustrated by Perdue's performance and is pulling back support.
The latest poll of the race, conducted by Fox News, showed Kemp leading Perdue by 32% among likely Republican primary voters.
Perdue acknowledged the numbers, telling NBC News on Friday: "We may not win Tuesday, but I can damn guarantee you that we are not down 30 points."
"Georgia will be an absolute bloodbath. My guess is that will have the biggest effect on the endorsement process," a Trump official told CNN.
Four more of Trump's endorsed candidates for state-level offices are headed to runoffs, including embattled Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who will face George P. Bush in a May 24 runoff election.
Oz, Perdue, or both faltering could make Trump less likely to endorse candidates in upcoming, competitive GOP Senate primaries in Arizona and Missouri set for August, sources told CNN.
Trump's pick for Senate in Ohio, JD Vance, won out in a crowded GOP primary thanks in part to lots of financial backing from billionaire Peter Thiel. But in Arizona, Trump has not yet endorsed another Thiel-backed candidate, Blake Masters, in the GOP primary to take on Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly.
And in Missouri, Trump has leaned toward endorsing but has not backed former Gov. Eric Greitens, who resigned from office amid multiple scandals in 2018, in a crowded primary to replace retiring Sen. Roy Blunt that also includes Attorney General Eric Schmidtt, Rep. Vicky Hartzler, and Rep. Billy Long.
"He does not want August to be a repeat of May," a Trump adviser told CNN.