President Donald Trump is slumping in the polls, hitting his all-time worst approval rating as the Iran war drags on and gas prices soar.
Yet Trump’s stranglehold on the already red South is growing ever tighter. Just look at what’s unfolded during the last month.
— Incumbent GOP Sen. Bill Cassidy (La.) failed to even make the runoff in the Bayou State’s Senate GOP primary, finishing a distant third behind his Republican challengers. Cassidy’s sin: voting to convict Trump in the 2021 Senate impeachment trial following the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.
Cassidy spent millions of dollars trying to convince Louisiana Republican voters that he was on Trump’s side. But Trump, seeking revenge on Cassidy, backed GOP Rep. Julia Letlow, who finished first in Saturday’s primary (although she missed getting more than 50% and winning outright). Letlow now will face former GOP Rep. John Fleming in the June 27 runoff.
— Trump and top Republican officials have pressured GOP governors to redistrict following the Supreme Court’s April 29th Callais decision, which gutted Section Two of the Voting Rights Act. This could result in Republicans picking up as many as four Democratic-held seats in Alabama, Louisiana, Tennessee and South Carolina.
Tennessee Republican Gov. Bill Lee called a special session of the Volunteer State legislature after speaking with Trump. The result — Democratic Rep. Steve Cohen’s district was redrawn to be more red, and the veteran lawmaker announced his retirement. Tennessee’s House delegation in the next Congress will include seven Republicans and no Democrats.
— Florida gets redder. GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis, who wants to succeed Trump in the Oval Office, redrew the Sunshine State’s congressional map to give Republicans a chance to pick up as many as four House seats. Democrats think they can win one or more of these seats in what should be a good year for them, but it’ll cost a lot of money.
— Trump wants very badly to defeat GOP Rep. Thomas Massie (Ky.), who voted against the One Big Beautiful Bill and a host of other presidential initiatives. Trump has endorsed Ed Gallrein, a former Navy SEAL officer who says he’ll vote with the president all the time.
It’s gotten exceptionally ugly in Kentucky’s May 19 primary. Trump allies are accusing Massie of being “a Nazi” tied to white supremacists and Holocaust deniers. Pro-Israel groups are spending very heavily here against Massie, who has responded by offering legislation requiring anyone lobbying on behalf of AIPAC to register as foreign agents with the Justice Department.
“VOTE FOR ED GALLREIN, AND WIPE AWAY THE STENCH OF ONE OF THE WORST CONGRESSMEN IN THE HISTORY OF OUR GREAT PARTY, THOMAS MASSIE,” Trump declared on Saturday.
Even supporting Massie can be politically dangerous for Republicans. Trump has threatened to back a primary challenge to Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) because she campaigned on Massie’s behalf.
