‘Great guy’: Trump endorses Dr Mehmet Oz in Republican primary for Senate race
Donald Trump’s favoured candidates are facing their GOP rivals today in Pennsylvania and North Carolina while elsewhere races are being held in Kentucky, Oregon and Idaho.
In Pennsylvania, the former president has endorsed Dr Mehmet Oz, the celebrity TV doctor who hopes to capture the GOP’s nomination to succeed retiring Republican Senator Pat Toomey.
Dr Oz faces “ultra-Maga” candidate Kathy Barnette, as Oz has notably refused to maintain the former president’s baseless narrative that the 2020 presidential election was stolen from him, while GOP candidates hope to claim a key battleground state that Joe Biden won.
The GOP candidate will face Lt Governor John Fetterman, who was declared winner in the Democratic primary.
Ted Budd, the former president’s pick for the open US Senate seat in North Carolina, has won the GOP primary for a seat currently held by retiring Republican Richard Burr, one of seven GOP senators to vote to convict the former president in his second impeachment trial.
The candidate will face Democrat Cheri Beasley in a general election in November. Ms Beasley would be the first Black woman to represent the state in the Senate (and third Black woman ever elected to the upper chamber), if elected.
Madison Cawthorn, the embattled first-term congressman who has been buried under a heap of scandals in recent months, is also hoping to prevail in the contested primary for North Carolina’s 11th congressional district.
Rewind: Meet Pennsylvania’s anger translator, and Donald Trump’s worst nightmare
John Fetterman, the Democratic nominee for an open US Senate seat in Pennsylvania, spoke with The Independent’s Richard Hall in 2020 in the wake of Joe Biden’s presidential election.
Get to know the state’s 6ft 8in tall tattooed lieutenant governor:
Alex Woodward18 May 2022 02:01
Breaking: John Fetterman wins Democratic nomination for US Senate in Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania’s Lt Governor John Fetterman has won the Democratic nomination for US Senate, beating out Democratic US Rep Conor Lamb to face the Republican nominee in the general election
Fetterman has watched election results from his hopsital bed after undering a pacemaker procedure today following a stroke last week.
Alex Woodward18 May 2022 01:59
Cawthorn slips behind with more than 50 per cent of the vote in
Far-right incumbent Republican congressman Madison Cawthorn, who is backed by Donald Trump following a series of controversies, has roughly 30 per cent of the vote in North Carolina’s 11th congressional district primary, slipping behind Chuck Edwards with 36 per cent, with more than half of ballots counted in the GOP race.
Edwards, a state senator, was appointed in 2016 and won elections that year and in 2018 and 2020. He is endorsed by Republican Senator Thom Tillis.
Alex Woodward18 May 2022 01:51
MSNBC analyst: Cawthorn in ‘serious trouble’
To avoid a runoff election, candidates in North Carolina will need to hit at least 30 per cent. Incumbent Madison Cawthorn, who got Trump’s backing, was trailing in early and absentee votes by roughly 11 points. MSNBC’s Steve Kornacki breaks it down:
Alex Woodward18 May 2022 01:35
Five things to watch in Pennsylvania and North Carolina primaries
The Independent’s Eric Garcia breaks down what you need to know about tonight’s high-profile primary elections in Pennsylvania and North Carolina as results come rolling in:
Alex Woodward18 May 2022 01:30
Breaking: Trump-backed Ted Budd beats former governor McCrory in North Carolina Senate primary
US Rep Ted Budd is the next GOP nominee for the US Senate in North Carolina after swiftly claiming victory in Tuesday’s primary over former Governor Pat McCrory, once one of the state’s most prominent conservatives.
The victory would be a shocking one for the little-known congressman but Mr Budd won the support early on of Donald Trump, virtually guaranteeing his frontrunner status in the race.
Alex Woodward18 May 2022 01:26
Fetterman is leading in Pennsylvania
Elections analyst Dave “I’ve seen enough” Wasserman is projecting Pennsylvania’s Lt Governor John Fetterman winning the Democratic primary for US Senate, beating out US Rep Conor Lamb.
Fetterman spent most of the day in surgery for a pacemaker after suffering a stroke last week.
Alex Woodward18 May 2022 01:21
ICYMI Madison Cawthorn says someone is out to get him – is he right?
Trump urged his supporters to give the North Carolina’s Madison Cawthorn a “second chance” after a slow-drip leak of embarrassing videos and photos of the Republican congressman kept up for several weeks.
The Independent’s John Bowden on the effort to oust him and whether Trump’s support has kept him afloat:
Alex Woodward18 May 2022 01:15
Polls are closing in North Carolina and Pennsylvania
Polls in North Carolina have now closed and polls in Pennsylvania are winding down in primary elections for members of Congress across both states.
Stay tuned with The Independent.
Alex Woodward18 May 2022 01:01
Republican Ted Budd to face Democrat Cheri Beasley in Senate race
Kentucky Democratic candidate Cheri Beasley will face off against Republican Ted Budd in a general election to fill a US Senate seat held by retiring Senator Richard Burr, one of only seven Republican senators who voted to convict Donald Trump following his second impeachment in the wake of the Capitol insurrection.
Alex Woodward18 May 2022 00:58
