SINGAPORE: Former United States president Donald Trump could lose some influence in the Republican Party in his bid to return to the White House after the candidate he endorsed for the Georgia Senate seat lost in a fierce run-off election, observers said on Wednesday. Herschel Walker was defeated by incumbent Democrat Raphael Warnock in the final undecided contest of the midterm elections.
It would now be harder for Mr Trump, who faces scrutiny from within the GOP, to get party leaders and donors to back him and mount a successful campaign in the 2024 presidential race.
This has not been a good election season for Trump, said Professor William Howell, the Sydney Stein professor of American politics at the University of Chicago. Herschel Walker was handpicked by Trump to run in a state that is decidedly Republican. If he is unable to get his handpicked candidate elected in such a state, it's going to speak to a lot of people's concerns about the kind of clout he has or lack of clout within the larger electorate he told CNA s Asia First.
He's likely to lose some influence within the party on the basis of that. The announcement to run again for the White House came a week after the midterms, where candidates he backed didn't perform well in competitive races. They included people with little political experience.