Power of a Trump endorsement facing a crucial test this week after midterm debacle

Six months after the Republican Party's "red wave" failed to materialize during the midterm election — in large part because GOP candidates endorsed by Donald Trump flopped with voters — attention will be paid to the results of a GOP primary in Kentucky this Tuesday.

At issue is the former president's endorsement of Kentucky's Attorney General Daniel Cameron who is battling with Kelly Craft, who served as Trump's UN ambassador from 2019 to 2021, to face incumbent Governor Andy Beshear (D) in the general election.

According to a report from Newsweek, the former president may be the leading contender for the GOP's 2024 presidential nomination but there are once again doubts whether his popularity with the GOP base will rub off on candidates he has endorsed.

As the report notes, Cameron has been the leading candidate but the race is tightening as Craft surges.

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Recalling that in 2022 GOP candidates sought "Trump's endorsement during the primaries, hoping his support would draw his conservative voter base to their campaigns," Newsweek's Andrew Stanton added, "However, many of these candidates in key races struggled to win support from moderate voters, who turned against Trump since he first took office—delivering stronger-than-expected results for Democrats in November."

The report adds that "Cameron started the campaign as the clear frontrunner, leading every early poll by a wide margin," but now, in a new poll, Craft has pulled within six points in a race where there are no clear favorites, with the poll showing, "Roughly 25 percent said they would back another candidate, and 21 percent said they remained undecided."

Newsweek's Stanton added, "Questions about whether Trump's influence among Republican voters diminishing arose following the midterms, as some conservatives called to move on from him after an underwhelming election. However, Trump remains the frontrunner in the Republican presidential primary, with his polling increasing in the weeks since his indictment in March."

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