If there's anything Donald Trump loves more than attention, it's fawning attention. The four leading Republicans in the Ohio U.S. Senate primary are providing the former president with a huge, steady diet and he's loving it as much as a Big Mac.
Trump, who maintains that his "total and complete endorsement" is an ironclad assurance of a candidate's success, has yet to throw his weight behind any of the candidates. As the Daily Beast reports, "The four leading Republicans running for Ohio’s U.S. Senate seat, being vacated by retiring Sen. Rob Portman, have spent the last year in a relentless contest to out-Trump and out-sycophant each other. With weeks to go before the primary, the race has become one of the most shamelessly MAGA contests in the country."
The former president — whose interest in the state this year is so great that he has meetings devoted to, or touching on, the Ohio race nearly every week — is “really enjoying how everyone is trying to suck his d---” in the Buckeye State primary, according to a Daily Beast source who has repeatedly spoken to Trump about that race in recent months.
One reason Trump has yet to make an endorsement is that he's waiting to see who rises to the top of the polls so that he doesn't end up backing a loser. "Backing the wrong horse in such a high-profile race could make his brand look that much weaker and threaten his hold on the GOP ahead of a likely 2024 presidential run," the Daily Beast reports.
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Also complicating Trump's decision: all of the GOP candidates have anti-Trump related baggage in their histories. In the past, having made unflattering comments about Trump has meant automatic disqualification for receiving his endorsement.
