(CNN)Former President Donald Trump's ability to pick winning candidates will be put to the test as the primary calendar kicks into high gear this month with a series of contentious contests starting Tuesday in Ohio.

Most of this month's GOP candidates have tried to appeal to Trump during their campaigns, which is already a victory for the former President. But clearing the field and sailing toward a potential 2024 White House bid will hinge in part on his capacity to prove that he remains the unrivaled kingmaker of the GOP.

The Ohio GOP Senate contest is a prime example of how genuflection to the former President is driving the debate in many Republican primaries throughout the country. Trump upended what was already a topsy-turvy race by backing J.D. Vance, the "Hillbilly Elegy" author and onetime Trump critic, who has since recanted. But even after Trump threw his weight behind Vance -- describing him as "a warrior" against what the former President falsely calls the "rigged and stolen presidential election" -- several of Vance's Republican rivals have clamored to prove they are more aligned with Trump's values.

That's been a common dynamic throughout many of the contests holding primaries this month. Fealty to Trump will play a major role in a US House race in West Virginia the following week when the Trump-backed candidate, Rep. Alex Mooney, will face GOP Rep. David McKinley in the first incumbent-versus-incumbent primary of the cycle. Mooney endeared himself to Trump...

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