NEW YORK — Donald Trump 's post-presidency enters a new phase this month as voters across the U.S. begin weighing the candidates he elevated to pursue a vision of a Republican Party steeped in hard-line populism, culture wars and denial of his loss in the 2020 campaign.
The first test comes on Tuesday when voters in Ohio choose between the Trump-backed JD Vance for an open U.S. Senate seat and several other contenders who spent months clamoring for the former president's support. In the following weeks, elections in Nebraska, Pennsylvania and North Carolina will also serve as a referendum on Trump's ability to shape the future of the GOP.
In nearly every case, Trump has endorsed only those who embrace his false claims of election fraud and excuse the deadly U.S. Capitol insurrection he inspired last year.
"The month of May is going to be a critical window into where we are," said Maryland Republican Gov. Larry Hogan, a Trump critic defending incumbent GOP governors in Georgia, Ohio and Idaho against Trump-backed challengers this month. "I'm just concerned that there are some people trying to tear the party apart or burn it down."
Few states may be a higher priority for Trump than Georgia, where early voting begins on Monday ahead of the May 24 primary. He's taken a particularly active role in the governor's race there, recruiting a former U.S. senator to take on the incumbent Republican for failing to go along with his election lie. For similar reasons, Trump is also...
A video shows the Green Party celebrating an election win in a foreign language. False. This video was posted before the election. It is a Bengali language campaign video posted by the Green Party ...