Presidential candidate Donald Trump has endorsed multiple Missouri candidates on the primary election ballot, including some in the same race. It’s a tactic that the Show Me State is all too familiar with.
Trump has endorsed the top three Republican candidates in Missouri’s race for governor – Mike Kehoe, Jay Ashcroft, and Bill Eigel. He has also endorsed two candidates in the lieutenant governor’s race – Holly Rehder and Dave Wasinger.
Two years ago, he endorsed the Erics – Eric Schmitt and Eric Greitens for Missouri U.S. Senator.
Ben Warner, a professor of political communication at the University of Missouri, tells Missourinet what the point is.
“I imagine in the Republican primary, everybody wants, or maybe even feels like they need, to say, ‘I’m supported by former President Donald Trump.’ And so if they can’t say that, if they don’t have his endorsement, then they’re probably going to the Trump people all the time and saying, ‘Hey, how do we get your endorsement?’”
Warner said endorsing multiple candidates also allows Trump to stay relatively neutral while also still providing outreach to the candidates.
“Everybody really wants the endorsement. If he doesn’t have a strong preference, he’s just going to say, ‘Everybody here is good by me,’” said Warner.
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