First GOP incumbent loses seat in 2016 primary
On Tuesday, Rep. Renee Ellmers (R-N.C.) became the first Republican ousted in a primary this election, losing to former Rep. George Holding (R-N.C.) in a fight prompted by redrawn congressional districts. Ellmers was elected in the Tea Party wave of 2010, backed by the conservative group Americans for Prosperity, but AFP and the Club for Growth spent millions to defeat her this year. With almost all the votes counted in Tuesday's primary, Holding had 53 percent of the vote in a three-way race, and Ellmers was just 200 votes ahead of the third candidate, Greg Brannon.
Ellmers did have one prominent endorser, though: Donald Trump. Trump publicly backed Ellmers on Saturday, his first congressional primary endorsement. She probably would have lost anyway, but "Trump is now 0 for 1 for congressional endorsements," notes Amber Phillips at The Washington Post. "For a candidate who has often shown he lacks certain political savviness," she adds, "lending his name to a losing candidate was an unforced error, to say the least."
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Touring the vineyards of southern BoliviaThe Week Recommends Strongly reminiscent of Andalusia, these vineyards cut deep into the country’s southwest
-
American empire: a history of US imperial expansionDonald Trump’s 21st century take on the Monroe Doctrine harks back to an earlier era of US interference in Latin America
-
Elon Musk’s starry mega-mergerTalking Point SpaceX founder is promising investors a rocket trip to the future – and a sprawling conglomerate to boot
-
Trump sues IRS for $10B over tax record leaksSpeed Read The president is claiming ‘reputational and financial harm’ from leaks of his tax information between 2018 and 2020
-
Trump, Senate Democrats reach DHS funding dealSpeed Read The deal will fund most of the government through September and the Department of Homeland Security for two weeks
-
Fed holds rates steady, bucking Trump pressureSpeed Read The Federal Reserve voted to keep its benchmark interest rate unchanged
-
Judge slams ICE violations amid growing backlashSpeed Read ‘ICE is not a law unto itself,’ said a federal judge after the agency violated at least 96 court orders
-
Rep. Ilhan Omar attacked with unknown liquidSpeed Read This ‘small agitator isn’t going to intimidate me from doing my work’
-
Democrats pledge Noem impeachment if not firedSpeed Read Trump is publicly defending the Homeland Security secretary
-
The billionaires’ wealth tax: a catastrophe for California?Talking Point Peter Thiel and Larry Page preparing to change state residency
-
Hegseth moves to demote Sen. Kelly over videospeed read Retired Navy fighter pilot Mark Kelly appeared in a video reminding military service members that they can ‘refuse illegal orders’
