Big wins for Trump candidates in Republican primaries

The former president saw a mainly successful night in primary races for candidates who have backed his claims of election fraud.

Nancy Mace speaks to media after surviving a challenge from a candidate endorsed by Donald Trump in South Carolina's GOP primary election. Picture: Getty Images/AFP

One of the few Republicans who voted to impeach Donald Trump was ousted from his seat as the former president saw a mainly successful night in primary races for candidates who have backed his claims of election fraud.

Tom Rice, a five-term South Carolina congressman and one of 10 party members in the House of Representatives to back Mr Trump’s second impeachment, was defeated by Russell Fry, even though he had supported the former president’s “America First” policies.

But Mr Trump failed to remove Nancy Mace, 44, another South Carolina member who crossed him by voting to certify the result of the 2020 election. She had the support of former governor Nikki Haley to survive a challenge from a candidate endorsed by Mr Trump.

Generally the Republican primary votes in five states continued to see Trump-endorsed candidates win up and down the ballot, including in Nevada.

The state’s Republicans chose a fervent election fraud proponent for the crucial Senate race and a conspiracy theorist ­allied to the QAnon movement as candidate for secretary of state, the top election official.

’Impeacher’: Tom Rice.

The march of candidates endorsed by Mr Trump angered some Republicans who believe they stand a weaker chance in tight races against Democrats in the November midterm elections. The trend also suggests that Mr Trump, 76, is intent on building a strong cadre of support for a third run for the White House in 2024.

In a blow to Democrats in congress, a special election for a ­vacant seat held by a Democrat in Texas was won by Republican Mayra Flores. Nancy Pelosi’s majority in the house was reduced from 11 to 10.

Mr Trump said on his social network, Truth Social: “Every single endorsed by Trump candidate won last night by big margins, with the exception of one very long shot who did FAR better than ­anticipated against an incumbent. The ‘Impeacher’ was ousted without even a run-off. A GREAT night!”

Mr Rice, 64, had an impeccable voting record for Mr Trump with a 94 per cent rating – with the exception of his vote to impeach the former president for “incitement of insurrection” at the US Capitol while congress met to ratify the 2020 election. The select committee investigating the causes of the insurrection is to hold its third public hearing on Friday AEST.

“This is about revenge,” Mr Rice said as he conceded defeat. “It’s not about policy.”

As Mr Fry, 37, celebrated at his headquarters, speakers blared out Eye of the Tiger, one of Mr Trump’s theme tunes.

“This is about reclaiming what is best about America,” he said.  Across the state, Ms Mace, 44, avoided any mention of Mr Trump in her victory speech but went out of her way to thank Ms Haley. “I promised I would be an independent voice,” she said. “I promised I would not toe the party line.”

In February, after Mr Trump backed Katie Arrington, her ­opponent, she recorded a video outside Trump Tower in New York describing how she had backed Mr Trump from 2015 and believed “he made America safer” as she implored his base to back her and keep the swing seat out of Democrat hands.

In Nevada, Republicans handed the Senate seat nomination to Adam Laxalt, 43, the state’s former attorney-general and a fervent Trump supporter who chaired his 2020 re-election campaign in the state and supported efforts to overturn the election result.

Mr Laxalt’s grandfather was a Nevada senator while his father, Pete Domenici, was the longest-serving senator in New Mexico.

Jim Marchant, 66, who has said he would not have certified Joe Biden’s victory and would do the same in 2024, won the nomination for secretary of state in Nevada that would give him the authority to reject ballots in ­November.

The Times