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You're Hired: Tracking the Trump Administration Transition - August 16, 2017
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This is the August 16, 2017, edition of an email sent from November 2016 to September 2017 that covered Donald Trump's presidential transition, cabinet appointees, and the different policy positions of those individuals who may have had an effect on the new administration. Previous editions of "You're Hired" can be found here.
The seven special elections this year have been watched closely as potential indicators of how President Donald Trump’s policy agenda is being received and whether Democrats can take control of the U.S. House in 2018. Since Trump picked several members of Congress to hold positions in his administration, all but one of the seats up for election was held by a Republican.
Today, we look at what role Trump has played in supporting Republican candidates in special elections this year.
Kansas' 4th Congressional District special election (April 11)
This was the first congressional election to take place since Trump was elected in November 2016. Trump recorded a robocall to support Kansas state treasurer Ron Estes (R) in the race. He also tweeted his support for Estes on election day on April 11, writing, “Ron Estes is running TODAY for Congress in the Great State of Kansas. A wonderful guy, I need his help on Healthcare & Tax Cuts (Reform).”
Estes defeated Democrat James Thompson by 6 percentage points.
Montana's At-Large Congressional District special election (May 25)
Trump recorded a robocall in the final week of the election in support of Greg Gianforte (R). In the ad paid for by the Republican National Committee (RNC), Trump said, "Hi, this is President Donald Trump, and I know what the people of Montana really want and really care about. ... If you don't vote tomorrow, the liberal Democrats running for Congress will decimate and dismantle all that we've done. ... So get to the polls and vote for Greg. That's Greg Gianforte, you'll be very proud of him for years to come. Thanks a lot!"
With 50 percent of the vote, Gianforte defeated Democrat Rob Quist and Libertarian Mark Wicks in the general election on May 25.
California's 34th Congressional District special election (June 6)
Although Trump’s name was frequently invoked throughout the race, the president did not wade into this contest between two Democrats: former Los Angeles City planning commissioner Robert Lee Ahn and state assemblyman Jimmy Gomez.
Gomez won the general election on June 6 with 59 percent of the vote.
Georgia's 6th Congressional District special election (June 20)
Under normal circumstances, Georgia's 6th District would have been seen as a safe Republican district: a Democrat has not held the seat since before former Rep. Newt Gingrich's first election in 1978. However, Trump's narrow win by a margin of 1.5 percent over Hillary Clinton in the district in 2016 suggested that the district could be competitive, and it became the most expensive U.S. House race in history with more than $50 million spent on the contest as Democrats fought to flip the seat.
Trump recorded a robocall on April 18 to oppose Democrat Jon Ossoff, but he did not endorse a specific Republican candidate. After Ossoff advanced to a runoff election with Republican Karen Handel, Trump spoke at a fundraiser for Handel in Atlanta on April 28, and praised her during his remarks to a forum of the National Rifle Association on the same day.
He tweeted on the eve of the election, “The Dems want to stop tax cuts, good healthcare and Border Security. Their ObamaCare is dead with 100% increases in P's. Vote now for Karen H.”
Handel defeated Ossoff on June 20 with 52 percent of the vote.
South Carolina's 5th Congressional District special election (June 20)
On June 19, 2017, a robocall recorded by Trump was released which called on voters to support the Republican in the race, Ralph Norman, although he never directly named him.
"I’m busy fixing Obama’s disaster in Washington. Believe me, we’re getting the job done. But I need your help. There is a special election for Congress in South Carolina on June 20. I need you to get to the polls on Tuesday to vote Republican for Congress. The liberal Democrats think that they have a chance to steal the seat from you. They’re not going to steal the seat," Trump said in the recording.
In a tweet on the same day, Trump wrote, “Ralph Norman, who is running for Congress in SC's 5th District, will be a fantastic help to me in cutting taxes.”
In a closer-than-expected election on June 20, Norman defeated Democrat Archie Parnell by 3 percentage points with 51 percent support.
Utah's 3rd Congressional District special election (November 7)
Three Republicans—attorney Tanner Ainge, Provo City Mayor John Curtis, and former state legislator Chris Herrod—competed in a primary on Tuesday night. Trump did not offer an endorsement to any of them, and the night’s winner, Curtis, may not be interested in one in the future.
Curtis admitted during a candidate forum in June that he had not voted for Trump. “I don't mind telling you I struggled with that presidential election, and in the end I didn't vote for any of the candidates on the ballot. Because none of them had earned my vote,” he said.
U.S. Senate special election in Alabama (December 12)
Since Republicans have held this seat continuously since 1997 when Howell Heflin (D), who was first elected to office in 1976, retired, the Republican primary was closely watched by the media and outside groups who spent more than $5.1 million on the race. It also drew Trump to make his first contested primary endorsement.
He tweeted his support for incumbent Sen. Luther Strange (R) a week before the election, writing, “Senator Luther Strange has done a great job representing the people of the Great State of Alabama. He has my complete and total endorsement!" At the time, Strange was consistently polling in second place to former judge Roy Moore with a narrow lead over Rep. Mo Brooks, Only the top two candidates could proceed to a primary runoff election.
Brooks questioned the endorsement and said that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) had misled Trump into supporting Strange. "Perhaps President Trump is unaware that Luther Strange wants to keep the Senate's 60 percent rule that empowers Chuck Schumer and the Democrats to kill the entire conservative, Republican, and President Trump legislative agendas. ... In any event, while Mitch McConnell and the Swamp managed to mislead the President last night, I still support the America First Agenda, and all the polls show we have momentum,” Brooks said.
On August 9, Brooks tweeted at Trump that he should reconsider his endorsement. Trump did not; he instead recorded a robocall for Strange that was released on the eve of the election. “He's helping me in the Senate, he's going to get the tax cuts for us. He's doing a lot of things for the people of Alabama and for the people of the United States. Thank you very much and vote for Luther Strange,” Trump said in the recording.
On Tuesday night, Moore and Strange advanced to the Republican primary runoff election scheduled for September 26. We will continue to look at the relationship between Trump and these candidates in the coming weeks.
See also
- You're Hired: Tracking the Trump Administration Transition
- Donald Trump presidential transition team
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