Republicans on Wednesday claimed Tuesday night’s GOP primary and special elections were referendums on President Trump, but for very different reasons.
Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach, whose gubernatorial race against Republican incumbent Gov. Jeff Colyer as of Wednesday was still too close to call, touted the surprisingly tight contest as a win for Trump given Kobach’s close affiliation with the president and their similar rhetoric on immigration.
“Well, there’s a little bit of that. I worked with the President quite a bit,” Kobach, who is leading Colyer by 191 votes, said during an interview with Fox News when asked how much the election’s result reflected his relationship with Trump.
“So to a certain extent my election may have been something of a referendum on President Trump, but I think most voters would want to have a governor who is in regular contact with the president and can speak on behalf of Kansas or any state to the president,” he continued.
But Republican Ohio Gov. John Kasich, who is speculated to harbor presidential ambitions, told MSNBC on Wednesday that a still-to-be-called special election for Ohio’s 12th Congressional District was also about Trump.
GOP candidate Troy Balderson has a slim 1,754-vote advantage over Democrat Danny O’Connor, but Kasich said he was still amazed by how hotly contested the race was for the district he used to represent when he was a member of Congress.
“It’s because a lot of Republican women, they don’t like this noise. They don’t like this division,” Kasich said. “Neither of them really emerged great, and I think it was basically a vote on what people thought about Trump.”
Trump, however, took early credit for Balderson’s anticipated victory in his tweeted congratulations to the candidate.
“When I decided to go to Ohio for Troy Balderson, he was down in early voting 64 to 36. That was not good. After my speech on Saturday night, there was a big turn for the better,” Trump wrote on Twitter, referring to a rally he held in Ohio over the weekend. “Now Troy wins a great victory during a very tough time of the year for voting. He will win BIG in Nov.”
When I decided to go to Ohio for Troy Balderson, he was down in early voting 64 to 36. That was not good. After my speech on Saturday night, there was a big turn for the better. Now Troy wins a great victory during a very tough time of the year for voting. He will win BIG in Nov.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 8, 2018
