A campaign spokesman for President Trump’s reelection effort says cancellation of several Republican primaries and caucuses is following precedent from other Republicans seeking reelection, rather than a ploy to quash growing political threats from GOP rivals.
Marc Lotter, Trump 2020 director of strategic communications, said on SiriusXM Patriot’s The David Webb Show the now-canceled contests in Arizona, Kansas, Nevada, and South Carolina are above-board efforts to save state parties money. That’s a markedly different interpretation from Trump’s main primary rivals — former South Carolina Governor and Rep. Mark Sanford, former Massachusetts Gov. Bill Weld, and former Rep. Joe Walsh of Illinois — who say the moves are meant to rig the primary season in the president’s favor, quashing dissent and eliminating voter choice.
Lotter cited President Barack Obama’s 2012 reelection bid, when the Democrat won renomination without notable challenge, and Republican President George W. Bush in 2004, who also had a clear path to his party’s nomination.
“Look this is nothing that hasn’t happened with both parties when you have an incumbent president on the ballot,” Lotter said. “I think in 2012, ten states canceled their Democrat primaries when Obama was on the ticket. In 2004, ten states canceled the Republican Party’s primaries, when George W. was on the ballot.”
Walsh, who served a single House term from 2011-13, recently called the canceled nominating contests, “Undemocratic bull s**t,” while fellow Republican primary challenger Weld asked in an interview, “What is Trump afraid of?”
Sanford, who announced his presidential candidacy last Sunday, expressed his displeasure in his native state’s party decision to cancel the primary.
“We have a chance every four years to have a debate as a nation on what it means to be a Democrat, what it means to be a Republican, what it means to be an American,” Sanford said. “We are going to be absent from that debate that is historically important in South Carolina.”
But Lotter said cost concerns played a role in the primary and caucus cancellations.
“These primaries cost a lot of money for the state parties and, in some cases, state taxpayers,” said Lotter, a former press secretary for Vice President Mike Pence. “So, if there is obviously no concern, there’s no question that President Trump will be our nominee. A lot of these parties are doing the thing that they feel is best for them and saving their resources that can be used to fight in a different way.”
South Carolina Republican Party Chairman Drew McKissick brushed off the GOP primary candidacies of Sanford, Weld, and Walsh. He said in a statement, there is “no legitimate primary challenger.” McKissick said cancellation of the South Carolina, which traditionally comes shortly after first-in-the-nation New Hampshire, would save taxpayers in his state over $1.2 million.
McKissick also jabbed at Sanford, who served in the House from 1995-2001, as governor from 2003-2011, and in a return congressional stint for five-and-a-half years, starting in May 2013. Sanford lost his renomination bid in 2018 after Trump came out in favor of his Republican primary rival.
“Let’s be clear, this is about Mark Sanford looking to raise his political career from the grave, not him wanting to advance ideas.” He added, “The simple fact is that South Carolina Republicans overwhelmingly support President Trump and know this vanity project is going absolutely nowhere.”
Republican political consultant Liz Mair, of Mair Strategies said the South Carolina Republican Party may have violated a provision of its own rules in canceling the primary.
“[The decision] can potentially be challenged by a member of the state party. I presume Mark Sanford is a member of the state party. I would assume whether it comes from him or someone else, it will be challenged, but he seems to have good standing to do so, Weld and Walsh far less so,” Mair said.
“I’m actually sensitive to the concerns about cost, but it does seem that South Carolina Republicans want a primary even if we already know the result,” Mair said. “So, I have numerous problems with what the South Carolina GOP did here, and I suspect they’ll find they do, too.”
[Opinion: Shameful: South Carolina, Kansas, and Nevada cancel GOP primaries to protect Trump]
