Conservative American voters love what President Trump brings to the table. But they aren’t going to follow the man himself blindly about while abandoning their principles.
Sadly, Trump has signaled a couple of times now that he thinks it’s all about him, rather than about his platform.
Last week in Alabama, the Republican Party held a special primary election for a vacant Senate seat.
In a strange twist, Trump backed the man who had been temporarily holding the seat, Luther Strange, who was also the pick of the GOP establishment.
Going up against Strange was ultra-conservative former Judge Roy Moore, who was backed by other mavericks like former White House strategist Stephen Bannon.
It’s usually Trump who’s backing the mavericks AGAINST the establishment.
But the results of this special election – a firm victory for Moore – revealed that for conservative voters, it’s not about Trump himself, it’s about what’s become known as “Trumpism.”
Unfortunately, Trump responded publicly by focusing solely on the perceived bump he had given to Strange before his electoral defeat.
In analyzing the Alabama Primary race,FAKE NEWS always fails to mention that the candidate I endorsed went up MANY points after endorsement!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 30, 2017
Breitbart’s Michael Patrick Leahy took the president to task over that one:
What impact did Trump’s August 8 endorsement of Strange have on voting behavior among Alabama’s Republican primary voters?
Not any that helped Strange, as it turns out.
And there was more in play in Alabama than just President Trump’s endorsement.
To be precise, there was a huge amount of money behind Strange, and very little behind Moore.
The Senate Leadership Fund, a Super PAC associated with Senator Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), other groups supporting Strange, and the Strange campaign spent an estimated $30 million to elect Strange. In contrast, Moore and groups supporting him spent an estimated $2 million.
Despite a 15-to-1 financial advantage and the president’s endorsement, Strange just couldn’t close the gap.
As it turns out, the president’s visit to Alabama on September 23 may have had the effect of slightly increasing actual voter support for Moore by 1.2 points to 3.2 points, as the final margin of victory for Moore on election day, September 26, was 9.2 points.
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