The punch packed by Donald Trump's endorsement will be tested Tuesday in Republican primaries in Georgia and Virginia.
Political observers in both parties will be watching the outcome in the runoff for Congress in Georgia's 3rd District, and Republican primaries against incumbent Rep. Bob Good in Virginia's 5th District and for the GOP nomination against Democrat Sen. Tim Kaine.
In the Georgia-3 contest for the seat of retiring GOP Rep. Drew Ferguson, all signs point to Brian Jack, 36, former Trump White House political director, rolling up a big win over former State Senate Majority Leader Mike Dugan.
"I'm predicting Brian wins," InsiderAdvantage Georgia publisher Phil Kent told Newsmax, "He did heavy TV ad buys the past few days. The Trump endorsement is big in this heavily Republican district."
It's a bit more complicated in Virginia-5, where the former president — furious that Good endorsed Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis over him in the presidential race — endorsed challenger and State Sen. John McGuire.
"Bob Good is all bad," Trump wrote ons Truth Social while also condemning the two-term lawmaker for voting to dethrone former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, who has also endorsed McGuire.
In recent days, Good has come back with ads pointing out that he now strongly supports Trump for president — leading the Trump campaign to issue a cease-and-desist order against the embattled congressman. In addition, longtime Trump adviser Steve Bannon appeared at a Good rally and praised him for fighting the Republican establishment.
"For Republicans, Donald Trump's endorsement means a lot, and when compared to Joe Biden's endorsement among Democrats, it's great," said Jim Gilmore, former Virginia governor and onetime Republican National Chairman. "But many Republicans may not see the difference between the two candidates, so we don't know what kind of impact [Trump] will have."
Retired U.S. Navy officer and near-successful 2022 U.S. House hopeful Hung Cao is considered the front-runner among seven Republican Senate hopefuls, in large part because he has Trump's endorsement. The seven are all Trump supporters and agree on virtually every issue.
But Cao may have stumbled in the twilight days of the campaign by dismissing the Staunton News Leader newspaper "Podunk" that challenged his statement about his own political action committee. Cao was widely criticized in the Shenandoah Valley for his words only a week after he skipped a candidate forum in that part of Virginia.
Whether any of that harms the Trump-endorsed contender remains to be seen.
John Gizzi is chief political columnist and White House correspondent for Newsmax. For more of his reports, Go Here Now.
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