Democrats risky strategy of boosting far-right MAGA candidates in GOP primaries earlier this year, paid off for the party on election night.
Throughout the primary season, Democrats spent over $50 million to elevate MAGA candidates, in GOP primaries, who questioned the validity of the 2020 election results or have extreme views on abortion. They believe those candidates would be easier to defeat in a general election.
Six of those candidates won their primaries. All six lost in the midterm elections on Tuesday.
Darren Bailey—Illinois gubernatorial candidate
Trump-endorsed state Sen. Darren Bailey, a self described ‘pro-life, pro-2nd Amendment’ candidate, won the GOP gubernatorial primary in June defeating Aurora’s Mayor Richard Irvin.
Governor J.B. Pritzker (D) and the Democratic Governors’ Association spent nearly $35 million on ads attacking Irvin and boosting Bailey, promoting his ties to Trump to make him more favorable to the MAGA base.
Pritzker won re-election on Tuesday night by nearly 11 points. With 92 percent of the vote in, Pritzker received 54% to Bailey’s 43.2%.
Dan Cox—Maryland gubernatorial candidate
Dan Cox, the Trump-backed election denier who was at the ‘Stop the Steal’ rally that preceded the attack on the Capitol on Jan. 6, won the Maryland GOP gubernatorial primary in July. Cox defeated the establishment candidate, former state secretary of commerce Kelly Schulz.
The Democratic Governors Association spent $1.7 million on ads promoting Cox. Cox spent a small fraction of that, just $21,000.
Cox was defeated in Tuesday’s midterm election by Democrat Wes Moore. Moore made history in Maryland as the state’s first Black governor and only the third Black governor to ever be elected in the country.
Doug Mastriano—Pennsylvania gubernatorial candidate
State Sen.Doug Mastriano rose to prominence by promoting baseless conspiracy theories about the 2020 presidential election. He was endorsed by Trump and won the Pennsylvania governor primary in July.
Democrat Josh Shapiro ran ads during the primary promoting Mastriano because he thought he would have been an easier candidate to defeat in a general election due to his extreme views on abortion and his election denialism.
Shapiro defeated Mastriano on Tuesday in a landslide, 56% to 43%.
Don Bolduc—New Hampshire Senate candidate.
A Democratic-aligned super PAC spent $3 million dollars boosting election denier Don Bolduc and attacking his more mainstream opponent state Senate President Chuck Morse.
Bolduc won the GOP primary but fell short in the midterm elections against one of the most vulnerable Democrats who was up for re-election this cycle Sen. Maggie Hassan.
Hassan won re-election with 53.4 percent of the vote to Bolduc’s 44.6.
John Gibbs— Michigan 3rd District
Democrats were widely criticized for boosting Gibbs in the GOP primary because he was running against Rep. Peter Meijer, one of ten House Republicans who voted to impeach former President Donald Trump.
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee spent over $400,000 on TV ads to help Gibbs defeat Meijer in the primary.
Gibbs lost on Tuesday to Democrat Hillary Scholten. Scholten will be the first Democrat to represent the district since the 1970s. With 99% of the expected vote in, Scholten had 54.8% of votes to Gibbs’ 41.9%.
Robert Burns—New Hampshire 2nd district
Democrats spent $100,000 to promote ‘America First’ candidate Robert Burns over the more moderate George Hansel in the New Hampshire Republican primary.
Burns lost to Democrat Mclane Kuster on Tuesday.
The tactic was controversial and was condemned, even by some Democrats. But for now, it appears that it was worth the risk as Democrats managed to net a House seat and a governorship.
