“If you can win with these allegations in Nebraska, you can probably win anywhere,” said Mike DuHaime, a Republican strategist. But if Herbster loses, DuHaime said, Trump can point to the allegations against him as the culprit, rather than the waning power of his endorsement.
Later this year in Georgia, another Trump-endorsed candidate who has faced allegations of domestic violence, Herschel Walker, is running for Senate, though he does not face a competitive primary.
Understand the 2022 Midterm Elections
Why are these midterms so important? This year’s races could tip the balance of power in Congress to Republicans, hobbling President Biden’s agenda for the second half of his term. They will also test former President Donald J. Trump’s role as a G.O.P. kingmaker. Here’s what to know:
And in Missouri, where Trump has not yet made an endorsement, former Gov. Eric Greitens has alarmed some Republican insiders by persisting with his bid for Senate even after his former wife accused him of abusing her and their children, the latest in a series of scandals for Greitens.
Will Democrats’ fresh start pay off in a battleground district?
The Democratic primaries in Nebraska’s Second Congressional District have been some of the most eventful in recent House history — even if few people have noticed.
In 2018, Kara Eastman, then an underfunded candidate backed by the progressive group Justice Democrats, defeated the district’s former congressman, Brad Ashford, in the primary. Democrats, sure that Eastman was too liberal for this suburban Republican-held seat, largely ignored the district, but were surprised to see how close Eastman got to winning.
In 2020, Eastman won again in the primary — this time with support from the Democratic establishment and with a messaging makeover. She defeated Ashford’s wife, Ann Ashford, in the primary. Then Brad Ashford crossed party lines to endorse Representative Don Bacon, a Republican who won re-election.
This year, Democrats are trying again, but with a new candidate. The primary comes down to Tony Vargas, a state senator, and Alisha Shelton, a mental health practitioner who placed third in the 2020 Senate primary.
