Top US Republican candidates, who are hoping to win back control of the Senate in 2022, have embraced former President Donald Trump as a kind of running mate in the first weeks of their campaigns.
This step marks a recognition that the ousted president is still the Republican party's best fundraiser and most recognizable figure even from exile in Florida, reported The Hill.
While Representative Mo Brooks mentioned the former president seven times in a press release where he announced his candidacy, his leading rival former Ambassador Lynda Blanchard, recently held a fundraiser at Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort.
Meanwhile, former Missouri Governor Eric Greitens vowed to defend Trump's 'America first' policies in an interview on Fox News, where he announced that he would run to replacing retiring Senator Roy Blunt.
"We need to promote President Trump's America first policies. That's what's going to help to bring that kind of broad-based prosperity back... President Trump built the strongest economy our country has ever seen, and I am going to fight to bring it back," Greitens said.
According to The Hill, former Ohio Treasurer Josh Mandel also mentioned Trump's a dozen times in a press release announcing his campaign to replace retiring Senator Rob Portman.
"Josh Mandel was proud to be the first statewide elected official in Ohio to support President Trump in 2016 when others were supporting John Kasich. After seeing the second sham impeachment take place this February, Josh was motivated to run for the U.S. Senate to continue to fight for President Trump's America First agenda," said Scott Guthrie, Mandel's campaign manager.
Meanwhile, Former Ohio Republican Party Chair Jane Timken called on Representative Anthony Gonzalez, one of the ten House Republicans who voted to impeach Trump in January, to resign.
Trump remains the best fundraiser within the Republican Party. Several strategists said the average email solicitation with Trump's signature raises much more than an email without his name, The Hill reported.
The ex-US president has so far endorsed eight Senators facing reelection next year, along with Brooks in Alabama and two candidates running for Congress.
( With inputs from ANI )
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