Unsurprisingly, the Republican candidates who’ve fallen over themselves to gain former President Donald Trump’s endorsement have rewarded his blessing with their very own campaign funds. That includes Georgia Senate candidate Herschel Walker, whose campaign forked over nearly $200,000 at Mar-a-Lago, according to CNBC. Walker’s had a series of controversies (to put it extremely lightly)—from his erratic behavior in business and exaggeration of wealth to his absolutely abhorrent treatment of his ex-wife—and seemingly few allies in the Republican party aside from Trump, yet he’s polling shockingly well ahead of Tuesday’s primary. According to the Associated Press, Walker has the support of at least half of voters.
Fellow Georgia political hopeful, former Sen. David Perdue who is running for governor, joins Walker as a candidate who spent quite the pretty penny at Mar-a-Lago. CNBC reports that his campaign sunk more than $20,000 into the private club in May alone and his campaign even held a March fundraiser there, with the price of a photo of Trump costing $24,200 per donor. Perdue is significantly trailing incumbent Gov. Brian Kemp, however, polling at 38% compared to Kemp’s 52%, according to FOX 5 Atlanta. Perdue has certainly given his all in the name of Trump and wholeheartedly embraced his worst qualities, pathetically parroting MAGA talking points and making blatantly racist remarks to cap off his campaign. The Washington Post in a headline Tuesday predicted that Perdue’s “looming humiliation.. will show Trumpism’s limitations.”
Yet another Georgia candidate, Rep. Jody Hice who is running for secretary of state against GOP incumbent Brad Raffensperger, spent over $38,000 at Mar-a-Lago—a place he clearly enjoys judging from this video CNBC dug up of Trump holding a fundraiser for her campaign there. Like Perdue, his polling isn’t exactly impressive: At 38%, he is only leading Raffensperger by one percentage point, according to a recent poll from Landmark Communications. CNBC also noted campaign contributions to Mar-a-Lago from two more Trump-endorsed Georgia candidates: Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene and former state Rep. Vernon Jones who—like Trump—has his very own sexual misconduct scandal. Jones is running for Congress, having dropped out of the governor’s race. Jones has succeeded in out-raising fellow candidates but it’s anyone’s guess how he’s polling. Greene is predicted to win her primary.
Reached by CNBC, a Trump spokesperson boasted about how much fundraising Trump has been at the center of and name-checked the locations two of the former president’s properties. “In Republican politics today, there’s only two seasons that matter: Mar-A-Lago season and Bedminster season, because it’s where candidates, organizations, and donors want to be,” Taylor Budowich told CNBC. Clearly, candidates even outside of Georgia have noticed. Trump-endorsed politicians who’ve spent campaign funds at Trump properties include his former press secretary, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, who’s running for Arkansas governor; and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. The Arkansas primary will be held Tuesday, while Paxton faces off against George P. Bush in the Texas primary run-off Tuesday. Sanders is expected to easily win her primary while Paxton is polling only slightly ahead of Bush.
