In his first-ever congressional endorsement since running for president, presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump endorsed Rep. Renee Ellmers (R) of North Carolina. She’s facing fellow Rep. George Holding in the redrawn district, along with physician Greg Brannon, who’s unsuccessfully run for the GOP Senate nomination twice.
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Ellmers, elected in the 2010 Tea Party wave, was targeted by conservative groups including the Club for Growth and Americans for Prosperity, which is backed by GOP donors Charles and David Koch.
“Rep. Holding’s pro-life, pro-family record stood in stark contrast to the incumbent, Rep. Renee Ellmers who lost significant support among pro-life voters after she undermined the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act a year ago”.
In a unusual twist, Rep. Renee Ellmers lost despite the fact that she had been endorsed by Donald Trump; she was said to be the only candidate for Congress to be endorsed by him in a primary contest. While two incumbents vying for one nomination is unusual, Republican Greg Brannon also was on the ballot and garnered nearly 23 percent of the votes. Trump recorded a robocall for Ellmers, and she touted it extensively as one could with a few days left in the primary. She was drawn in to politics by her opposition to the proposed federal health care law that became the Affordable Care Act. Holding, a former federal prosecutor, was first elected in 2012.
Ms. Ellmers, according to the Charlotte News and Observer, barely came in second, getting less than 25 percent of the primary vote.
Those combined conservative forces were eager to make Ellmers an example of what would happen if Republicans moved too far away from party purity. What’s more, this is still a candidate that Trump made a decision to endorse – possibly in an effort to get back at groups like the Club for Growth for spending millions against him.
Leading up to Tuesday night’s election, Ellmers faced substantial spending against her by more traditionally conservative outside groups.
“You go to Washington, and you think you vote in the right way”, Holding said.
Susan B. Anthony List also had people knock on more than 12,000 doors to knock Ellmers out of office. She’s been in Congress since 2005 and is one of a handful of elected leaders in the House Republican Caucus.
Ellmers, one of the provision’s most vocal opponents, argued that the requirement would do additional damage to the GOP’s image among younger and female voters.
“She took everything really personally”, Sandrock told CNN in an interview.
“I’m just really pleased with the result, really thankful for all the support”, Holding said.
“She has become a mean girl on steroids in my view”, Sandrock said.
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After the final district lines were set, national pro-life groups poured resources into opposing a sitting Republican congresswoman.
