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Charles Herbster and Donald Trump: The former President's endorsement didn't help the Republican multimillionaire to victory
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Kenneth Ferriera/AP
In a few months, the important midterm elections for Congress will take place in the USA.
In the states, the candidates position themselves for this.
The vote is also considered a mood test for how much influence ex-President Donald Trump still has in the Republican camp.
In one case in Nebraska, his support did not prevent the defeat of a staunch Trump supporter.
The Republican multimillionaire Charles Herbster, who is supported by Trump, lost to his rival Jim Pillen in an internal party primary, as reported by US media after counting 95 percent of the votes.
Herbster is the first Trump-backed candidate to lose to a party rival in this year's Republican primary.
In April it became known that eight women accuse the 67-year-old of sexual assault.
Herbster denies the allegations.
In the primary, the multi-millionaire was now more than three percentage points behind his opponent Pillen.
Democrats fear for their majority
In the state of West Virginia, on the other hand, Republican voters followed Trump's recommendation and put Alex Mooney in the running for a seat in the US Congress.
“I love West Virginia.
Congratulations to Alex Mooney on his big win,” Trump wrote on his new online platform, Truth Social.
In his victory speech, Mooney expressly thanked the ex-president for his support.
"If Donald Trump is concentrating on something, then you better watch out," he said, according to CNN.
The results show that Trump's influence in the Republican electorate remains high in many places.
The mid-term congressional elections in the fall are seen as an important mood test for the ex-president, who is openly flirting with another presidential candidacy in 2024.
The entire House of Representatives and a third of the Senate will be elected in the midterm elections in November.
The Democrats have to fear for their wafer-thin majority in both chambers.
asc/AFP