Republican Senate candidate Mark Walker of North Carolina is resisting a prediction by Senator Lindsey Graham of neighboring South Carolina.
Graham, a key ally and supporter of former President Donald Trump, said that the retirement vote for Republican Sen. Richard Burr of North Carolina on Saturday to condemn Trump in his impeachment trial will make the former president’s daughter-in-law – Lara Trump – be a shoe to win the 2022 Republican nomination to succeed Burr.
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“I think the biggest winner in the whole impeachment trial is Lara Trump,” predicted Graham on Fox News Sunday. “My dear friend Richard Burr, whom I like and have been friends with for a long time, just made Lara Trump the almost certain nominee for the North Carolina Senate seat to replace him if she ran, and I would certainly be after her because I think it represents the future of the Republican Party. “
Advance 24 hours and Walker – the only major Republican so far to enter the race – disagreed with Graham’s comments.
“In the words of, I believe it was John Ashcroft, Lindsey is always confident, but not always certain,” Walker said Monday morning to FOX Business’s “Mornings with Maria” program, paraphrasing the former attorney general and senator. and governor of Missouri.
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Walker said he is not paying attention to which other potential candidates may enter the race for the North Carolina Senate, which is likely to be one of the Senate’s most disputed and expensive battles next year, as Republicans try to regain a majority in the that they just lost in the 2020 election cycle.
“We cannot control what others are doing,” emphasized Walker. “This is something we are focused on because it is in our heart to do it, service has been a part of our lives for almost a quarter of a century and we will continue to do so.”
Burr announced when he last ran for re-election in 2016 that he would not seek a fourth term in 2022. Walker, a three-term former deputy and former minister, launched his Senate candidacy in early December, with his announcement shared by first time with Fox News.
Although Walker, who chaired the conservative Republican Study Group, is the first Republican candidate to enter the race, it is doubtful that he is the only one to declare his candidacy. Former Governor Pat McCrory, if he launches a Senate nomination, would be a strong competitor.
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The same would happen with Trump, the 38-year-old wife of Trump’s son Eric. The former TV producer, who was a senior advisor to the then president’s reelection campaign in 2020, was born and raised in North Carolina, although she, Eric Trump and their children currently live in the northern suburbs of New York City.
In November and December, Lara Trump flirted with the possibility of running for the Senate, including retweeting a poll that suggested she would be the Republican Party’s favorite if she entered the race.
But she has been quiet since the January 6 invasion of the U.S. Capitol by right-wing extremists and other Trump supporters with the intention of interrupting Congressional certification of Joe Biden’s victory over Trump in the presidential election.
Doug Heye, a former Republican National Committee spokesman and a native of North Carolina who used to work for Burr, questioned Graham’s prediction that Burr’s vote of conviction would boost Lara Trump.
“I don’t see how Saturday’s vote will affect that,” argued Heye. “You have to do some kind of crazy algebra and cheat on your math to get it.”
Heye acknowledged that if Trump is executed, “she could raise a ton of money”, but he questioned whether she would actually launch a campaign.
The House voted on January 13 – a week after the attack on the Capitol – to impeach the then president for inciting insurrection, with 10 House Republicans joining all 222 Democrats in the chamber. On Saturday, seven Republicans, including Burr, joined all 50 Democrats in the Senate in the vote to condemn Trump. But with 67 votes needed to convict, Trump was acquitted.
Walker went on Twitter to disagree with Burr’s vote, writing “Wrong vote, Senator Burr. I’m running to replace Richard Burr because North Carolina needs a true conservative champion as its next senator.”
And Walker said he supports the North Carolina Republican Party’s efforts to censor Burr for his vote to condemn Trump.
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Walker told FOX Business on Monday that he disagreed with a speech by Senate Republican Party leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., Minutes after Trump was acquitted. McConnell, who voted for Trump’s acquittal, emphasized that there was no doubt that the former president was “practically and morally responsible” for provoking the insurrection and stressed that Trump could still face criminal prosecution.
“I don’t agree with him,” said Walker.
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North Carolina’s other Republican senator, Thom Tillis, also voted for Trump’s acquittal, but like McConnell, used his post-verdict statement to potentially invite prosecutors to indict the former president, saying that Trump’s “ultimate responsibility is for through our criminal justice system. “
Asked about the current divide in the Republican Party between Trump loyalists and conservatives seeking to move the party beyond the Trump era, when the then president reformed and governed the Republican Party, Walker said “there are divisions, but there are also opportunities to meet people . “