What the heck just happened in the Georgia primary? President Donald Trump backed several candidates up and down the ballot in Republican primaries, and until now his endorsement record had been nearly flawless. Georgia just changed that. But there are some oddities afoot here.
In the governor’s race, for instance, Trump had endorsed former Senator David Perdue, who he personally recruited to push out current Republican governor Brian Kemp, who had the endorsement of former Vice President Mike Pence. So it wasn't just Perdue vs. Kemp, it was Trump vs. Pence, with a lot of hubris on the line.
Kemp won, and easily. This marks the first race Trump has lost decisively.
So far, most big-name races had seen Trump-backed candidates soar to the top of the field (J.D. Vance, OH) or possibly squeak out against-the-wind victories (Dr. Oz, PA). But wait, there's more from Georgia.
In the Secretary of State primary, the Republican incumbent Brad Raffensperger has national name recognition for his bland sparring with Trump over the 2020 election results. So naturally, Trump was not endorsing him, choosing Jody Hice instead. Raffensperger won.
Only Herschel Walker won a statewide primary race with the support of Donald Trump, and he had little competition.
It was a strange day of bucking trends, but not just for Trump.
Prominent polls got the races all mixed up too. Trafalgar Group's chief pollster Robert C. Calahy usually has a sterling record, but had to admit that Georgia really had him stumped.
"We had the best #GASen poll and the worst #GAGov poll. How the %#?! does that happen? I'm not sure," he said on Wednesday.
So what the heck just happened in the Georgia primary? And will Trump-backed candidates fair differently now? Time will tell.
Ryan Wiggins is the author of the extremely serious and not funny robot novel, The Life of Human, and is a writer and producer of television shows. He is the host of Wiggins America on 97.1 FM Talk in St. Louis.