It’s just the latest example of the diminishing power of state parties in battleground states. These operations have struggled in recent years, on both financial and leadership fronts. Not having that local backing is not a death knell for these campaigns: State parties, which consist of some of the most engaged activists, aren’t always indicative of who will show up in a primary, let alone the broader electorate. And without strong finances, the endorsements often do little to boost these insurgent candidates challenging the national party favorites. In CO-08, a district held by Democratic Rep. Yadira Caraveo that President Joe Biden would have won by around 5 points in 2020, state Rep. Gabe Evans is not looking for the endorsement of the Colorado Republican Party, despite having Johnson’s backing and being touted by the NRCC. (The NRCC, which does not formally endorse in open-seat primaries, did not comment for this story.) This is the first year that the state GOP is issuing endorsements in contested primaries, and Evans told Score that he doesn’t think that “seeking the endorsement of a state party that's trying to pick winners and losers within the Republican primary is the best way to show that we're trying to bring unity and those big tent principles.” In order to get the state party’s endorsement, candidates had to fill out a questionnaire that, in part, asked if they support a federal abortion ban, if the U.S. should continue sending aid to Ukraine and if they “denounce” Americans for Prosperity, which spent against former President Donald Trump in the GOP primary. (AFP has endorsed Evans.) It’s unclear if the state party will ultimately endorse in the primary, and Evans touted support from district delegates as a sign of his local support. “Unfortunately, when the party is busy sending surveys to gauge the purity of candidates, that's not actually doing the behind the scenes logistics and infrastructure that's necessary to be able to go win some of these battleground seats, so campaigns end up having to do that work,” Evans said. “It'd be great if we could all get on the same page. … But if they're not going to do it, fortunately, I'm pretty well equipped to be able to build an organization that's going to go out and do that anyway, and go flip this seat.” A similar dynamic is at play in Nebraska, where Rep. Don Bacon, one of a handful of Republicans representing a district that Biden won in 2020, is facing a primary challenge on Tuesday from businessperson Dan Frei, who’s running to his right. None of Nebraska’s Republican incumbents sought an endorsement from the state party, which came under new leadership in 2022. The party endorsed challengers in many of those races, including Bacon’s. But that doesn’t necessarily mean that Bacon is in trouble this week. Ryan Horn — a Nebraska-based GOP strategist who has worked for Bacon — said that the state party does not “have any real support behind them other than this small activist group.” “Those activities that parties have historically played, that can have a tremendous impact in an ability to win a campaign,” Horn said. “The fact that the Democratic Party is at least functioning tactically like that, and the Republican Party is not is a little bit of a problem. … There's just been a lot of silliness and a lot of vitriol coming from them, and I am skeptical that people want to work with him if they did change their mind.” This played out at the local level in MN-02, where Republicans are hoping to unseat Democratic Rep. Angie Craig. GOP district delegates endorsed Tayler Rahm, who is running against Joe Teirab. Teirab previously said he would drop out if he didn’t earn that endorsement, but he reversed course and is still running. National Republicans have backed Teirab, who has strong fundraising: He has significantly outraised Rahm so far, and has a war chest more than 10 times as big. Still, the local party isn’t going away. Joseph Ditto, the chair of the MN-02 Republican Party, said in an email that the party will “fight tooth and nail to defend our endorsement" and that “people are really upset with Teirab for breaking his pledge” to drop out. Ditto told Score that he was initially unaware of Teirab’s national backing, but confirmed that the NRCC will stay neutral until after the primary and said that he would try to get in touch with Johnson to explain the situation on the ground. Happy Monday. Reach me at mfernandez@politico.com and @madfernandez616. Days until the North Carolina runoffs and Maryland, Nebraska and West Virginia primaries: 1 Days until the Georgia, Idaho, Kentucky and Oregon primaries: 8 Days until the Texas runoffs: 15 Days until the Iowa, Montana, New Jersey, New Mexico and South Dakota primaries: 22 Days until the Maine, Nevada, North Dakota and South Carolina primaries: 29 Days until the Oklahoma and Virginia primaries: 36 Days until the Colorado, New York and Utah primaries: 43 Days until the Republican National Convention: 65 Days until the Democratic National Convention: 98 Days until the 2024 election: 176
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