Three very different Republicans have announced their bids to challenge Donald Trump in the Republican Primary: Mark Sanford, Bill Weld, and Joe Walsh.
This is a news article by the editor.
The term being thrown around by pundits of all political persuasions is quixotic. For most, the idea of challenging a sitting president with astronomical support among his party is effectively symbolized by the image of Don Quixote bravely, but quite foolishly, charging a windmill. But each challenger has intriguing reasons for why they are stepping into the line of fire.
Bill Weld, The Libertarian Governor
Governor Bill Weld announced his candidacy back in April. He has been the sole candidate running against Trump until just recently. But he has essentially been campaigning against Donald Trump continuously for the previous three years. His efforts against Trump began with his nomination by the Libertarian Party as Gary Johnson’s running-mate in 2016. Bill Weld had rejoined the Republican Party at the beginning of 2019.
Bill Weld is a pro-choice libertarian who has demonstrated an ability to unite Libertarian and Republican interests. He has also been able to make a compelling case to moderates and center-left Democrats. He believes the lurch towards the fringes of political thought by both the Republican and Democratic parties has left a large swathe of independents feeling neither party represents them. Bill Weld believes he can convince these independents to show up to the polls in New Hampshire and help him score a surprise victory against Donald Trump in that state’s first in the nation primary.
But Bill Weld’s romp with the Libertarian Party casts him as an interloper, and possibly just an opening salvo at what may end up being a run for the Libertarian Party nomination. His pro-choice stance will also be a substantial impediment to gaining any traction right-of-center. Even among self-declared libertarians, there seems to be more excitement about Justin Amash, who as of yet has not said whether he is seriously considering a run. Bill Weld’s chances in New Hampshire’s open primary will likely depend on how many center-left Democrats consider jumping over and voting for him in the Republican primary as a way to “vote against Donald Trump twice.”
Joe Walsh, The Tea Party Congressman
Former representative Joe Walsh announced his candidacy at the end of August. Unlike Governor Weld, Joe Walsh’s opposition to Donald Trump is a much more recent development. He was elected to the House of Representatives in the Tea Party wave of 2010 and served a single term. Despite being unseated, he was still a popular figure among movement conservatives, and he ran a successful radio show from 2013 until the day after he had announced his candidacy.
Joe Walsh, for the majority of his political career, could easily be considered a fire-brand. Some have even characterized him as a pre-Trump Trump. He has been criticized for previous statements calling President Barack Obama a Muslim. There are also several of his previous tweets that some have characterized as inciting violence against Democrats and black protestors. He was also a strong supporter of Donald Trump in the 2016 election. He continued to support Trump during the first two years of his presidency.
But Joe Walsh says he has had a change of heart, both about his support for Donald Trump and on the nature of his past rhetoric. He announced that he “will never support Trump again” in the wake of President Trump’s Helsinki press conference. Since then he has become one of the loudest and most consistent conservative critics of Donald Trump.
As a former Trump supporter and reliable movement conservative, Joe Walsh believes he is uniquely positioned to challenge Trump on the substance of conservative ideals. Ideals which he says the Republican Party has mostly abandoned under Donald Trump’s leadership. He also believes he can most effectively speak heart-to-heart with Trump’s current supporters and win them back to conservative principles.
Mark Sanford, The Fiscal Conservative
Former governor and representative Mark Sanford is the most recent entry into the Republican Primary. He threw his hat in the ring at the beginning of September. Mark Sanford has had a roller coaster of a political career. The extramarital affair he had while serving as the Governor of South Carolina, and his public breakdown over its discovery, was highly publicized in 2009. In the wake of the scandal, he declined to run for another term as governor. Many circles once talked about him as a rising star and a favorite for a future run at the White House. The affair not only ended his marriage but seemed likely to derail his political career permanently.
But, in 2013 Representative Tim Scott was appointed to replace Jim Demint in the US Senate, and a special election was announced to fill his vacated seat. Mark Sanford launched a bid for the seat and found himself at the top of the polls. He not only won that election but was re-elected for a full-term in 2014 and again in 2016. Mark Sanford had managed to procure a comeback story, a fall from grace followed by a return to glory. But then Donald Trump happened.
Initially, Mark Sanford was among Donald Trump’s heaviest critics during the 2016 Republican Primary. But after Donald Trump secured the Republican nomination, Mark Sanford begrudgingly accepted him as the nominee and supported him over Hillary Clinton. Following President Trump’s election, Mark Sanford boasted a voting record of 89% in support of President Trump’s policies. However, he did not shy away from speaking out against Trump from time to time.
This incurred the President’s wrath. Trump cut off Mark Sanford at the knees using timed and calculated tweets. Mark Sanford found himself defeated in the shocking results of his 2018 primary. The stark reality that absolute loyalty to Trump had come to be more important than a solidly conservative voting record hardened Mark Sanford’s opposition to Trump and the direction he has taken since then.
But Mark Sanford has tried to take what he believes to be a reasonable and realistic tone. Despite announcing his bid to challenge Trump in the Republican Primary, he has said he does not think he can beat Donald Trump. His focus instead is on raising awareness on the disastrous fiscal policies of Donald Trump in hopes Republicans will remember their previous commitment to fiscal restraint. He has also signaled that if Donald Trump again receives the nod of the Republican Party, he would likely vote for him over any of the Democratic options.
However, Mark Sanford boasts a serious political pedigree which includes eight years as a governor and six years as a congressman. And he provides a rare combination of staunch conservative principles with a sober and measured tone and demeanor. He has always demonstrated an ability to calmly explain his positions without devolving into the hyperbole and vitriol so typical in the Trump era. And, he’s been down and out before. He also offers a striking contrast to Trump, the unrepentant sinner, in that he has signaled an honest path of religious redemption and ownership for his past mistakes.
What Do You Think?
These are the three men who have so far stepped forward to challenge Donald Trump in the Republican Primary. Each represents different positions in the former conservative coalition. Each can attract a different strain of voter. And each has unique strengths and unique weaknesses. All three, for various reasons, are giving it a shot because they have nothing to lose.
Will you be supporting one of these men? Are there others you hope will jump in the ring? Have you already given up on the GOP and begun looking for third-party options? Sound off in the comments below and tell us what you think about these candidates and their chances of challenging Donald Trump.
Do you have a response to this article? Would you like to offer your own take on this topic? Feel free to submit your own article or offer a comment below.
Justin Stapley is the owner and editor of The Liberty Hawk and the voice of The New Centrist Podcast. You can follow him on Facebook and on Twitter, or you can subscribe to his newsletter.
- The Liberty Hawk is Now on Medium - December 9, 2020
- Betraying Allies Is Not the Way to Avoid Being the World’s Police - August 14, 2020
- The Last Full Measure of Devotion - August 13, 2020
1) Bill Weld – no – pro choice.
2) Joe Walsh – would vote for him in primary (and in general if Amash doesn’t run but hope Amash does appear in general). Walsh was much too slow in coming to his senses about Trump when all the danger signs were there from the day of his announcement (and before, for people that knew anything about him).
3) Mark Sanford – I have to forgive him if God did, but even the “man after God’s own heart” (David), though repentant, suffered serious consequences for his sins for the rest of his life. Also, I think one has to consider the possibility of a “conversion of convenience”, and a man who can stand on national TV and call his adulteress his soulmate and crush his wife in the process is severely lacking in basic character, IMO. Also, he abandoned his post as governor and actually left the country to pursue his “soulmate”. What if he were to do that as President? Finally, he bought his wife a bicycle and returned it! That may seem trivial; but to me, it says something about his basic character. Read about that and other aspects of the character of Mark Sanford here.
https://www.amazon.com/Staying-True-Jenny-Sanford/dp/0345522397/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?keywords=staying+true+by+jenny+sanford&qid=1569800701&s=gateway&sprefix=staying+true&sr=8-1