Source: Semafor
by David Weigel
“In Jacksonville, the GOP’s candidate for mayor warned that Democrat Donna Deegan would start ‘defunding the police’ and ‘placing radical activists in charge’ of law enforcement. In Colorado Springs, Republican Wayne Williams claimed that his opponent would ruin the city with ‘socialism.’ And in Kentucky, Kelly Craft ran for governor on promises to execute drug dealers and ‘dismantle’ the state Department of Education. Deegan won, Williams lost, and Craft slumped into third place in Tuesday’s GOP primary. In each race, tactics that paid off for Republicans in 2021 didn’t have the same impact. Donald Trump immediately branded them as defeats for Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, declaring his ‘magic is gone,’ after endorsing both Craft and defeated Jacksonville mayoral candidate Daniel Davis. For once, Democrats agreed with Trump.” (05/19/23)