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With Trump’s endorsement, Vern Buchanan shuts the door on fledgling Primary
challenger

 

BY PETER SCHORSCH

 

DECEMBER 22, 2021

I would say it was fun while it lasted but that would imply it even started.

 

I would say it was fun while it lasted, but that would imply it even started.

 

When former President Donald Trump gave U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan a “complete
and total endorsement” on Monday, it effectively eliminated any chance that
Martin Hyde’s circus act of a campaign for Florida’s 16th Congressional
District would get off the ground.

 

It’s not like Buchanan needed the former President’s endorsement to destroy
Hyde’s chances of winning the Republican nomination. Hyde did that to himself
the moment he called Trump “wretched” and said he was “horrified” by the
“bigotry and bullying” of Trump supporters.

 

He may as well have called them a “basket of deplorables.”

 

Since then, Hyde has done everything to distract from his anti-Trump rhetoric.
He recently announced he was paying Roger Stone $10,000 a month to run his
campaign (Hey Martin, better ask Roger for a refund before he splits) and, in
his latest publicity stunt, hung a “Let’s Go Brandon” Christmas display on his
front balcony.

 

Stay classy.

 

But let’s be honest, Trump’s endorsement in a Republican Primary is a golden
ticket. Buchanan now has it in his back pocket — and that shouldn’t come as a
surprise.

 

The longtime Congressman is currently the No. 2 Republican on the House Ways
and Means Committee. With U.S. Rep.Devin Nunes, the current ranking member, set
to retire, Buchanan is thefront-runner to replace him. Assuming the GOP retakes
the House next year — and that seems inevitable at this point — Buchanan would
become Chair.

 

The Ways and Means Committee oversees the U.S. tax code, tariffs, and critical
social programs like Social Security and Medicare. In other words, Buchanan
could be a key ally in getting the President’s agenda through Congress.

 

So, where does that leave Hyde?

Well, a candidate with an honest outlook on this race would nurse their wounds
over the holidays and realize that running against a Trump-endorsed incumbent
is a fool’s errand and that staying in the race just makes them look more
foolish.

 

But nothing his campaign has done so far indicates Hyde is an honest
candidate, let alone one capable of introspection. So, he may decide to stick
it out.

 

If he does, he’ll be an easy target for Buchanan’s longtime political assassin
Max Goodman who, as Florida GOP Chair Joe Gruters puts it, is a “master at
creating chaos.”

 

Either way, the end is still the same.

 

Read the article HERE
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