Does Donald Trump still have the power to make and break elections in the United States?

The ex-president's political influence will be tested in a series of Republican primaries throughout May.

A dozen American states, starting with Ohio on Tuesday, organize primaries during the month of May to determine who will be their Republican candidate for the “midterms”, the midterm legislative elections, scheduled for November.

Crucial polls

These polls will probe the soul of the Republican Party, where a particularly bitter battle is being played out between different candidates from the hard right.

Many of them launched the worst invectives to get the attention and the official support of Donald Trump.

A sign of the stranglehold he still has on the Republican Party, the name of the former president loops through election commercials from Pennsylvania to Georgia, via Alabama and North Carolina.

And beware of anyone who does not pledge allegiance to Donald Trump.

A staunch defender

In Ohio, where we vote on Tuesday, one of the Republican contenders for the post of senator, JD Vance – author of a bestseller on America in the grip of deindustrialization having inspired a Netflix production (“An American ode ”) – got it right.

Formerly a critic of the Republican billionaire, the 37-year-old candidate now fervently boasts of his supposed closeness to Donald Trump, who has announced his support for the US Senate.

political capital

This did not prevent the ex-president from scratching the name of the candidate during a campaign meeting on Saturday… “We supported JP, didn't we?

JD Mandel,” Trump shouted to the crowd, seeming to confuse Vance with his closest rival, Josh Mandel.

The former president's backing nonetheless proved to be a huge boon for JD Vance, who has since his announcement taken a five-point lead over his rivals according to the polls.

On May 17, the spotlight will then turn to Pennsylvania, a state formerly famous for its steelworks, where Donald Trump has chosen to support a former TV star.

Donald Trump's support for Mehmet Oz - superstar surgeon long at the helm of a hugely popular daily medical show - appears to have helped 'Dr. Oz' overtake his nearest rival in the polls, former Treasury official David McCormick.

miniature crucible

This will be particularly crucial in Georgia, a sort of miniature crucible of the debates that will animate the United States in the coming months.

The southeastern state of the United States, known for its capital Atlanta, is both at the heart of a bitter struggle over access to the vote for African-Americans and the epicenter of a disinformation campaign on electoral fraud.

Donald Trump has repeatedly reprimanded Republican Governor Brian Kemp, a candidate for his re-election, for having certified the results of the presidential election of 2020, where he was defeated by Joe Biden.

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