WASHINGTON — Twelve days after Kansas Republican Sen. Jerry Moran voted to acquit former President Donald Trump for incitement of insurrection, he received Trump’s endorsement for re-election.
Trump made the announcement Thursday evening. Moran will run for a third Senate term in 2022 in a state that went for Trump by double digits in two elections.
“Senator Jerry Moran is doing a terrific job for the wonderful people of Kansas. Strong on Military, Vets, the Border, and our Second Amendment, Jerry has my Complete and Total Endorsement for his re-election in 2022!” Trump said in a statement released by his new Save America PAC.
The endorsement comes after speculation that Moran could be vulnerable to a Trump-backed primary challenge. The Clay County Republican Party censured him earlier this month for upholding President Joe Biden’s victory.
Trump’s early support likely forecloses the possibility of an insurgent candidate challenging Moran from the right. But coming less than two weeks after the impeachment trial it also underscores the role Trump’s continued influence over the party played in his acquittal.
One of Trump’s attorneys, Bruce Castor, made a reference during the trial to the fact that “nobody in this chamber is anxious to have a primary challenge,” a remark that served a reminder of the potential consequences for votes to convict.
When Moran voted to acquit Trump, he pointed to concerns about the precedent that convicting a former president would set. He did not directly defend Trump’s behavior.
Moran said Trump “was wrong to continue to spread allegations of widespread fraud and not immediately discourage the reprehensible and unpatriotic behavior” of the rioters who ransacked the Capitol.
Moran is the first senator to win Trump’s endorsement since his acquittal and the announcement comes just days before the former president’s first major public appearance since leaving office, his Sunday address to the American Conservative Union’s CPAC conference in Orlando, Florida.
The main organizer of the CPAC event, Wichita native Matt Schlapp, was seen as a potential primary challenger to Moran. Schlapp is a longtime conservative operative who maintains deep political connections in Kansas. His wife, Mercedes Schlapp, worked for Trump in the White House and on his campaign.
Matt Schlapp, who owns a Virginia-based lobbying business, was one of the leading voices spreading baseless claims of widespread voter fraud after the election. He mocked Moran on Twitter when he became the first Republican from the Kansas City area to recognize Biden’s status as president-elect in November.
Schlapp did not respond to a text message asking for his reaction to Trump’s endorsement of Moran.
Moran’s spokesman did not comment on the conversations between Moran and the former president leading up to the endorsement.
The senator is not scheduled to be at CPAC, but will be in Florida this weekend for a fundraiser in Miami Beach with two other establishment Republicans up for election in 2022: Missouri Sen. Roy Blunt and South Dakota Sen. John Thune.
Trump publicly urged South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem to launch a primary against Thune after the senator voiced opposition to Trump’s efforts to overturn the election.
The fundraising retreat at the St. Regis Bal Harbour with Blunt and Thune is in support of Moran’s campaign. It will last from Friday through Sunday and attendees are asked to make a suggested contribution of $2,000, according to an invitation.
The hotel is a little more than an hour’s drive north of Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence, where multiple GOP officials have visited him since he left office.
Moran was not particularly close with Trump during his presidency, which makes the early endorsement somewhat surprising.
He voted with Trump 81 % of the time compared to fellow Kansas Republican Sen. Roger Marshall, who supported Trump 98% of the time. Moran cast some high-profile votes against Trump, including opposition to his decision to his steer money from military construction projects toward his border wall.
