It is no secret that 2020 was a tumultuous year for the United States, to say the least. Starting with COVID, followed by the killing of George Floyd, a summer filled with protests, and culminating with Donald Trump’s defeat to Joe Biden in the 2020 election. 

Donald Trump refused to concede, and put pressure on statewide officials in certain states where his margin of defeat was rather slim, including Georgia. Trump pressured Governor Brian Kemp, as well as Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to overturn the results in the state, as well as “find him votes,” rendering him the victor, rather than Joe Biden. Both Kemp and Raffensperger refused, rightfully so, enraging Donald Trump. As a way for him to enact “payback” against Kemp and Raffensperger, Trump endorsed the challengers in the Republican primary to each: David Perdue against Kemp and Jody Hice against Raffensperger. 

However, both of Trump’s picks against the incumbents fell embarrassingly short. For Governor, as of June 2nd, 2022, with 98% of precincts reporting, Brian Kemp received 73.7% percent of the vote, with 885,551 votes. David Perdue barely captured a meager ⅕ of the vote, with 21.8% percent of the vote, which is 261,706 votes. For Secretary of State, incumbent Brad Raffensperger captured 52.3% of the vote, with 609,405 votes. Jody Hice garnered 33.4% of the vote; 388,516 votes.

What does this mean? It is clear that statewide, Georgian Republican voters have simultaneously silenced Donald Trump’s claims about the 2020 presidential election, and have as well dismissed Donald Trump and Trump-esque talking points that have ensnared the Republican party since he originally ran back in 2015. Voters have decided that enough is enough, and that they are not going to stand by Trump and his far-right, dangerous, and democracy-harming beliefs in regards to elections. 

I do not, however, think that what happened in the primary in Georgia will be unique. I think that this wave of rejecting “Trumpism” will echo throughout the country. In Wyoming, Trump has endorsed Harriet Hageman, an attorney running against incumbent Liz Cheney. Cheney has been a very vocal opponent of Donald Trump, siding against him on most issues, and being one of the few Republicans to openly condemn the January 6th riot at the Capitol. Hageman has gone as far as to say Cheney is running because she “has turned her back on Wyoming,” referring to Cheney’s participation in a Congressional panel that investigated January 6th. Trump has made similar statements, also citing Cheney’s participation in said panels. Although the Wyoming primary has not happened yet, it will be deeply interesting to see how it pans out.

Midterms are usually seen as a referendum on the current presidency. While I believe that the 2022 United States midterm elections will no doubt be a referendum on the Biden Presidency, I think that it will also be a referendum on Trumpism. Voters will finally either put an end to his baseless 2020 election claims, 2 years later, and restore the Republican party back to what it once was, or, voters will not rebuke Trump and his claims, and continue to give him and his ideals a platform nationally.