GOP Primaries Focus On Candidates’ Loyalty To President Trump

… Despite low national approval ratings, a steady stream of administration controversies and the ongoing investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election led by Justice Department special counsel Robert Mueller, nothing has shaken President Trump’s enduring popularity among Republicans, where his approval ratings hover around 90 percent.

Veteran House and Senate campaign strategist Andrea Bozek says in 2018 Republicans are less concerned with the old, familiar metrics that used to drive primary campaigns, like conservative vote ratings, or whether candidates had signed an anti-tax pledge. “I think now it’s how much support have you given the president in the past, and what can you do to support his agenda going forward?” she said. CONT.

Susan Davis, NPR