Griffith: Republican primary already ‘essentially over’

BRISTOL, Va. (WJHL) – As New Hampshire becomes the battleground of the nation’s first Republican primary, Congressman Morgan Griffith weighed in with his own thoughts on the race for the nomination.

Former President Donald Trump and fellow candidate Nikki Haley are facing off in what some believe could be the final proving ground for the Republican nomination.

Trump won the Iowa caucus by a wide margin earlier in January. Griffith told News Channel 11 Tuesday that that signaled the party’s decision.

“The bottom line is on the Republican side, it’s over,” Griffith said. “President Trump will be the nominee in 2024.”

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Griffith, who represents Virginia’s 9th congressional district encapsulating Southwest Virginia, said the Democratic Party is using several strategies to attempt to hinder Trump’s appearance on the ballot come time for the presidential primary.

“The Democrats are doing everything they can from bringing up charges to encouraging people to bring civil suits to try to keep President Trump off the ballot because they know he will beat President Biden,” Griffith said.

According to Griffith, Republicans are also closely watching the Democratic primary for any potential shake-ups.

“That could cause problems for Biden in the Democrat primary, but the Republican primary is essentially over,” Griffith said.

In addition to discussing the New Hampshire primary, Griffith also touched on some of Congress’s priorities.

“We have to get our spending under control if we can,” Griffith said.

Griffith pointed to illness and injuries among Republican representatives as a factor in the difficulty of passing legislation.

“Right now, we’re essentially the two-seat majority,” Griffith said. “That makes it difficult to get anything passed unless we have unanimity.”

Griffith described the current state of Congress as “very close to a stalemate” and said while there are some topics members both parties agree on, that list will dwindle as the presidential election nears.

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