Acquittal means Trump will loom large in upcoming election contests

WASHINGTON — In the end, just seven out of 50 Republican senators — 14 percent — voted to convict Donald Trump of inciting the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol, leading to his acquittal in his second impeachment trial and once again demonstrating his powerful hold over the GOP.

It all but guarantees that Trump — and Trumpism — will be a dominant force in the next round of political races, both in determining GOP nominees and in providing potential fodder for Democrats in general election contests.

In this year’s Virginia’s gubernatorial contest, will the pro-Trump Amanda Chase win the GOP nomination? (As of now, Virginian Republicans are slated to pick their nominee at a convention instead of a primary.) And how will memories of Trump play in the November election, especially in the electorally crucial Northern Virginia suburbs?

After retiring Sen. Richard Burr, R-N.C., voted to convict Trump (and now faces a censure vote), is Trump daughter-in-law Lara Trump really going to run in next year’s North Carolina Senate contest to fill Burr’s seat? “My friend Richard Burr just made Lara Trump almost the certain nominee for the Senate seat in North Carolina to replace him if she runs,” Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said yesterday.

Do Liz Cheney of Wyoming and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska survive GOP primaries in these two red states?

Which GOP candidate has the edge to replace retiring Sen Rob Portman, R-Ohio, in the Buckeye State? (Is it the pro-Trump Josh Mandel?) And do Democrats have a chance of making Ohio, where Joe Biden lost by 8 points, competitive?

Who will Republicans choose as their nominee in the Pennsylvania Senate race to fill retiring Sen. Pat Toomey’s, R-Pa., seat? (Toomey, like Burr, voted to convict.)

In Georgia, will Trump’s revenge against sitting Republican Gov. Brian Kemp pay off? Or will it backfire in a state where the GOP has now lost a presidential contest, plus two Senate seats. (In 2022, it’s incredibly likely we’ll see a Dem ticket of Raphael Warnock and Stacey Abrams.)

In Michigan, who comes out on top in the GOP primary for the right to take on Dem Gov. Gretchen Whitmer?

Who wins the gubernatorial contest in Maine? (The pro-Trump Paul LePage is back!)

And don’t forget about next year’s gubernatorial race in Wisconsin, where almost every statewide general-election contest gets decided by the narrowest of margins.

Here’s something to remember about Trump’s role in these upcoming contests: He no longer has a Twitter account, he holds no office of power, he remains in potential legal jeopardy, and he’s forever associated with a deeply unpopular event.

But here’s something else to remember: Midterm elections typically are heavily dependent on attitudes about the sitting president. And we still have more than 600 days until Election Day 2022.

One out of seven: The number of Senate Republicans who voted to find Trump guilty in the impeachment trial who are expected to be on the ballot in 2022.

58 percent: The share of Americans who say Trump should have been convicted, per a new ABC poll.

27,756,993: The number of confirmed cases of coronavirus in the United States, per the most recent data from NBC News and health officials. (That’s 248,723 more than Friday morning.)

487,295: The number of deaths in the United States from the virus so far, per the most recent data from NBC News. (That’s 10,055 more than Friday morning.)

67,023: The number of people currently hospitalized with coronavirus in the United States.

335.0 million: The number of coronavirus tests that have been administered in the United States so far, according to researchers at The COVID Tracking Project.

52,884,356: Total vaccine doses administered in the U.S.

14,077,440: People fully vaccinated

73: The number of days left for Biden to reach his 100-day vaccination goal.

Heading into his fourth full week in office, here’s an update on President Joe Biden’s Cabinet team:

Nominee with pending confirmation hearings (1)

Attorney General nominee Merrick Garland (Feb. 22 and 23)

Nominees…