July 19, 2022: Dems’ primary-meddling strategy comes under scrutiny

Just one state holds its primaries today: Maryland. And it doesn’t lack for drama. In the gubernatorial Democratic primary, there’s a “total lack of clarity about who will be representing the party in November, after a lengthy primary distinguished by the failure of any candidate to break away from a nine-person field,” as our colleagues Brakkton Booker and Zach Montellaro write. The Republican primary is a proxy battle between moderate term-limited Gov. Larry Hogan and former President Donald Trump, who is eager to embarrass Hogan, his longtime critic. But here's what you should really watch — Maryland offers the latest example of a strategy that Dems have employed throughout the country: meddling in GOP primaries to get the general-election opponent they’d prefer, often boosting candidates further to the right who are aligned with Trump. Playbook’s video series “The Midterm View:" Dems meddle in GOP primaries Subscribe to the POLITICO Playbook newsletter Raghu Manavalan is the Host of POLITICO's Playbook.Jenny Ament is the Executive Producer of POLITICO Audio.