Trump's .943 batting average

Nothing beats success like success. President Donald John Trump's victories in the Republican primaries have convinced me that I was wrong. Endorsing candidates rocked. He is 116-7 for a 94.3% success rate. That translates into a .943 batting average.

In Tuesday's primaries, he went 16-0. A 17th race -- Ryan Zinke's bid for Congress in Montana -- is undecided but he is ahead by 1.5 points.

Sure, many of those hits were singles. Kristi Noem never was at risk in her bid for the Republican nod for another term as governor of South Dakota.

But singles add up. Pete Rose had 3,215 career singles on his way to a 4,256-hit career, the most ever. He carried a .303 career batting average too in an era dominated by pitching. I am not a Rose fan but today's hitters never faced the likes of Marichal, Koufax, Drysdale and the dreaded Bob Gibson. He faced them all in their prime.

And Trump hit grand slams in the Ohio and Pennsylvania Senate primaries. Senators Vance and Oz would be in his breast pocket alongside his shades. 

Trump's willingness to tread where wise men never go -- the party's primaries -- showed leadership because once again he kicked conventional wisdom to the curb.

His endorsements worked on three levels.

1. It kept his name out there. As governor of Florida, Ron DeSantis makes news by breathing. (Most reporters in Tallahassee oppose that.) Trump has to work at it because the press now covers him only begrudgingly.

Relativity matters. Reagan stayed busy after losing the party's nomination in 1976. He won the nomination and presidency four years later.

2. Candidates sought his endorsement. Noem said she was honored and humbled to receive his endorsement -- in a race where she was Secretariat running against Barney Google's horse Spark Plug.

Some of his selections have conservative eyes rolling, but there are these things called chits. Kevin McCarthy owes him. That's a good thing to have.

3. He impressed the party.

The press will concentrate on his 7 losses but Republicans are impressed by those 116 wins. They know a second term for him will be different because he will not have to rely on RINOs. I wonder if in January a Republican majority won't just promote McConnell to chairman of the appropriations committee and find a new Senate leader.

By racking up so many wins, Trump becomes a winner in his party's eyes.

And that is all that matters now. DeSantis is on the rise. He's fresh in all senses of the word.

But Trump is showing he has a few miles left on his tread. He has stumped for Republicans throughout his brief political career. His average is pretty good.

On Independence Day, he will announce whether he will seek another term. I suspect he will. He is making his case. Already in this primary season, he has added 116 reasons to nominate him for a third time.