Republican voters gave a blunt message to President Donald Trump this week: his endorsed candidates no longer have a guaranteed win. Three more of his preferred ones lost primary contests on Tuesday, adding to the summer slump.
Donald Trump-endorsed candidates face defeat in primary season
Trump has been known for using his endorsement as a golden ticket in Republican primaries. That formula has cracked in 2026. Ten Trump-backed candidates have now lost races this year, leaving him one defeat short of his worst showing in 2022, when 11 of his endorsees lost.
In Florida’s 19th Congressional District, Trump picked Catalina Lauf, a Make America Healthy Again-aligned candidate. Local media mogul Jim Schwartzel beat her anyway. These defeats follow a spring stretch that appeared to confirm Trump’s dominance.
He successfully helped oust Senator Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, Representative Thomas Massie of Kentucky, and Senator John Cornyn of Texas. Each fell to Trump-aligned challengers.
The summer has told a different story. Governors’ races have proven especially troublesome for the president. Donald Trump’s initially endorsed candidates have lost five statewide contests in recent months. After all, Wyoming voters rejected a Trump-backed candidate who promised to fill the state government with “bulldogs.”
Instead, they chose a rancher and a veterinarian who campaigned to cool intraparty feuds. In Minnesota, election denier Mike Lindell lost his Trump-supported bid for governor. Trump’s preferred candidates also stumbled in Iowa, Georgia, and South Carolina.
Not every result has gone against the president. Representative Andy Biggs won the Arizona governor’s primary. John James secured the Republican nomination for governor in Michigan.
The next test will be in South Carolina. Senator Darline Graham, appointed to fill her late brother Lindsey Graham’s seat, failed to avoid a runoff. Trump plans to campaign for her in Myrtle Beach on Friday, hoping to halt a losing streak that has raised questions about his influence. (Via: The New York Times)
