Rough Night For Trump-Endorsed Candidates: 3 Trump-Backed GOP Picks Lost Primaries
Topline
Former President Donald Trump’s endorsed candidates lost GOP primaries in Utah, South Carolina and Colorado Tuesday—denting his record of backing successful primary candidates.
Former President Donald Trump, speaks at a campaign rally at the Liacouras Center on June 22, 2024 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images) Getty Images
Key Facts
In Colorado, former conservative talk show host Jeff Crank overwhelmingly defeated Trump-backed state GOP party chair Dave Williams in a Colorado Springs-area district Tuesday, garnering 68% of the vote when the Associated Press called the race.
Crank is expected to win the November general election to fill the safely red seat being vacated by retiring Rep. Doug Lamborn.
A Trump opponent also earned the GOP Senate nomination in Utah: Rep. John Curtis, R-Utah, who has frequently criticized Trump and has not endorsed his 2024 bid, beat Trump-endorsed Riverton Mayor Trent Staggs to fill retiring Sen. Mitt Romney’s safely red seat.
In South Carolina, nurse practitioner Sheri Biggs, who was endorsed by Republican Gov. Henry McMaster, won a primary runoff in the western part of the state over Trump-endorsed pastor and Army veteran Mark Burns.
Surprising Fact
Trump’s backing typically boosts GOP primary candidates by 14 points on average from 2018 through 2022, according to research from the University of Amsterdam. His endorsement isn’t as helpful in general elections against Democrats, docking GOP candidates by 1.5 percentage points on average, according to the research.
Contra
At least two of Trump’s preferred picks won or were on track to win primaries in Colorado on Tuesday. Republican Rep. Celeste Maloy appeared poised to beat combat veteran Colby Jenkins in a largely Democratic district that includes Boulder. The race pitted the MAGA flank against each other, with Trump and House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., backing Maloy, and Vivek Ramaswamy and Sens. Mike Lee, R-Utah, Rand Paul, R-Ky., and Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala. endorsing Jenkins. Maloy had won 52% of the vote as of Wednesday morning, according to the Associated Press, which had yet to call the race. Trump-backed Republican Dave Evans handily defeated Janak Joshi in Colorado’s competitive suburban Denver 8th Congressional District, narrowly won by Democratic Rep. Yadira Caraveo in 2022.
Key Background
Republicans are fighting to hold on to their slim majority in the House after narrowly winning control of the lower chamber in the 2022 midterm, a worse-than-expected outcome that many in the party blamed on Trump’s endorsements of candidates who lost key races. Trump was also largely blamed for the GOP’s failure to gain control of the Senate, after Democrats flipped Pennsylvania and won tough races in Arizona, Nevada and Georgia. Democrats will have to fight hard to keep control of the Senate this year, as they have 23 seats on the ballot, compared to 11 GOP seats.
Further Reading
Jamaal Bowman, Lauren Boebert And More: These Are The Primaries To Watch Tonight (Forbes)
These Are The House Races That Could Decide If The GOP Holds Onto Congress (Forbes)
Here Are 2024’s Most Contested Senate Races—From Maryland To Arizona (Forbes)