Losses are piling up for Trump-backed candidates
Trump-Endorsed Picks Keep Falling by the Wayside in Primary Season
A Brutal Tuesday Night for the President's Picks
Qwenews.com – Roughly 300,000 voters cast ballots Tuesday across Republican primaries in Wyoming and two Florida congressional districts, each featuring a candidate backed by President Donald Trump. The result was stark: only 28 percent of those ballots went to the candidates the president had championed. For Trump-endorsed contenders, the evening proved especially punishing.
The setbacks landed in three races simultaneously. In Wyoming's governor's contest, Megan Degenfelder fell short. In Florida, two separate House races produced losses for Rep. Cory Mills and Catalina Lauf. Each defeat added another notch to a tally that has been climbing all season.
The Numbers Tell a Story of Eroding Influence
Republican primary voters have now turned away from 10 Trump-endorsed candidates seeking statewide seats or congressional offices during this cycle. Per a CNN analysis drawing on Ballotpedia-compiled endorsement data, that figure matches the combined total of losses across the 2018, 2020, and 2024 primary seasons. It also edges closer to the all-time high of 12 Trump-backed candidates defeated in the 2022 primaries — a year when some observers wondered whether the GOP was moving past the president following the January 6, 2021, Capitol riot.
None of this suggests Trump has lost all leverage within his party. Yet the pattern represents the latest indicator that his command over the Republican base has weakened considerably.
More Losses Loom on the Calendar
The tally could climb further in coming weeks. Among the handful of primary dates still ahead, Trump has staked his support on Anthony DiLorenzo in New Hampshire's 1st Congressional District and on appointed Sen. Darline Graham in South Carolina's special election scheduled for next week.
While the three endorsed candidates were taking losses Tuesday night, Graham was navigating a tense debate against her runoff opponent, Rep. Ralph Northam. At one juncture, she conceded she was
"not … that informed on national security"
before awkwardly deflecting a question on whether Taiwan constitutes a national security concern for the United States. Should Graham lose, she would become only the fourth Trump-backed Senate candidate to be eliminated in a primary — joining Alabama's Luther Strange (2017), West Virginia's Evan Jenkins (2018), and Utah's Trent Staggs (2024).
Voter Discontent and the President's Reaction
These primary defeats arrive alongside mounting evidence that GOP-leaning voters are growing impatient with a historically unpopular president. A recent CNN poll found that 30 percent, 40 percent, and even 50 percent or more of Republicans and GOP-leaning independents register dissatisfaction with Trump on several key issues.
The president appears to be registering that shift himself. After his South Carolina gubernatorial pick, Lt. Gov. Pam Evette, became a long shot in the June runoff, Trump double-endorsed a rival candidate. Then, following Mills' Florida loss, he posted a pointed message Wednesday morning:
"I told Congressman Cory Mills of Florida, a friend of mine, to get out of the Race, but he wouldn't listen. He thought he could win, so who can blame him? We now have a great candidate, Ryan Elijah, running in his place!"
Notably, Trump had not applied that pressure publicly before the vote. The post now stands as further evidence that his once-absolute grip on the party's primary machinery is fraying.
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