Losses are piling up for Trump-backed candidates - CNN
CNN reports that candidates endorsed by Donald Trump faced significant losses in recent Republican primaries in Wyoming and Florida. The analysis suggests a potential decline in Trump's influence over GOP voters as the party navigates its post-2020 identity.
Why it matters
The success rate of Trump's endorsements is a key indicator of his ongoing control over the Republican party's direction and candidate selection.
Nearly 300,000 people turned out to vote Tuesday in Republican primaries in Wyoming and two congressional districts in Florida where President Donald Trump endorsed one of the candidates. But just 28% of them voted for the candidates he told them to, marking a particularly brutal night for Trump-endorsed candidates. But that’s been a long time coming as GOP voters have increasingly shrugged off the advice of — and grown somewhat frustrated with the results from — a president who’s looking more like a lame duck. Republican primary voters have now rejected 10 Trump-endorsed candidates for statewide office or Congress this primary season. That’s equal to the number who lost in 2018, 2020 and 2024 primaries combined, according to a CNN analysis using Trump endorsements compiled by Ballotpedia. The number is also approaching the record of 12 Trump-endorsed candidates who lost in the 2022 primary season.
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