Aug. 16, 2022, 11:17 a.m. ETAug. 16, 2022, 11:17 a.m. ET
Maggie Astor and Azi Paybarah
Former President Donald J. Trump’s preferred candidate, Tim Michels, won the Republican primary for governor in Wisconsin.
As the midterm primary season enters the homestretch, candidates endorsed by former President Donald J. Trump continue to rack up primary wins.
That is partly by design: Of the more than 200 Republicans Mr. Trump has endorsed this year, many ran unopposed or faced little-known, poorly funded opponents. He has also waited to make some endorsements until a front-runner emerges, strategically picking the candidates most likely to win — as with his last-minute endorsement of Tudor Dixon in Michigan’s primary for governor.
Several of his endorsed candidates were defeated in early primaries, including in Georgia and North Carolina. But for candidates like J.D. Vance in Ohio and Mehmet Oz in Pennsylvania, Mr. Trump’s support was crucial to securing victory. His choices have also won in large numbers in the most recent races, including in two swing states, Arizona and Michigan.
Here is a look at Mr. Trump’s endorsement record.
A sweep in Arizona
A former local television news host, Kari Lake, won the Republican primary for governor with Mr. Trump’s endorsement, narrowly defeating Karrin Taylor Robson, the choice of establishment Republicans. Ms. Lake has forcefully promoted Mr. Trump’s false claims that the 2020 election was stolen.
Blake Masters, a venture capitalist who has pushed a version of the “great replacement” conspiracy theory, won his Senate primary and will challenge Senator Mark Kelly, a vulnerable Democrat, in November.
State Representative Mark Finchem, who is affiliated with the far-right Oath Keepers militia group and said before the primary that he would not concede if he lost, won the Republican nomination for secretary of state, a position in which he would oversee Arizona elections.
And David Farnsworth won a State Senate primary against Rusty Bowers, the Arizona House speaker who drew Trump supporters’ fury for resisting efforts to overturn the 2020 election and for testifying before the Jan. 6 congressional committee.
Mixed results in Wisconsin
Mr. Trump’s preferred candidate, Tim Michels, won the Republican primary for governor, defeating former Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch.
But Robin Vos, the powerful speaker of the Wisconsin Assembly, fended off a challenge — barely — from Adam Steen, a Trump endorsee who had called for eliminating most absentee and early voting in the state and for decertifying the 2020 election.
Losses for pro-impeachment Republicans in Michigan and Washington State
Representative Peter Meijer, one of 10 House Republicans who voted to impeach Mr. Trump, lost his primary to a Trump-backed challenger, John Gibbs, in Michigan’s Third Congressional District.
More Coverage of the 2022 Midterm Elections
- Liz Cheney: If the G.O.P. congresswoman loses her upcoming primary, as is widely expected, it will end the run of the Cheney dynasty in Wyoming. But she says her crusade to stop Donald J. Trump will continue.
- The Impeachment 10: Ms. Cheney is part of a group of 10 House Republicans who voted to impeach Mr. Trump over the Jan. 6 riot. Most of them have lost their primary races or are retiring.
- Sarah Palin: As the former Alaska governor and 2008 vice-presidential Republican nominee seeks the state’s lone House seat, voters appeared torn on whether she remained committed to them or had abandoned them for national fame.
- Abortion Ads: Since Roe v. Wade was overturned, Democrats have spent nearly eight times as much on abortion-related ads as Republicans have, with Democratic strategists believing the issue has radically reshaped the 2022 landscape in their party’s favor.
Another Trump endorsee, Joe Kent, defeated a pro-impeachment Republican, Representative Jaime Herrera Beutler, in Washington State.
But survival for another pro-impeachment Republican in Washington State
Representative Dan Newhouse, who drew the anger of Mr. Trump after supporting his second impeachment, advanced over his Trump-endorsed opponent, Loren Culp, thanks largely to Washington State’s open primary system.
In Georgia, several losses and one victory
Gov. Brian Kemp easily defeated former Senator David Perdue, Mr. Trump’s handpicked candidate, in the Republican primary for governor. Mr. Kemp became a Trump target after he refused to overturn the president’s loss in the state in 2020. He will face Stacey Abrams, the Democrat he narrowly defeated four years ago.
Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, who refused Mr. Trump’s demand to “find” additional votes after his 2020 loss, also defeated a Trump-endorsed challenger, Representative Jody Hice.
In a primary runoff for an open seat in Georgia’s Sixth Congressional District, Rich McCormick, a physician and retired Marine, defeated the Trump-backed candidate Jake Evans, the former chairman of the state’s ethics commission and the son of a Trump administration ambassador.
The former professional football star Herschel Walker, who was endorsed by Mr. Trump, dominated a Senate primary and will face Senator Raphael Warnock, a Democrat, in the general election.
Victories in Pennsylvania
After a close race that prompted a recount, Mehmet Oz, Mr. Trump’s choice, won a Senate primary, narrowly defeating David McCormick.
Doug Mastriano, a state senator and retired Army colonel who has promoted false claims about the 2020 election and attended the protest leading up to the Capitol riot, won the Republican nomination for governor. Mr. Trump had endorsed him just a few days before the primary.
Two wins and a loss in North Carolina
Representative Ted Budd won the Republican nomination for Senate, and Bo Hines, a 26-year-old political novice who enthralled Mr. Trump, was catapulted to victory in his primary for a House seat outside Raleigh.
But Representative Madison Cawthorn crumbled under the weight of repeated scandals and blunders. He was ousted in his primary, a rejection of a Trump-endorsed candidate. Voters chose Chuck Edwards, a state senator.
A split in South Carolina House races
Representative Tom Rice, one of the 10 House Republicans who voted to impeach Mr. Trump, was ousted by his Trump-backed challenger, State Representative Russell Fry, in the Seventh Congressional District.
But Representative Nancy Mace defeated her Trump-endorsed opponent, the former state lawmaker Katie Arrington, in the First Congressional District. Ms. Mace had said that Mr. Trump bore responsibility for the Jan. 6 attack but did not vote to impeach him.
A win for election deniers in Nevada
Adam Laxalt won a primary to face Senator Catherine Cortez Masto, who is seen as one of the most vulnerable Democrats this fall. Mr. Laxalt, a former attorney general, was endorsed by Mr. Trump and had helped lead his efforts to overturn the presidential election results in Nevada.
Joseph Lombardo, the Las Vegas sheriff, won the Republican nomination for governor and will face the incumbent, Gov. Steve Sisolak, a Democrat.
Victories in Maryland and Illinois, with outside help
Dan Cox, a first-term state legislator who embraced Mr. Trump’s lies about the 2020 election, handily defeated Kelly Schulz — a protégé of Gov. Larry Hogan, a leader of the Republican Party’s anti-Trump wing — in the party’s primary for governor in Maryland. Mr. Cox benefited from more than $1 million in advertising from the Democratic Governors Association, which helped his primary campaign in hopes that he would be easier to defeat in the general election.
State Senator Darren Bailey, who received a last-minute endorsement from Mr. Trump, won the Republican primary for governor in Illinois after similar spending by Democrats, including Gov. J.B. Pritzker.
Also in Illinois, Representative Mary Miller, endorsed by Mr. Trump months ago, won her House primary against fellow Representative Rodney Davis after redistricting put them in the same district.
Victories in Ohio
The Senate candidate J.D. Vance defeated a field of well-funded rivals, nearly all of whom pitched themselves as Trump-like Republicans. Mr. Vance, an author and venture capitalist, had transformed himself from a self-described “never-Trump guy” in 2016 to a Trump-supported “America First” candidate in 2022.
Max Miller, a former Trump aide who denied assault allegations from an ex-girlfriend and was later endorsed by Mr. Trump, won his House primary.
Mr. Trump also endorsed Madison Gesiotto Gilbert, a lawyer who had been a surrogate for his presidential campaign. She won a seven-way primary for a congressional seat.
A loss in Idaho
Gov. Brad Little overcame Mr. Trump’s endorsement of the state’s lieutenant governor, Janice McGeachin, who was challenging him in the Republican primary.
A victory in West Virginia
Representative Alex Mooney prevailed over Representative David McKinley in a newly drawn congressional district. Mr. Trump’s backing was seen as the decisive factor.
Alyce McFadden contributed research.
Source: nytimes.com
