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President Donald Trump took to social media on Wednesday morning to showcase the power of his political endorsements, touting that the candidates he backed went 37-0 in Tuesday’s GOP primaries from coast to coast.
“We won all races last night. Every one of them,” Trump told reporters.
The brute force of the president’s endorsement power and the immense grip he has on the Republican Party were on full display in a number of high-profile ballot-box showdowns, including Trump-backed Ed Gallrein ousting Rep. Thomas Massie in the GOP primary in Kentucky’s 4th Congressional District, a race that grabbed outsized national attention.
But Trump’s heavy hand in this year’s primaries could cause repercussions in the autumn, when Republicans will be defending their razor-thin House and slim Senate majorities in the midterm elections.
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President Donald Trump talks to reporters before boarding Air Force One on May 20, 2026 at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland. Trump showcased the power of his political endorsements in answering reporter questions. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
While those concerns will mount as the midterms creep closer, on Tuesday night the political headline was Trump once again successfully flexing his muscles to exert payback on Republicans who defied him.
Two weeks after purging five state senators in Indiana’s primary who had opposed his push for congressional redistricting, and three days after helping to oust Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana — as the senator who, five and a half years ago, voted to convict Trump in his second impeachment trial lost his bid for renomination — Trump obliterated Massie.
Massie, who for 14 years has represented Kentucky’s 4th Congressional District, in the northeastern part of the red-leaning state, has long been one of Trump’s most vocal GOP critics in Congress. The libertarian-minded lawmaker has repeatedly taken aim at the president over foreign policy, including the Iran war and unconditional U.S. military aid to Israel. And he’s also been a thorn in Trump’s side for successfully pushing for the release of government files related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
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Rep. Thomas Massie speaks to supporters at his primary night event in Hebron, Ky., on May 19, 2026. (Paul Steinhauser/Fox News)
Gallrein’s nearly ten-point victory over Massie in a race that was expected to be much closer represents a major win for Trump’s political operation and pro-Israel allied groups, who spent aggressively to unseat the sitting lawmaker.
Speaking at his victory celebration, Gallrein thanked Trump for his support, saying, “My focus is on advancing the president’s and the party’s agenda to put America first and Kentucky always.”
Taking to social media after Massie’s defeat, White House communications director and longtime Trump aide Steven Cheung warned, “Do not ever doubt President Trump and his political power. F–k around, find out.”
Veteran Republican strategist and communicator Ryan Williams told Fox News Digital, “The Republican Party is Trump’s party, and if you cross him, he’ll hit back at you ten times as hard and defeat you. He’s getting better at this as time goes on. His grip on the party has increased, not decreased.”
“Anybody at this point who doesn’t understand this will be out of a job if they cross the president,” Williams emphasized.
Meanwhile, Rep. Andy Barr of Kentucky, backed by Trump in recent days, cruised to the Republican Senate nomination in the race to succeed retiring Sen. Mitch McConnell, a former longtime Senate GOP leader.
And Sen. Tommy Tuberville, a top Trump ally in the Senate, easily captured the GOP gubernatorial nomination in solidly red Alabama.
But some Trump-backed candidates will have to wait a little longer before securing a ticket to the general election.
Republican Lt. Gov. Burt Jones of Georgia finished first in the GOP gubernatorial primary, but didn’t top 50%, forcing a runoff next month with billionaire businessman Rick Jackson.
It was the same story in Alabama, where Trump-backed Rep. Barry Moore finished first but will need another victory in next month’s runoff to secure the Republican Senate nomination in the race to succeed Tuberville.
And this past weekend, Trump-backed Rep. Julia Letlow was forced into a runoff with Louisiana Treasurer John Fleming as Cassidy was sent packing.
Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana fist bumps a supporter during a campaign stop at a gun retailer and firing range in Baton Rouge on May 15, 2026, the eve of the state’s Senate primary. (Paul Steinhauser/Fox News)
Trump putting his hand on the scale in red states like Louisiana, Alabama and Kentucky shouldn’t be an issue in the general election, but it could be in battleground Georgia, and in red-leaning Texas, where Democrats are hoping to win a U.S. Senate election for the first time in nearly four decades.
Democrats feel Trump gave them an early Christmas gift by endorsing MAGA firebrand and ally and supporter Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton over longtime GOP Sen. John Cornyn with one week to go until the runoff election for the Republican nomination.
“Ken is a true MAGA Warrior who has ALWAYS delivered for Texas, and will continue to do so in the United States Senate,” Trump wrote in a social media post as he announced his backing of Paxton, which likely ends Cornyn’s hope of winning renomination.
The winner of the GOP runoff will face off in the autumn with rising Democratic Party star state Rep. James Talarico, who has built a massive war chest this year while Cornyn and Paxton have traded fire in their combustible race.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, the National Republican Senatorial Committee and many GOP leaders in the nation’s capital saw Cornyn as the candidate better equipped to successfully defend the seat in Texas, which Democrats are trying to flip as they work to win back the chamber’s majority.
Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, speaks to the media on primary night in Austin, Texas, on March 3, 2026. (Jack Myer/AP)
That’s because Paxton has faced a slew of scandals and legal problems that have battered him over the past decade, as well as his ongoing messy divorce.
Some Republicans are concerned this could be a flashback to 2022, when then-former President Trump flexed his muscles in the GOP primaries, with some of his picks, including Georgia’s Herschel Walker, falling short in the midterms, as Republicans failed to win back the Senate.
“Trump got his way in most of the primaries in 2022 also. Didn’t portend great results in the general election,” vocal Trump critic and GOP consultant Sarah Longwell posted on social media Tuesday night.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, a Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate, was endorsed by President Donald Trump on Tuesday. (Julio Cortez/AP Photo)
Williams said, “The president has shown that he puts personal loyalty over political considerations even when it puts a safe seat at risk.”
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And pointing to this year’s midterms, when the GOP as the party in power will face traditional headwinds as well as an extremely challenging political climate, Ryan said, “That’s the situation Republicans find themselves dealing with heading into what should be a challenging midterm election.”
