Trump Endorsements Perfect in Texas, Alabama, Arkansas But Far from It in Georgia

Ninety-eight candidates endorsed by former President Donald J. Trump have won their Republican primary races this midterm election cycle following Tuesday’s primaries in Georgia, Alabama, Arkansas, and the Texas runoff, while only seven have come up short. Although Trump was perfect in his endorsements of candidates in Alabama, Arkansas, and Texas, four of the thirteen candidates who earned his nod in Georgia fell to their opponents.

Former U.S. Sen. David Perdue (R-GA), who earned Trump’s endorsement in the Republican gubernatorial primary, was defeated by sitting Gov. Brian Kemp. Recent polling did not bode well for Perdue and proved to be a harbinger of things to come on election day. An InsiderAdvantage/FOX 5 Atlanta poll sampled 750 likely Republican voters between May 20 and 21 had Kemp polling 14 points ahead of Perdue. The poll had a margin of error of plus or minus 3.6 percentage points.

Kemp will face off against Democrat nominee Stacey Abrams in a rematch of their 2018 gubernatorial election in which he took home 50.2 percent of the vote, and Abrams garnered 48.8 percent of the electorate’s vote. 

Heisman Trophy winner and former NFL Running Back Herschel Walker took home the Republican nomination for U.S. Senator in the Peach State, handily beating out the state’s Agriculture Commissioner Gary Black (R), among others. Walker secured Trump’s endorsement way back in September, as Breitbart News noted.

“Herschel Walker is a friend, a Patriot, and an outstanding American,” Trump said at the time, adding that Walker is “going to be a GREAT United States Senator.”

“Herschel is tough on Crime and Borders, and he will always stand in support of Law Enforcement, Military, and our Vets. He will fight hard for our Second Amendment and Voter Integrity,” Trump added.

Walker will square off against Sen. Raphael Warnock (D) in the general election in November after the incumbent senator staved off his sole challenger to earn the nomination.

Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr secured his renomination bid, beating out Trump-backed candidate John Gordon. Carr will take on Democrat nominee State Sen. Jen Jordan in the general election.

The Lieutenant Governor Race in Georgia remains unresolved as Trump-endorsed candidate State Sen. Burt Jones leads the field with 50.1 percent of the vote, with over 95 percent of the vote counted, per the Associated Press (AP) election results posted to the New York Times website. The next closest candidate is Butch Miller, at 31.1 percent, but Jones needs to remain above 50 percent to avoid a runoff election.

U.S. Rep. Jody Hice (R-GA) came up short in his effort to unseat sitting Secretary of State Brad Raffensberger. The incumbent narrowly escaped a runoff election with Hice, earning 52.3 percent of the vote with over 95 percent of results reported.

Trump-endorsed candidate Patrick Witt was unsuccessful in his bid for the Republican nomination for Insurance Commissioner in the Peach State, losing out to incumbent Insurance Commissioner John King, who has held the position since 2019.

Former State Rep. Vernon Jones, who Trump endorsed in his bid for the Tenth Congressional District, is heading to a runoff with fellow Republican candidate Mike Collins, a trucking business executive. Collins finished ahead of Jones in voting but failed to eclipse 50 percent of the vote, resulting in the runoff. The former state representative was a Democrat who voiced his support for Trump ahead of the 2020 Presidential Election and transitioned into the Republican Party in 2021, as Breitbart News previously noted. He initially launched a bid for governor in the Peach State “but dropped out of that race at Trump’s urging and earned Trump’s endorsement once he joined the congressional race,” as Breitbart News wrote.

Trump-backed candidate Jake Evans is heading into a runoff election with Rich McCormick in the primary race for the state’s sixth Congressional District.

Per the AP  election results, additional Trump-backed candidates who won their respective races in Georgia Tuesday include:

• Rep. Buddy Carter – Republican nominee First congressional District
• Rep. Andrew Clyde – Republican nominee for the Ninth Congressional District
• Rep. Barry Loudermilk – Republican nominee for the Eleventh Congressional District
• Rep. Rick Allen – Republican nominee for the Twelfth Congressional District
• Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene – Republican nominee for the Fourteenth Congressional District

Alabama

All Trump-endorsed candidates officially clinched their respective nominations in Alabama Tuesday evening. According to the AP primary results, all of the candidates are incumbents in the U.S. House of Representatives and include:

• Rep. Jerry Carl – Republican Nominee for the First Congressional District
• Rep. Barry Moore – Republican nominee for the Second Congressional District
• Rep. Mike Rodgers – Republican nominee for the Third Congressional District
• Rep. Robert Aderholt – Republican nominee for the Fourth Congressional District
• Rep. Gary Palmer – Republican nominee for the Sixth Congressional District

Arkansas

Former Trump White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders secured the Republican nomination for Arkansas gubernatorial race, handily beating her opponent – former radio host and current podcaster Doc Washburn. Huckabee, the daughter of former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee (R), was backed by Trump in her primary race. She will square off with Democrat gubernatorial nominee Chris Jones in the general election.

Per the AP’s results, the four other candidates in the state who earned Trump’s backing all took home nominations in their respective races:

• Sen. John Boozman – Republican nominee for U.S. Senate
• Tim Griffin – Republican nominee for Attorney General
• Rep. Rick Crawford – Republican nominee for the First Congressional District
• Rep. Bruce Westerman – Republican nominee for the Fourth Congressional District

Texas

Each of the five Trump-backed Texas candidates who had runoff elections Tuesday following primaries in March earned the nominations they were vying for, according to the AP’s results:

• Attorney General Ken Paxton – Republican nominee for Attorney General
• State Sen. Dawn Buckingham – Republican nominee for Land Commissioner
• Frederick Frazier – Republican nominee for State House in District 61
• Pete Flores – Republican nominee for State Senate in District 24
• Judge Phil Sorrells – Republican nominee for Tarrant County District Attorney

Trump came into the evening 82-3 in primary endorsements this mid-term election cycle on the heels of last week’s races in Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Kentucky, and Idaho, which saw 23 Trump-endorsed candidates win their races and only 2 lose. Trump-backed Rep. Bob Good (R-VA) prevailed in a primary bid for renomination in Virginia’s Fifth Congressional District on Saturday. Prior to the primaries on May 10, in which the first Trump-backed candidate lost in Idaho, the 45th President was a perfect 55-0 in endorsements as all 22 candidates who earned his nod won their primaries in Indiana and Ohio on May 3, and all 33 candidates in Texas who received his support either proved victorious in their races or forced runoffs in March. Of the May 3 races, J.D. Vance’s victory in Ohio’s Republican senate primary may have offered the most to learn as Vance rode a late Trump endorsement to victory.

Trump spokesman Taylor Budowich told Breitbart News.

JD Vance put in tremendous work and has immense political talent—which put him in the position to earn the support of President Trump—but it was the endorsement of President Donald J. Trump that took a candidate who many insiders said was in 4th and at single digits in the polls, and in only two weeks, propelled him into a commanding first place finish.

The mid-term primary cycle continues on June 7 in Mississippi, Montana, New Mexico, New Jersey, California, Iowa, and South Dakota.