Donald Trump Suffers Worst Night for Endorsements of 2026 Cycle
Three Trump-backed Republicans lost primaries in Florida and Wyoming, exposing the limits of the president’s influence.
President Donald Trump endured his most severe cluster of endorsement losses during the 2026 primary cycle on Tuesday, as three Republican candidates he backed suffered setbacks in Florida and Wyoming. Representative Cory Mills narrowly lost the Republican primary for Florida’s 7th Congressional District, while Catalina Lauf fell short in the GOP nomination contest for Florida’s 19th District.
Wyoming Superintendent of Public Instruction Megan Degenfelder narrowly missed out on the gubernatorial primary. These three losses, while not erasing Trump’s overall record of successful endorsements, contribute to a series of August defeats that have highlighted the constraints on the president’s ability to propel candidates through local opposition, controversy, or questions about their qualifications.
Former NBC News moderator Chuck Todd commented on the political climate, stating that August has been a particularly challenging month for Trump politically. Despite remaining the dominant national figure in the Republican Party, the results underscore that an endorsement from the president does not guarantee victory for all candidates.
Trump-backed candidates faced losses in races for a Florida congressional seat, an open Florida House seat, and a strongly Republican state’s gubernatorial primary. Notably, Trump-endorsed candidates like Florida state Senator Eric Donalds secured victories, even if they didn't achieve decisive margins. The trend of Trump-backed candidate losses has been striking, with two-thirds of nine recorded losses occurring within a three-week span in August.
Written by urgent.news from Newsweek's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
