Trump Brags About His Candidates Winning In Races That Had No Opponents
In a Truth Social posting spree, the president bragged “Trump-endorsed” candidates had won their races, even though they had no competition.
President Donald Trump took a victory lap in a series of posts on his Truth Social platform, boasting about candidates he endorsed winning in Tuesday’s primary elections.
More than a dozen of these candidates, however, had no opponent and were all but certain to win their respective races. Several of the candidates that 79-year-old Trump bragged about even had their primaries canceled because they had no opponent.
Trump couldn't help but take credit for getting his candidates across the finish line, even when they faced no opponents.
Kevin Lamarque/REUTERS
In each image, Trump included a picture of himself scowling, a picture of the candidate, the text “Endorsed by President Trump,” and a declaration of their victory.
Trump flexed that Texas Republican members of Congress Monica De La Cruz, Craig Goldman, August Pfluger, Nathaniel Moran, Lance Gooden, Beth Van Duyne, Pete Sessions, Dustin Burrows, had won their races, which was to be expected as none of them had primary opponents.
The spree included a series of images featuring the same photo of a serious-faced Trump.
@realDonaldTrump/Truth Social
Goldman was one of several candidates who did not face a challenger.
@realDonaldTrump/Truth Social
He boasted that Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, one of his former press secretaries during his first term, had won her primary, which was canceled because she faced no opponents. He also bragged that Arkansas Congressmen Bruce Westerman and Rick Crawford had won their canceled primaries.
Sanders did not run against anyone.
@realDonaldTrump/Truth Social
He flexed his primary endorsements of North Carolina GOP Congressmen Greg Murphy, Richard Hudson, and Addison McDowell, all of whom had their primaries canceled as they also faced no challengers.
McDowell's primary was canceled.
@realDonaldTrump/Truth Social
Despite the bragging, several Trump-endorsed candidates lost their races on Tuesday. Trump did not post about them.
Sid Miller, the incumbent Texas Agriculture Commissioner, lost his election. Trump had praised him as a “MAGA Warrior” and gave his “Complete and Total Endorsement.”
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Two other Trump-endorsed state Senate candidates in Texas, Cecil Bell Jr. and Stan Kitzman, also lost their respective races.
Trump has yet to make an endorsement in the high-profile three-way Texas Senate race between incumbent Sen. John Cornyn, who is facing a challenge from MAGA firebrand Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and Rep. Wesley Hunt (R-TX).
That race advanced to a run-off between Cornyn and Paxton. Trump said on Truth Social that he would make an endorsement in the race “soon,” and demanded that the candidate he does not endorse drop out.
President Trump freaks out and vows to endorse in the race in an effort to avoid a nasty and expensive Texas Republican Senate runoff after Democrats saw record turnout in their own Senate primary.
Truth Social
While Trump did not say who he was leaning towards, The Atlantic reported that Trump is going to endorse Cornyn.
The Trump endorsement is not a guarantee of success. Dozens of Trump-endorsed candidates lost their races in the 2022 midterm election.
Trump spoke in Texas in the lead-up to the state's midterm primaries to address top issues, including affordability.
Roberto Schmidt/Getty Images
In Arizona, the Trump endorsement has proved disastrous for the GOP, as two-time Trump-endorsed candidate Kari Lake lost both her run for governor in 2022 and Senate in 2024, flipping the onetime Republican stronghold blue in back-to-back elections.
Trump has also endorsed two candidates, especially when the race is particularly close or a true toss-up.
In other elections, the president has not made endorsements at all when Republicans are running in Democratic strongholds or when the momentum seems to be against the GOP in that particular race.
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