President Donald Trump’s endorsed candidates prevailed in most of the races in Tuesday’s primary elections, but one key race stood out.
In the race to be Georgia’s Republican nominee for governor, billionaire Rick Jackson beat Trump-endorsed candidate Burt Jones. Jackson won after pouring more than $100 million of his own money into the campaign.
Georgia’s Senate runoff concluded more favorably for Trump, as his endorsed candidate Mike Collins advanced to the general election. Collins defeated former college football coach Derek Dooley, who was endorsed by current Gov. Brian Kemp.
The Senate race will be closely watched, as the battleground state could help determine which party will hold the majority in the Senate the next two years.
As ballots are still being counted in the mayoral race in Washington, D.C., democratic socialist Janeese Lewis George has taken a sizable lead.
Jackson spends big, defies Trump endorsement
This year, Trump has made a total of 302 primary endorsements and has had a 98% success rate in those primaries.
Trump has made 18 endorsements in gubernatorial races this year, four of which have yet to take place. Prior to Tuesday’s election, the sole candidate to lose a primary after receiving an endorsement was Randy Feenstra, who ran in Iowa.
In what was likely Tuesday’s biggest upset, Jackson, a Georgia healthcare executive, was able to defeat Trump-backed Jones after spending more than $100 million of his own money. The race saw heavy attack ads on both sides and multiple lawsuits.
After the results of the election came in, Jackson gave a victory speech, saying, “Tonight, we did more than win a runoff. Tonight, we proved the people of Georgia are in charge.”
Despite having endorsed Jones, Trump posted on Truth Social after and said, “Rick Jackson ran a great TRUMP campaign. Very Smart!”
Collins wins Georgia’s Republican nomination for Senate
The Trump-endorsed candidate fared better in Georgia’s Senate primary, fending off Kemp’s preferred choice.
Collins, the current U.S. House representative from Georgia’s 10th District, will face off against U.S. Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff, who holds the most contested seat of any sitting U.S. Democratic senator.
After his win, Ossoff posted a message on X claiming that Collins is “a notorious bigot, antisemite, and extremist currently under federal investigation for the illegal misuse of tax dollars.”
Collins posted a video to X that criticized Ossoff for voting to raise taxes on gas and groceries, voting to allow transgender athletes to compete in women’s sports, and receiving three times as much money from California than from Georgia.
Though much polling hasn’t been done, the polls that have been conducted show Ossoff winning by single-digits in the race, according to Newsweek.
Democratic socialist takes lead in D.C. mayoral race
In D.C., votes are still being counted, but Lewis George has taken a substantial lead over Councilman Kevin McDuffie.
McDuffie was seen as the establishment, more moderate Democratic candidate in the race.
His loss would mark another win for democratic socialists, similar to Zohran Mamdani’s defeat of Andrew Cuomo in the New York City mayoral race.
The winner will face increasing pressure from the Trump administration, as Trump has floated the idea of a federal takeover of the city.