Former President Donald Trump’s endorsements for political candidates in close high-profile races have not yet given Republicans the swift and sweeping victories they had anticipated for this election cycle, despite many GOP hopefuls banking on his support to propel their campaigns.
Many critical midterm races have yet to be called as of Wednesday morning, but so far, no Republican endorsed by Trump in a toss-up gubernatorial, US Senate or House race has won. Among those toss-up races where Trump had publicly backed a candidate, CNN projects the governor’s seat in Wisconsin, a Senate seat for Pennsylvania and four House seats are going to Democrats.
The Trump-backed candidate with the highest profile who pulled out a win was JD Vance in Ohio, who is projected to become the next US senator from Ohio after defeating Democratic Rep. Tim Ryan. CNN had rated that race as lean Republican.
Trump has traveled across the country, stumping for Republicans at huge rallies that mirrored event programs of his past presidential campaign stops — implicitly framing himself as the leader of the party. Now, as Republicans begin to reckon with what the results mean, they’ll also have to address whether Trump’s agenda will help or hurt in the 2024 elections.
A Trump adviser who has been in contact with Trump’s inner circle told CNN that the former president is “livid” and “screaming at everyone” after the results.
