President Donald Trump has a 96% endorsement success rate in the 2026 primary elections, according to Ballotpedia, having endorsed candidates in 313 races. However, following recent losses in Florida and Wyoming, his total losses for this cycle have reached 12, which is six fewer than his combined total for the 2018 and 2022 cycles. Nine of these losses occurred in the past three weeks.
The candidates endorsed by Trump who lost include Phil Berger, Bruce Borders, Megan Degenfelder, Pamela Evette, Randy Feenstra, Amir Hassan, Burt Jones, Catalina Lauf, Sid Miller, Cory Mills, Andy Ogles, and Brenda Wilson.
Political analysts suggest that these losses may indicate a decline in Trump's influence within the Republican Party. Matthew Dallek, a political historian at George Washington University, noted that there are races where Trump does not seem to have the same impact. In response to the losses, Trump has sometimes endorsed multiple candidates or later supported the winning candidate for the general election. Recently, he endorsed Ryan Elijah after urging Cory Mills to withdraw from the race.
Additionally, Democrats have also faced challenges in their primaries, with some establishment-backed candidates being defeated by insurgent movements. Christopher Nicholas, a Republican political consultant, commented on the diminishing importance of endorsements from political leaders for rank-and-file voters.