Briefnow
May 23, 2026

Trump’s Endorsements Lead To Impressive String of GOP Primary Wins

Tuesday’s wave of primary elections underscored the continued influence of President Donald Trump within the Republican Party, as several candidates backed by the former president secured victories in major races across the South.

The results also helped shape a series of general election matchups that could test whether Democrats are able to capitalize on Trump’s low approval ratings in traditionally Republican-leaning states.

In Alabama, retiring Sen. Tommy Tuberville won the Republican nomination for governor, setting up a high-profile general election contest against former Sen. Doug Jones, who emerged from Tuesday’s Democratic primary.

Tuberville defeated Jones in Alabama’s 2020 Senate race, and while the Cook Political Report currently rates the governor’s race as solidly Republican, Jones remains one of the few Democrats to achieve statewide success in Alabama in recent years.

During his primary victory speech, Jones focused heavily on economic issues, pledging to raise the minimum wage and expand Medicaid coverage.

Tuberville, meanwhile, said he would spend the coming months campaigning against what he described as “socialism and communism.”

In the state’s Senate race, Trump-backed Rep. Barry Moore (Ala.) appeared positioned to succeed Tuberville, finishing well ahead of former Navy SEAL Jared Hudson and Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall by double-digit margins in Tuesday’s primary.

The race for second place had not yet been officially called, but Moore is expected to face either Hudson or Marshall in a runoff election, with the eventual Republican nominee viewed as the favorite heading into November.

In Kentucky, the spotlight was fixed on the 4th Congressional District, where Trump-backed challenger and former decorated Navy SEAL Ed Gallrein defeated Rep. Thomas Massie in what became the most expensive House primary race in American history.

Massie, who had publicly broken with Trump over issues including the Epstein files controversy and the Iran conflict, used his concession speech to criticize both the president and several of Trump’s political allies.

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