(WASHINGTON) — A batch of closely watched primaries in six states on Tuesday both set up some key midterm election matchups and gestured to major forces shaping the Democratic and Republican parties — from the strength of President Donald Trump’s endorsement to the road to the White House in 2028.
Here are some of takeaways from Tuesday night’s results.
The strength of Trump’s endorsement, again?
President Donald Trump had turned his ire on Rep. Thomas Massie, the maverick Republican representing Kentucky’s 4th Congressional District, given Massie’s push to release the Jeffrey Epstein files, his vote against the president’s sweeping domestic tax policy legislation and his vocal opposition to the Iran war.
Trump constantly excoriated Massie and endorsed his primary opponent Ed Gallrein and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth even campaigned with Gallrein on Monday. The primary also became the most expensive House primary on record, with more than $32 million in ad spending.
Massie had held firm — adamant that his constituents would pull through for him. But the power of Trump’s endorsement was more firm, just as it had been in the Louisiana Senate primary last Saturday, where Trump-endorsed Rep. Julia Letlow and state Treasurer John Fleming advanced to a runoff after Trump had turned against incumbent Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy.
“We weren’t really running against Ed Gallrein, we weren’t running against Donald Trump. We were running for what we believe in,” Massie told supporters on Tuesday night.
Mixed results for Trump in Georgia
But it seems Trump’s endorsement could not carry his candidate of choice, Lt. Gov. Burt Jones, over the finish line outright in the Georgia Republican gubernatorial primary. Jones now heads towards a June 16 runoff against billionaire businessman Rick Jackson.
In remarks Tuesday evening, Jackson, who entered the race just three months before the primary, said his campaign sent an “earthquake” through the political establishment and called Jones a political insider.
“We have 28 days to finish it, and the choice could not be more clear or more important. Burt Jones is a political insider. I’m the opposite. I don’t owe the lobbyists anything. I don’t need the establishment’s permission. I cannot be bought, and I will not back down,” Jones said Tuesday evening.
What Tuesday meant for potential 2028 presidential candidates
Tuesday was a good night for Pennsylvania’s Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro, a rumored 2028 presidential candidate, as all four of the primary candidates he endorsed in Pennsylvania’s battleground U.S. House districts — where Democrats hope to flip seats held by GOP incumbents — were projected by ABC News to win, although one of the four, Paige Cognetti, was unopposed.
Shapiro’s success on Tuesday could bolster his standing among Democrats both in the state and nationally — possibly helpful if he does launch a bid for the presidency — although he still faces the general election campaign for governor against state Treasurer Stacy Garrity, and Democrats still face an uphill battle trying to flip all four seats they are targeting.
And down south in Georgia, Gov. Brian Kemp, who has not ruled out a presidential run in 2028, also played a hand in shaping the state’s GOP Senate primary. Kemp backed Derek Dooley, a former football coach who is projected by ABC News to face a runoff against Rep. Mike Collins in a race that Trump did not endorse in.
Kemp, who opted out of running for Georgia’s Senate seat after being recruited by Republicans, threw the full force of his political weight behind elevating Dooley from a political unknown to a candidate for one of the most-watched Senate races in the country.
Working behind the scenes, Kemp made calls to donors to build support for Dooley, and Kemp’s PAC, Hardworking Americans Inc., has also invested millions in the race to support Dooley, the son of legendary former University of Georgia football coach Vince Dooley.
Kemp also campaigned heavily with Dooley in the lead-up to Georgia’s primary.
Kemp has had a rocky relationship with Trump since refusing his pressure to overturn Georgia’s election results in 2020. But Kemp remains popular among Georgians, winning reelection against a Trump-endorsed primary challenger in 2022.
ABC News’ Emily Chang and Halle Troadec contributed to this report.
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