Dozens of Republican candidates directly endorsed by Donald Trump lost their US midterm election races, according to analysis by the Guardian, raising questions over the power of the president’s support.
In past elections, Trump’s endorsements have been coveted. In the final stages of this year’s campaign, he actively urged voters to act as though he were on the ballot.
But just half of the 26 candidates Trump endorsed for the US Senate had won their elections as of Wednesday at 5pm ET, according to a Guardian tally.
Of the 23 candidates for state governor endorsed by Trump, only nine had won their elections. Twelve were defeated, with two races still to be called.
The president’s endorsed House candidates fared better, with roughly 60% winning their races, although many in competitive House districts were defeated.
In total, 46 Trump-backed candidates for the House have lost so far, with Trump’s tumbling approval ratings appearing to challenge the influence of his public support for Republican candidates.
Over the last decade, Trump has reshaped the Republican party in the mold of his Make America Great Again (Maga) vision, handpicking loyal candidates to run in competitive races and occasionally rejecting established Republicans.
The US president’s base has been loyal to his choices. In 2022, approximately 82% of candidates endorsed by Trump went on to win their race, according to the New York Times .
While some races still have yet to be called, his endorsement appears to have had a weaker impact on candidates’ prospects in this year’s midterms. The US president’s handpicked candidates running in closely watched races failed to resonate with conservative voters, even in deeply red states.
In the Senate, 11 candidates endorsed by Trump lost their races. Two more were still waiting for a result on Wednesday evening.
Ken Paxton, the Texas attorney general and longtime Trump ally, lost to James Talarico, a progressive Democrat and political newcomer. Talarico’s election marks the first time a Democrat has been elected to represent Texas in the US Senate since 1988.
Trump personally chose Paxton to run against Talarico earlier this year, effectively ousting incumbent Republican senator John Cornyn by failing to nominate him in the party’s primary, and siding with Paxton. Trump had clashed with Cornyn occasionally and viewed Paxton as a loyal ally.
Darline Graham, the sister of late South Carolina senator Lindsey Graham, lost to Dr Annie Andrews, in a stunning upset for Republicans . South Carolina, a state Trump won by 18 points in 2024, also had not elected a Democratic senator since 1998.
Trump handpicked Graham to run , heavily endorsed her and campaigned alongside her .
In North Carolina, Michael Whatley, the former leader of the Republican party who was endorsed by Trump, lost to Roy Cooper, the state’s former governor .
Mike Rogers, a former congressman and Trump’s pick to run for senator of Michigan, lost to Abdul El-Sayed , a progressive Democrat who will become the first Muslim senator.
The US president’s gubernatorial endorsements performed the worst of the three categories. Democrats flipped five governor seats including in Texas, which hasn’t seen a Democratic governor in more than 30 years, and in Iowa, which hasn’t had a Democrat running the state since the mid-2000s.
Trump’s endorsements for House performed better, though many were incumbents running for re-election in conservative districts.
In Pennsylvania’s eighth district, Trump’s candidate and the incumbent Republican, Rob Bresnahan, lost to Democrat Paige Cognetti. In Texas’s 15th district, the Trump-endorsed incumbent Republican, Monica De La Cruz, lost to Democrat Bobby Pulido.
Democrats managed to flip more than two dozen House seats. But by Wednesday evening, Republicans had flipped only one.
The results of the midterms reflect voters’ deep frustrations with Trump’s performance as president. Over the last several months, voters have grown more angry with the cost of living and the US economy under Trump’s policies.
Two weeks before the midterms, Trump’s approval rating sat at roughly 36% .
Even candidates endorsed by Trump, such as Republican Senate candidate Ashley Hinson in Iowa , attempted to distance themselves from the president in the hopes of appealing to voters. But it wasn’t enough. Hinson, and others, were defeated.
“Tonight was a total referendum on Trump,” former congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene , a Republican who lost her Trump endorsement, wrote on X . “He told people to vote like he was on the ballot and they did.”
Trump, for his part, has insisted the opposite it is true. “I wasn’t on the Ballot and if I was, we would have won IN A LANDSLIDE!” he wrote on his Truth Social platform earlier this week. “Thank you for your attention to this matter.”
