Tuesday was a good night to be President Donald Trump’s friend, and a terrible night to be his enemy in the Republican Party.
Six states held primaries across the country, and when the dust settled, Trump’s iron grip on the Republican Party is complete.
Firebrand conservative Rep. Thomas Massie was gone. Georgia’s Brad Raffensperger was humiliated. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton got his long-awaited endorsement as thanks for being a loyalist. And Sen. Tommy Tuberville is one step closer to becoming Alabama’s next governor.
Here are the nine key takeaways:
- Massie is done. Trump’s top target on Tuesday night lost to Navy SEAL veteran Ed Gallrein, who defeated Rep. Thomas Massie in Kentucky’s 4th Congressional District and ended the 12-year career of one of the most rightwing Republicans in Congress. Trump had furiously targeted Massie for blocking his agenda on multiple fronts, including the release of the Epstein files and the One Big Beautiful Bill spending act. The message to every Republican in Washington is now unmistakable: Stand up to Trump at your peril.
- Trump finally endorsed Paxton — and crushed Cornyn. After months of excruciating silence, Trump dropped his long-awaited Texas Senate endorsement Tuesday for Attorney General Ken Paxton over incumbent Sen. John Cornyn, just one week before the May 26 runoff. The endorsement is a political earthquake. Cornyn responded that he had voted with Trump 99% of the time. Republicans privately worry Paxton’s legal baggage could cost them the seat to Democrat James Talarico in November.
- Raffensperger is finished. The Georgia Secretary of State who refused to “find” Trump the votes he needed after 2020 tried to reinvent himself as a gubernatorial candidate. Republican voters rejected him decisively. He pulled just 14% of the vote, finishing a distant third behind Trump-endorsed Lt. Gov. Burt Jones at 37% and health care executive Rick Jackson at 34%. He didn’t come close to making the runoff.
- Georgia governor heads to a runoff. Jones and Jackson will face off June 16 for the Republican nomination. Jones, backed by Trump, is the overwhelming favorite. The Democratic nominee is Keisha Lance Bottoms, the former Atlanta mayor who would become the first Black woman governor in American history if she wins in November.
- Tuberville steps up. Tommy Tuberville is leaving the Senate to run for Alabama governor after Trump endorsed him. He won Tuesday’s primary easily. Alabama’s Senate seat to replace him is headed to a June 16 runoff, with Trump-endorsed Rep. Barry Moore the favorite but falling short of 50%. Moore will face either Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall or former Navy SEAL Jared Hudson.
- Georgia’s Senate race is still unsettled. Republicans are battling each other out in the race to take on Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff, who is running unopposed for his party’s nomination and already sitting on $32 million. No Republican candidate has emerged as a clear frontrunner, giving Ossoff a massive head start. So far, Trump stayed entirely on the sidelines of this race.
- Cassidy, one of the last Trump critics, ousted. Louisiana’s Sen. Bill Cassidy, one of seven Republicans who voted to convict Trump at his second impeachment trial, failed to even make his own state’s runoff over the weekend. Tuesday’s results confirmed the pattern: defying Trump has consequences. Cassidy’s political career is over.
- Shapiro showed his 2028 cards. Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro endorsed four Democrats running for Congress in three contested primaries. All four won. For a potential 2028 presidential contender, it was a statement of power in the critical swing state of Pennslyvania.
- Andy Barr replaces Sen. Mitch McConnell. Rep. Andy Barr won the Republican Senate primary in Kentucky to replace unpopular Sen. Mitch McConnell. It’s a safe Republican seat, but the symbolism of slamming closed the chapter on McConnell’s Senate legacy is not lost on anyone.
Trump’s revenge tour is running ahead of schedule.