US President Donald Trump on Tuesday suffered his biggest run of endorsement defeats in the 2026 primary season, as three candidates he supported lost Republican contests in Florida and Wyoming. Representative Cory Mills lost the Republican primary in Florida’s 7th Congressional District, while Catalina Lauf was defeated in the GOP contest for Florida’s 19th District.

In Wyoming, state Superintendent of Public Instruction Megan Degenfelder also lost the Republican gubernatorial primary.

The defeats do not overturn Trump’s long record of successful endorsements, and several candidates he backed won on the same night. But they add to a series of losses in August that have raised questions about the limits of the President’s influence in Republican primaries, particularly when candidates face local opposition, controversy or concerns about their suitability for office.

Former NBC News moderator Chuck Todd summed up the political moment in a post on X, writing: “August has been a cruel month for Trump politically.”

Trump remains the dominant figure in the Republican Party, and candidates continue to seek his endorsement. But Tuesday’s results showed that his backing does not always override concerns Republican voters have about individual candidates.

The three defeats represented one-third of the nine losses among House, Senate and gubernatorial contests, according to a Newsweek analysis of Ballotpedia data.

Florida Losses

In Florida’s 7th District, Mills was defeated by former television journalist Ryan Elijah. The Associated Press projected the result on Tuesday night.

Trump had endorsed Mills in February, although he did not include the congressman in a group of Florida endorsements publicised shortly before the election. In a post on Truth Social on Wednesday, Trump described Mills as a friend but said he had urged him “to get out of the Race, but he wouldn’t listen.”

Mills’ campaign had been affected by controversies and investigations, giving Republican voters reasons to consider issues beyond his support from the President. Mills has denied allegations against him.

His defeat was therefore not necessarily a direct rejection of Trump. It also highlighted the difficulty of using a Presidential endorsement to shield an incumbent from problems surrounding his own campaign.

In Florida’s open 19th District, conservative media executive Jim Schwartzel defeated Lauf in a crowded Republican field to replace Byron Donalds, who left the seat to run for governor.

Trump endorsed Lauf late in the campaign. With most votes counted, Schwartzel had about 29% of the vote, compared with roughly 22% for Lauf. The Associated Press called the race for Schwartzel at 8:03pm ET.

The result is complicated by Florida’s early voting period, which ran from 8 to 15 August. Some Republicans had therefore already cast their ballots before Trump’s endorsement had much opportunity to influence the race. But the contest was significant because the district is heavily Republican, meaning the primary was effectively the decisive contest.

Defeat in Wyoming

In Wyoming, Republican state Senator Eric Barlow defeated Degenfelder in the race to succeed term-limited Governor Mark Gordon.

Degenfelder made Trump’s support a central part of her campaign, while Barlow focused on his Wyoming roots and issues including public lands, schools and rural healthcare.

Together, the three results represented a rare setback for Trump’s preferred candidates across different types of Republican contests – an incumbent House member, an open congressional seat and a gubernatorial race in a strongly Republican state.

Trump did, however, have a significant victory in Florida.

Donald Trump-backed candidate Byron Donalds won the Republican nomination for governor with about 47.8% of the vote, compared with 25.2% for Lieutenant Governor Jay Collins and 10.5% for James Fishback, with 99% of the expected vote counted.

The result highlights the tension in assessing Trump’s record as a Republican kingmaker. His endorsement remains highly valuable, but it is not necessarily decisive in every competitive race.

August Losses

Tuesday’s defeats followed three other losses by Trump-backed candidates earlier this month. Mike Lindell lost the Republican nomination for governor of Minnesota. In Michigan, Amir Hassan was defeated in a congressional primary, while Tennessee Representative Andy Ogles also lost.

That means two-thirds of the nine endorsement defeats recorded by Ballotpedia occurred within roughly three weeks.

Other candidates on the list include Iowa Representative Randy Feenstra, Georgia Lieutenant Governor Burt Jones and South Carolina Lieutenant Governor Pamela Evette, who lost gubernatorial primaries or runoffs in June.

The pattern is notable, but Trump has still backed far more winners than losers.

A White House official told Politico before Tuesday’s contests that Trump had a 98% success rate, with 233 wins from 238 endorsements.

The official described his backing as “the most powerful endorsement in the history of American politics” and said anyone claiming otherwise was “a complete and utter fool”.

Politico reported that the White House did not provide the underlying list. It also noted that a similar Ballotpedia tally included many effectively uncontested races, including incumbents who faced no primary opposition.

The methodology matters because a win rate can appear exceptionally high when it includes candidates who face little or no serious competition.

A smaller group of competitive races can provide a clearer indication of whether Trump’s endorsement actually changes voters’ choices.