Trump’s Epic Losing Streak Continues With Three More Primary Flops

President Trump’s endorsements keep losing.

Two of his picks in Florida’s Republican congressional primaries were defeated Tuesday night: Incumbent Representative Cory Mills, who is facing a multitude of scandals, fell short in the 7th district, and former Commerce Department adviser Catalina Lauf was unable to benefit from a late Trump endorsement in the crowded 19th district. On top of that, his choice for governor of Wyoming, Megan Degenfelder, lost by nearly 16 percentage points.

These losses make it 10 times in this election cycle that a Trump-backed candidate lost their Republican primary, the same amount that he lost in 2018, 2020, and 2024 combined. Trump’s worst year for endorsements was in 2022, and he’s one loss away from matching that.

Mills is facing a Department of Justice investigation over sexual misconduct, campaign finance violations, financial disclosure violations, accepting inappropriate gifts, and multiple ethics violations. Just days ago, Mills refused to deny reports that he dated a 19-year-old as a sitting member of Congress. He lost his race to former TV reporter Ryan Elijah by 13 points.

Trump waited until last week to endorse Lauf, who was running in a crowded and expensive primary against former Representatives Chris Collins and Madison Cawthorn, several former congressional candidates, a January 6 rioter, and many transplants to the state. In the end, one of the few local candidates, conservative radio host Jim Schwartzel, won the race to replace Representative Byron Donalds, who is running for Florida governor.

And Degenfelder, Wyoming’s superintendent of public instruction, lost handily to state Senator Eric Barlow in the deep-red state by more than 20,000 votes, despite running a very conservative campaign. Barring some kind of crazy news, Barlow will likely be elected governor in November.

All of this suggests that Trump’s unpopularity is becoming too much even among Republicans. His approval rating has fallen to 33 percent, the lowest level of his presidency, according to a new Reuters poll. But Trump was still unrepentant Wednesday morning, bashing Mills before throwing his weight behind Elijah on Truth Social. It looks like he won’t change his ways before November.

The saga around Trump’s personal aide Natalie Harp grows stranger, as new reporting points to her deeper obsession with him—one that goes beyond just doing her job.

CNN reported that in 2023, Harp got into a massive argument with the drivers of Trump’s motorcade after they told her there wasn’t enough room in Trump’s SUV for her as he headed to a New York City courthouse for more legal issues—leading her to hop in the trunk of the SUV and ride in there.

The New York Times also unearthed some of Harp’s gushing letters to Trump.

“I also am sorry if I was an embarrassment walking the course in Scotland,” she wrote after being caught running alongside Trump’s golf cart. “I want things to always be right between us. I also know I’ve been distracted all week (forgetting to eat throughout the days, and even forgetting to sleep, and only catching a couple hours at a time).... With all my heart, Natalie.”

The phrasing of this letter—and the fact that it exists at all—does not feel appropriate for any working relationship, much less one between the president and his closest personal assistant. Harp’s estranged older brother added even more context to her fascination with Trump, and letter-writing.

“I’d say since she was, like, 16, she’s had an obsession with, um, gosh, how do I explain this? Um, she’s written letters to other presidents, let me put it that way,” he said on CNN Tuesday night. “It’s actually kind of sad. That’s obsession. It’s like an unhealthy obsession with someone if you’re gonna jump into the trunk of their car.”

Harp’s relationship with the president has been scrutinized in the past, but it’s currently come under the national spotlight thanks to a comment from Senator Jon Ossoff that has sent the MAGA base into a rage.

“[Trump] doesn’t want to do the job,” he said at an Atlanta rally earlier this month. “He wants to build his ballroom and travel with Natalie on their apparently defenseless flying palace gifted by the emir of Qatar.”

Ossoff was alluding to how Harp made it onto Trump’s secret flight out of Turkey last month, while journalists and Cabinet members like Secretary of State Marco Rubio remained aboard the Air Force One at risk of an Iranian strike.

Even as the entire MAGAsphere attempts to shrug this reporting off as targeted liberal fake news, It’s clear that this story isn’t going anywhere anytime soon.

Democrats have declared victory in a Pennsylvania state House seat that Republicans held for nearly 30 years.

In a special election for the state House’s 12th District seat, Democrat Brandon Dukes is leading over Republican Scott Timko by less than 100 votes, 8,434 to 8,346, with 99 percent of votes counted.

Dukes told the local Cranberry Eagle Tuesday night, “I’m ecstatic. I’m shocked.”

“I’m still processing this. We just flipped a Trump plus-18 seat, and we flipped a red seat that’s been red for almost 30 years. We made history,” Dukes said.

Dukes, a commercial loan administrator at TD Bank, will face off again in the November general election against Timko, a retired Air Force captain, commercial pilot and former small business owner. For now, though, Democrats are declaring victory in a deep-red Pennsylvania county that also happens to be close to where a gunman tried to assassinate President Trump during the 2024 presidential campaign.

“Tonight’s result not only shows what can be accomplished when Democrats are willing to fight everywhere, but it sets the stage for this November’s midterm elections,” said Eugene DePasquale, chairman of the Pennsylvania Democratic Party, in a statement. “Pennsylvanians across the political spectrum are sick and tired of Republicans’ chaotic, corrupt, and cost-raising agenda—and they’re ready to reject them at the polls and elect Democrats up and down the ballot in historic fashion.”

Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, a Democrat, also celebrated Dukes’s win.

“Pennsylvanians are rising up and using their power to combat the chaos, cruelty, and corruption—and we’re not slowing down. I was proud to back Brandon,” Shapiro posted Tuesday night. “Congratulations State Representative-Elect Dukes—I look forward to getting stuff done together.🇺🇲”

If Democrats can keep this momentum, it not only bodes well for the November midterms, but also for 2028.

Senate Darline Graham—sister of the late Lindsey Graham—had a debate performance so poor it should leave the GOP even less sure about her than they already were.

Graham appeared on the debate stage Tuesday evening with her runoff election opponent, Representative Ralph Norman.

“Senator, are Taiwan and the South China Sea national security issues for the United States?” a moderator asked Graham.

“Um, I’m sorry, could you repeat the question?” Graham asked. It was repeated. 

“I’m just gonna be honest here. I’m not on national security that—I’m not that informed on national security,” Graham said, suggesting that she has no idea what’s going on with Taiwan and the South China Sea. “But I do support the military. My brother was in the Air Force for 33 years, so I will do everything I can to support the military. My dad was in the Army, I’m not a polished politician up here. National security is not my thing, not my area of expertise. But I do support the military.”

The clip is genuinely a rough watch, and Graham was duly lambasted for it online. 

“I’ve seen politicians reveal their ignorance with terrible answers, but have never seen a Senate candidate openly admit they’re ‘not that informed on national security,’” journalist Ahmed Baba wrote on X. “An answer that should disqualify her from the nom. But who knows. We’re year 10 into American idiocracy.”

“This is painful to watch. ‘I’m not that informed on the economy, but I support people having money’ would be roughly the equivalent,” Billy Binion of the libertarian magazine Reason wrote. “I’m sincerely sorry for Darline Graham’s loss. But being related to a former lawmaker is not a qualification for the Senate.”

It’s entirely reasonable to expect someone running for Senate to have some kind of familiarity with Taiwan and China’s territorial conflict. Graham admitted she had none, while Norman offered up an actual answer.

“Taiwan’s a definite ally, and we have a trading relationship with them that is beneficial to the United States, chips being one of them—and others,” he said. “What the president is doing right is he’s enabling Taiwan to defend themselves against China. But it’s peace through strength that he’s showing.... They don’t wanna deal with America, and that’s why they haven’t attacked Taiwan. If they had some weak Democrat in office … [China] would take it over. But we can’t let them.” 

In the same debate, Graham also said that there were 50 million people living in South Carolina. There are only 5.6 million.  

A group of religious extremists are planning a “Christian Crusader March” in  Dearborn, Michigan, Tuesday evening, and Democratic Representative Rashida Tlaib, whose district includes Dearborn, called out the lack of response to the demonstration, noting the relentless Islamophobic attacks on the city.

“Islamophobia is a problem among both Democrats and Republicans,” Tlaib posted on X Monday night. “The silence in Michigan among state leaders while one of the largest cities in the state is being terrorized by Islamophobes is shameful.”

The march is being led by extremist and provocateur Jake Lang, a January 6 rioter pardoned by President Trump who keeps returning to the city to harass its large Muslim and Arab community. In November, he tried to lead another march and got punched in the face. He was also arrested in June for “terroristic threats” in Texas and in February in Minnesota for destroying an anti-Immigration and Customs Enforcement ice sculpture. 

Senator Elissa Slotkin stepped up following Tlaib’s post, saying Tuesday morning that “The people of Dearborn are once again under attack from an out-of-state influencer looking for controversy.

“The Mayor [Abdullah Hammoud], the Police Chief, and religious leaders of all faiths are again showing leadership and demonstrating that Michigan is united against hate and Islamophobia,” Slotkin posted. “Dearborn is as Michigan as it gets, and as Police Chief Issa Shahin said, these individuals are coming for one reason and one reason alone: To provoke a reaction. The most powerful thing this community can do is give them an audience. Don’t give them the satisfaction.” 

Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, who is the Democratic nominee for governor, also spoke up for Dearborn, saying Tuesday afternoon that “It’s a city full of hardworking, proud, patriotic Michiganders—and hard as they might try, these out-of-state agitators cannot change that. And we will not let their hate drive us apart.”

Whitmer issued a statement Tuesday calling Lang and his supporters “a group of agitators” who are “traveling to Dearborn for the sole purpose of intimidating that community and provoking a reaction,” urging local residents not to engage with them.  

Attorney General Dana Nessel hasn’t issued a statement over the march. On Monday, Hammoud responded to a reporter’s question by calling on Nessel to consider hate crimes charges against Lang. 

“I would take that question and actually channel it towards our attorney general to see what she may do with her hate crimes unit to see if there’s anything that can be levied against these agitators and provocateurs that come to Dearborn time and time again,” Hammoud said.

Outside of Michigan, national Democratic figures such as House Speaker Hakeem Jeffries and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer are silent. Meanwhile, Dearborn’s Christian and Muslim faith leaders are uniting against the hatred directed at their city.