Three candidates endorsed by President Trump were defeated in primary elections in Florida and Wyoming on Tuesday. In Florida, incumbent Rep. Cory Mills (R-Fla.) lost his bid for renomination to Ryan Elijah, a former television reporter. Mills, who was first elected in 2022, has been the subject of a House Ethics Committee investigation into allegations of dating violence and campaign finance violations, which he denies. While Trump maintained his endorsement of Mills, the congressman did not appear in the president's final social media posts promoting candidates before the primary.
In a second Florida contest, Jim Schwartzel won the Republican nomination to succeed Rep. Byron Donalds (R-Fla.), who is running for governor. Schwartzel, a radio station founder, defeated Trump-endorsed Catalina Lauf by approximately 7 percentage points. Lauf, a former Commerce Department adviser, received Trump’s endorsement last week. Other candidates in the crowded primary included former Reps. Madison Cawthorn (R-N.C.) and Chris Collins (R-N.Y.).
In Wyoming, state Sen. Eric Barlow (R) won the Republican nomination for governor in a multi-candidate field to succeed term-limited Gov. Mark Gordon (R). Barlow defeated Trump-endorsed Megan Degenfelder and 2022 candidate Brent Bien by double digits. Barlow campaigned on a platform of "respectful, effective leadership," while Degenfelder and Bien were described by The New York Times as running to the right. Gov. Gordon, who did not endorse a successor, has previously advocated for a pragmatic approach to politics.
In the race for Wyoming governor, the nomination of Eric Barlow sets the stage for the general election in a state where the Republican nominee is considered a heavy favorite. Barlow’s victory by double digits over two candidates who ran to the right—including Megan Degenfelder, the state’s superintendent of public instruction—indicates a preference among Wyoming primary voters for his stated pragmatic leadership style. This result directly impacts the administration of a state government that manages a multi-billion dollar biennial budget and serves roughly 580,000 people.
The outcomes follow other recent defeats for Trump-endorsed candidates, such as Rep. Andy Ogles (R-Tenn.) and South Carolina Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette. The next test of this influence is scheduled for next week in South Carolina, where Sen. Darline Graham (R-S.C.) faces Rep. Ralph Norman (R-S.C.) in a special GOP primary runoff. These localized primary results determine which individuals will hold legal authority over state and federal policy, affecting everything from local land use and education spending to federal legislative votes starting in January 2027.