Trump-endorsed candidates in the US went about 96% in 2026 primaries but only about 67% in general elections, according to Ballotpedia’s tracker of 351 endorsements. Democrats won both the House and the Senate on November 3, 2026, and Trump-backed Republicans lost 11 Senate races, including Texas, North Carolina, Iowa and South Carolina.
Trump-Endorsed Candidates Election Results 2026 – Introduction
Trump-endorsed candidates carried the Republican brand into the November 3, 2026 midterms with the largest endorsement slate of any cycle since 2017. The tally runs to 351 endorsements. Most came in primaries, where the record stayed near 96%. The general election told a different story. Democrats flipped the Senate and the House, and a long list of Republicans with a Trump endorsement lost races for the Senate, governor and Congress.
This report lays out the numbers by office, by trend and by state. It separates winners from losers, primaries from general elections and confirmed counts from partial ones. Trackers differ on totals because they count different races and update at different times. Where two sources disagree, both figures appear. All data runs through November 7, 2026, and a few races were still uncalled. Percentages are rounded, and partial vote counts are labeled as partial.
Interesting Facts about Trump-Endorsed Candidates Election Results 2026
2026 ENDORSEMENT SUCCESS RATES (percent)
Primary elections | ████████████████████████████████████████████████ 96%
2024 general | █████████████████████████████████████████████ 89%
2022 general | ██████████████████████████████████████████ 84%
2026 general | █████████████████████████████████ 67%
| Fact | 2026 Data |
|---|---|
| Total endorsements tracked | 351 |
| Primary endorsements | 315 |
| Primary success rate | 96% |
| General election endorsements | 330 |
| General success rate (Ballotpedia) | 67% |
| General success rate (Newsweek, earlier count) | 73% |
| Senate general losses | 11 |
| House losses (Guardian count) | 46 |
| Texas Senate result | Talarico (D) beat Paxton (R) |
| Congress control | Democrats won both chambers |
Source: Ballotpedia, Endorsements by Donald Trump; Newsweek, November 4, 2026; The Guardian analysis; NBC News results.
The table shows a wide gap between primaries and general elections. Ballotpedia counts 315 primary endorsements with a 96% success rate and 330 general election endorsements with a 67% rate. Newsweek reported 73% earlier in the count, before more races were tallied. Both numbers describe the same pool at different moments.
The Senate and House lines show where the losses landed. Ballotpedia lists 11 Senate general losses, and the Guardian counted 46 House losses at its cutoff. In Texas, James Talarico beat Ken Paxton and became the first Democrat to win a Texas Senate seat since 1988. Democrats took control of both chambers.
Trump-Endorsed Candidates Success Rate 2026: Primary vs General Election Results
SUCCESS RATE BY STAGE (percent)
Primary | ████████████████████████████████████████████████ 96%
General | █████████████████████████████████ 67%
Newsweek | ████████████████████████████████████ 73%
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Total endorsements | 351 |
| Primary endorsements | 315 |
| Primary success rate | 96% |
| General endorsements | 330 |
| General success rate | 67% |
| Earlier general count (Newsweek) | 73% |
Source: Ballotpedia, Endorsements by Donald Trump (November 7, 2026); Newsweek, November 4, 2026.
Primary results stayed strong. Ballotpedia tracked 315 primary endorsements and a 96% success rate, in line with every midterm and presidential year since 2018. Many of those picks were incumbents in safe seats, and some ran unopposed. That helps explain a high rate that does not prove an endorsement changed the outcome.
General election results fell to 67% across 330 endorsements. Newsweek’s 73% came earlier, with races still open. Costas Panagopoulos of Northeastern University told Newsweek that party identification matters more than an endorsement in November. Supporters of Trump point to the safe-seat wins and to his statement that he was not on the ballot.
Trump-Endorsed Candidates General Election Win Rate by Year 2018 to 2026
GENERAL ELECTION SUCCESS RATE BY YEAR (percent)
2018 | ███████████████████████████ 59%
2020 | ███████████████████████████████████████ 79%
2022 | ████████████████████████████████████████████ 84%
2024 | █████████████████████████████████████████████████████ 89%
2026 | █████████████████████████████████ 67%
| Year | General Endorsements | Success Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2018 | 95 | 59% |
| 2020 | 181 | 79% |
| 2022 | 254 | 84% |
| 2024 | 288 | 89% |
| 2026 | 330 | 67% |
Source: Ballotpedia, Endorsements by Donald Trump, 2018 to 2026 (presidential races excluded).
The rate rose from 59% in 2018 to 89% in 2024, as the slate grew from 95 to 288 general election endorsements. The 2024 peak came in a presidential year with a favorable national climate. The 2022 midterm landed at 84% across 254 endorsements.
The 2026 rate of 67% is the lowest since 2018, on the largest slate of 330. It is also the second midterm in this series, so the closest comparison is 2018 at 59% and 2022 at 84%. A bigger slate with more open seats and challengers carries more risk than a list of safe incumbents.
Trump-Endorsed Primary Endorsements by Year 2018 to 2026: Success Rates
PRIMARY ENDORSEMENTS BY YEAR
2018 | ███████ 37
2020 | ████████████████████████ 121
2022 | ████████████████████████████████████████████████ 241
2024 | ██████████████████████████████████████████████████████ 270
2026 | ███████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████ 315
| Year | Primary Endorsements | Primary Success Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2018 | 37 | 95% |
| 2020 | 121 | 97% |
| 2022 | 241 | 93% |
| 2024 | 270 | 96% |
| 2026 | 315 | 96% |
Source: Ballotpedia, Endorsements by Donald Trump, 2018 to 2026 (presidential races excluded).
The primary slate grew almost nine-fold, from 37 endorsements in 2018 to 315 in 2026. The success rate barely moved. It stayed between 93% and 97% in every cycle, with a low of 93% in 2022 and a high of 97% in 2020. The 2026 figure of 96% matches 2024.
That stability contrasts with the general election swings shown earlier. Analysts at FiveThirtyEight made a related point about 2022: many endorsements went to candidates who were likely to win anyway, so a high rate can reflect safe picks. The risky endorsements are challengers against incumbents and open-seat contests. Those carry most of the information about influence. Readers should also separate unopposed races from contested ones. Ballotpedia’s 2022 primary analysis found that a quarter of endorsed primary candidates ran unopposed, which lifts any headline rate overall.
Trump-Endorsed Senate Candidates Results 2026: Winners and Losers
TRUMP-ENDORSED SENATE GENERAL ELECTION RESULTS
Won | █████████████ 13
Lost | ███████████ 11
Not recorded yet | ██ 2
| Result | Count | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Won | 13 | Moore (AL), Cotton (AR), Letlow (LA), Hern (OK), Hageman (WY) |
| Lost | 11 | Paxton (TX), Whatley (NC), Hinson (IA), Marshall (KS), Collins (ME), Rogers (MI) |
| Not yet recorded | 2 | Sullivan (AK), Hyde-Smith (MS) |
Source: Ballotpedia, U.S. Senate endorsements by Donald Trump, 2026; Newsweek; The Guardian.
Ballotpedia lists 26 Senate general election endorsements. Trump-backed Republicans won 13 and lost 11, and 2 results were not yet recorded for Alaska and Mississippi. Another tally, from NewsNation, counted 9 losses among 24 Senate candidates, so totals depend on which races a tracker includes.
The losses cut across the map. Paxton lost in Texas after Trump backed him over incumbent John Cornyn in the runoff. Michael Whatley lost to Roy Cooper in North Carolina. Newsweek reported that 5 of the 7 Democratic Senate flips came in states Trump won by double digits in 2024. Challengers Julia Letlow in Louisiana and Ed Gallrein in a Kentucky House race won after Trump backed them against incumbents.
Trump-Endorsed Senate Candidates Results by State 2026: The 11 General Election Losses
SENATE LOSSES BY RACE TYPE
Open seat | █████ 5
Incumbent | ████ 4
Challenger | ██ 2
| State | Trump-Endorsed Republican | Race Type |
|---|---|---|
| Texas | Ken Paxton | Challenger; lost to James Talarico |
| North Carolina | Michael Whatley | Open seat; lost to Roy Cooper |
| South Carolina | Darline Graham | Incumbent; lost to Annie Andrews |
| Iowa | Ashley Hinson | Open seat |
| Georgia | Mike Collins | Challenger |
| Ohio | Jon Husted | Incumbent, special election |
| Kansas, Maine | Roger Marshall, Susan Collins | Incumbents |
| Michigan, Minnesota, New Hampshire | Rogers, Tafoya, Sununu | Open seats |
Source: Ballotpedia, U.S. Senate endorsements by Donald Trump, 2026; Newsweek; The Guardian.
Open seats produced 5 of the 11 losses, in Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, New Hampshire and North Carolina. Incumbents lost 4 races, in Kansas, Maine, Ohio and South Carolina. Challengers lost 2, in Texas and Georgia. Newsweek identified Texas, North Carolina and South Carolina as examples where Trump’s preferred nominee lost the general election.
Two of the losses involved nominees that Trump helped clear the field for. Whatley won Trump’s backing after Senator Thom Tillis said he would not seek reelection. Darline Graham ran after Trump encouraged her to seek a full term. Opponents say these cases show loyalty outranked electability. Allies say national conditions, not the nominees, drove the results.
Trump-Endorsed Governor Candidates Results 2026: Winners and Losers
TRUMP-ENDORSED GOVERNOR VOTE SHARE (percent, partial counts)
Sanders (AR) | ██████████████████████████████████████████████████████ 53.9
Tuberville (AL) | ████████████████████████████████████████████████████ 52.0
Donalds (FL) | ██████████████████████████████████████████████████ 50.0
Abbott (TX) | ██████████████████████████████████████████████ 45.7
Ramaswamy (OH) | ████████████████████████████████████████████ 44.4
Blakeman (NY) | ████████████████████████████████████████ 40.1
| State | Trump-Endorsed Republican | Democrat | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | Tuberville 52.0% | Jones 48.0% | Won |
| Arkansas | Sanders 53.9% | Love 38.6% | Won |
| Florida | Donalds 50.0% | Jolly 48.7% | Won |
| Texas | Abbott 45.7% | Hinojosa 52.8% | Lost |
| Ohio | Ramaswamy 44.4% | Acton 52.3% | Lost |
| New York | Blakeman 40.1% | Hochul 59.7% | Lost |
Source: NBC News, 2026 governor results (partial counts, 93% to 99% reporting); NewsNation.
Trump endorsed 22 gubernatorial candidates, and NewsNation counted at least 11 losses. Three headline states split cleanly. Byron Donalds won Florida by about 1.3 points, Tuberville won Alabama and Sarah Huckabee Sanders won Arkansas. Greg Abbott lost Texas to Gina Hinojosa, Vivek Ramaswamy lost Ohio to Amy Acton, and Bruce Blakeman lost New York to Kathy Hochul.
Two endorsed candidates never reached November. Randy Feenstra lost the Iowa primary on June 2, and Burt Jones lost the Georgia runoff to Rick Jackson on June 16. NBC’s figures reflect partial counts, so final margins may shift. After Texas, Trump wrote that Abbott would have won had he not become a RINO.
Trump-Endorsed House Candidates Results 2026: Winners and Losers
HOUSE LOSSES BY TALLY
Guardian count (early) | ██████████████████████████████ 46
Our Ballotpedia list count | █████████████████████████████████████ 56
| District | Trump-Endorsed Republican | Result |
|---|---|---|
| TX-15 | Monica De La Cruz | Lost to Bobby Pulido |
| OH-7 | Max Miller | Lost to Brian Poindexter |
| NJ-7 | Tom Kean Jr. | Lost |
| PA-8 | Rob Bresnahan Jr. | Lost |
| VA-2 | Jennifer Kiggans | Lost |
| IA-1 | Mariannette Miller-Meeks | Lost |
| FL-14 | Mike Beltran | Lost to Kathy Castor |
Source: The Guardian; Yahoo News; Ballotpedia, U.S. House endorsements by Donald Trump, 2026.
The Guardian counted 46 Trump-backed House Republicans who had lost at the time of its analysis. Our own count of Ballotpedia’s list reaches 56 lost general elections, which is a calculation of ours and reflects later results. Many endorsed House Republicans also won, since a large share were incumbents in conservative seats.
The notable losses include incumbents Monica De La Cruz in Texas and Max Miller in Ohio. Newsweek reported that Miller lost in a district Trump won decisively in 2024, after Trump kept backing him through allegations Miller denied. Open-seat and challenger races produced many of the other defeats.
Trump-Endorsed Candidates Results by State 2026: Where the Losses Landed
TRUMP-ENDORSED HOUSE LOSSES BY STATE (our tally)
North Carolina | ██████ 6
Texas | ██████ 6
Ohio | █████ 5
California | ███ 3
Florida | ███ 3
Iowa | ███ 3
Nevada | ███ 3
New York | ███ 3
Pennsylvania | ███ 3
| State | House Losses | Other Statewide Result |
|---|---|---|
| North Carolina | 6 | Senate: Whatley lost |
| Texas | 6 | Senate: Paxton lost; Governor: Abbott lost |
| Ohio | 5 | Governor: Ramaswamy lost; Senate: Husted lost |
| Florida | 3 | Governor: Donalds won |
| Iowa | 3 | Senate: Hinson lost |
| New York | 3 | Governor: Blakeman lost |
Source: Ballotpedia, Trump endorsement tables (our state tally); NBC News; Newsweek.
North Carolina and Texas each had 6 endorsed House losses, and Ohio had 5. California, Florida, Iowa, Nevada, New York and Pennsylvania each had 3. Together those nine states account for 35 of the 56 House losses in our count. Several also lost a statewide race. Texas lost both the Senate seat and the governor’s office.
Florida was the exception on top of the ticket, since Donalds won while three endorsed House candidates lost. Ohio and Texas stood out for sweeping losses. The state counts come from Ballotpedia’s candidate list and will change as late results arrive, so treat them as a snapshot.
Trump-Endorsed Primary Results 2026: Wins, Losses and Incumbent Challengers
NOTABLE PRIMARY AND RUNOFF OUTCOMES
Paxton beats Cornyn (TX) | WIN
Letlow beats Cassidy (LA) | WIN
Gallrein beats Massie (KY-4) | WIN
Feenstra loses (IA Gov) | LOSS
Jones loses (GA Gov) | LOSS
Mills loses (FL-7) | LOSS
| Race | Trump-Endorsed Candidate | Primary Result |
|---|---|---|
| Texas Senate runoff | Ken Paxton | Won over John Cornyn |
| Louisiana Senate | Julia Letlow | Won over Bill Cassidy |
| Kentucky House 4 | Ed Gallrein | Won over Thomas Massie |
| Iowa Governor | Randy Feenstra | Lost to Zach Lahn |
| Georgia Governor runoff | Burt Jones | Lost to Rick Jackson |
| Tennessee House 5 | Andy Ogles | Lost |
Source: Ballotpedia; NPR; CNN; Newsweek.
Trump-backed challengers beat three incumbents who had clashed with him. Paxton beat Cornyn in the Texas runoff, Letlow won in Louisiana and Gallrein won in Kentucky. Newsweek noted that Letlow and Gallrein then won their general elections in strongly Republican territory. Paxton lost his.
Primary losses were rare but visible. Feenstra lost in Iowa, Jones lost in Georgia, and Reps. Cory Mills and Andy Ogles lost primaries in Florida and Tennessee. A 96% rate across 315 endorsements leaves room for about 12 misses. Critics say the record shows loyalty over electability. Supporters say it shows control of the nominating process.
Trump-Endorsed Candidates in Off-Year Races 2023 to 2026: Small Slates, Mixed Results
GENERAL ELECTION SUCCESS RATE, SMALLER SLATES (percent)
2023 (5 endorsements) | ████████████████████████████████████████ 80%
2025 (9 endorsements) | ██████████████████████ 43%
2026 (330 endorsements) | █████████████████████████████████ 67%
| Year | General Endorsements | Success Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 5 | 80% |
| 2025 | 9 | 43% |
| 2026 | 330 | 67% |
Source: Ballotpedia, Endorsements by Donald Trump, 2023 to 2026.
Off-year slates are tiny. Trump made 5 general election endorsements in 2023 and 9 in 2025, so one race moves the rate by many points. The 2023 rate was 80%. The 2025 rate was 43%, and it included Jack Ciattarelli’s loss in the New Jersey governor’s race.
Those small samples make the 2026 figure more informative, because it covers 330 endorsements. The jump in volume came with more open seats, more challengers and a harder national climate. Readers comparing years should weigh slate size. A 43% rate on 9 races does not carry the same weight as 67% on 330.
Trump-Endorsed Candidates and Congress Control 2026: Seat Flips and Exit Poll Data
CBS NEWS EXIT POLL: HOUSE VOTERS' STATED MOTIVE (percent)
Democratic voters opposing Trump | ███████████████████████████████████████ 78%
Republican voters backing Trump | ███████████ 36%| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Senate seats flipped by Democrats | 7 (2 uncalled at the time) |
| Flips in states Trump won by double digits in 2024 | 5 |
| Governorships flipped in Trump-won states | 5 |
| Democratic House voters who voted to oppose Trump | 78% |
| Republican House voters who voted to back Trump | 36% |
| Chamber control | Democrats won House and Senate |
Source: Newsweek, November 4, 2026; CBS News exit polls; NBC News governor results.
Democrats flipped 7 Senate seats, with 2 still uncalled when Newsweek reported. 5 of the flips came in states Trump won by double digits in 2024. NBC News counted 5 governorships that Democrats flipped in states Trump carried. Those flips explain why many endorsed candidates lost: the pool of Republicans on the ballot faced the same national tide.
The CBS News exit poll shows a gap in motivation. 78% of Democratic House voters said they voted to oppose Trump, compared with 36% of Republican voters who said they voted to back him. Trump has said he was not on the ballot. Political scientists note that a president’s endorsement matters less when voters treat an election as a referendum on him.
Trump-Endorsed State Legislative Candidates Results 2026
TRUMP-ENDORSED STATE LEGISLATIVE RESULTS (our tally)
General election wins | ████████████████████████████ 28
General election losses | █████████ 9
Primary losses | ████ 4
| Result | Count | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| General wins | 28 | Indiana Senate and House incumbents; Texas House Speaker Dustin Burrows |
| General losses | 9 | Indiana Senate challengers; Florida House incumbents |
| Primary losses | 4 | NC Senate leader Phil Berger; Indiana Senate challengers |
Source: Ballotpedia, state legislative endorsements by Donald Trump, 2026 (our tally).
Our count of Ballotpedia’s list shows 28 general wins, 9 general losses and 4 primary losses among state legislative endorsements. That is a general win rate near 76%, above the overall 67%. Most endorsements went to Indiana, where Trump backed incumbents and challengers after the state’s redistricting vote.
North Carolina Senate leader Phil Berger lost his primary. Several Indiana challengers lost in November, while others won. Texas House Speaker Dustin Burrows won. State races carry small samples and local factors, so the numbers say little about a national pattern. Treat the tally as a count of outcomes, not a measure of endorsement impact.
Trump-Endorsed Candidates Election Results 2026 FAQ
What is the success rate of Trump-endorsed candidates in 2026?
Ballotpedia shows 96% in primaries and 67% in general elections. Newsweek reported 73% for general elections earlier in the count.
How many Trump-endorsed candidates lost in the 2026 midterms?
Counts vary. Ballotpedia lists 11 Senate losses, the Guardian counted 46 House losses, and NewsNation counted at least 11 governor losses.
Did Trump-endorsed candidates win the Senate in 2026?
Not enough of them. Republicans with an endorsement won 13 Senate races and lost 11, and Democrats took Senate control.
Which Trump-endorsed governor candidates won in 2026?
Tommy Tuberville in Alabama, Sarah Huckabee Sanders in Arkansas and Byron Donalds in Florida, per NBC News.
Which Trump-endorsed governor candidates lost in 2026?
Greg Abbott in Texas, Vivek Ramaswamy in Ohio and Bruce Blakeman in New York lost in November. Randy Feenstra and Burt Jones lost primaries.
Who beat Ken Paxton in Texas?
James Talarico, a Democrat, won the Texas Senate seat. He is the first Democrat to win one there since 1988.
How does 2026 compare with 2024 for Trump endorsements?
The general election rate fell from 89% in 2024 to 67% in 2026, on a larger slate of 330 endorsements.
Why do trackers report different totals?
They count different races, treat uncalled races differently and update on different dates. This report names the source for each figure.
Which Trump-endorsed challengers beat incumbents?
Ken Paxton, Julia Letlow and Ed Gallrein won primaries against incumbents Cornyn, Cassidy and Massie.
What did Trump say about the results?
He wrote that he was not on the ballot and would have won in a landslide if he had been.
Who controls Congress after the 2026 midterms?
Democrats won both the House and the Senate, according to Newsweek and Yahoo News.
Are the 2026 Trump endorsement results final?
No. A few races were still uncalled as of November 7, 2026, and some tallies will change.
Did Trump-endorsed incumbents lose in 2026?
Yes. Ballotpedia lists incumbents who lost, including Monica De La Cruz in Texas, Max Miller in Ohio and Rob Bresnahan Jr. in Pennsylvania.
Which states had the most Trump-endorsed House losses in 2026?
North Carolina and Texas each had 6, followed by Ohio with 5, in our tally of Ballotpedia’s list.
How many Trump-endorsed candidates won primaries in 2026?
Ballotpedia reports a 96% success rate across 315 primary endorsements.
Did Trump-endorsed candidates win more in 2024 than in 2026?
Yes. The general election rate was 89% in 2024 and 67% in 2026.
What was Trump’s endorsement record in 2025?
Ballotpedia shows 9 endorsements and a 43% general election rate, including the New Jersey governor’s race.
Who won the North Carolina Senate race against Michael Whatley?
Roy Cooper, the state’s former governor, beat Whatley in a landslide, according to Newsweek.
Did Susan Collins win in Maine with Trump’s endorsement?
No. Ballotpedia lists her as a general election loss.
Did Trump endorse Mike Collins in the Georgia Senate race?
Yes, shortly before the June 16 runoff. Collins won the nomination, then lost the general election, per Ballotpedia.
Who won the Louisiana Senate race that Trump-backed Julia Letlow entered?
Letlow won her primary against incumbent Bill Cassidy and then won the general election, according to Newsweek.
What does a Trump endorsement success rate measure?
It counts endorsed candidates who won their races. It does not show whether an endorsement changed a result, since many picks were safe incumbents.
Where did Trump-endorsed candidates do best in 2026?
In strongly Republican states such as Alabama, Arkansas, Idaho, Oklahoma, Tennessee, West Virginia and Wyoming, per Ballotpedia’s list.
Disclaimer: This research report is compiled from publicly available sources. While reasonable efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, no representation or warranty, express or implied, is given as to the completeness or reliability of the information. We accept no liability for any errors, omissions, losses, or damages of any kind arising from the use of this report.