Rep. Ted Budd won the Republican nomination for North Carolina's open U.S. Senate seat on Tuesday, per the AP.
Why it matters: The outcome is a victory for former President Trump, who endorsed Budd and whose power as the GOP's kingmaker is being tested with every endorsement he’s made in primaries across the country.
- Budd defeated former Gov. Pat McCrory in a long, expensive and brutal primary that saw nearly six months of attack ads and mailers and even had its own Waffle House hash browns controversy.
- Budd benefited from an $11 million ad campaign from Club For Growth.
The big picture: The race to replace retiring Republican Sen. Richard Burr is one of the most closely watched in the nation and could decide control of the chamber.
What's next: Budd will face Democratic nominee Cheri Beasley, a former chief justice of North Carolina’s Supreme Court, in November.
