Last week, Georgia dealt former President Donald Trump another set of endorsement losses, while his side-switching act in Alabama came good after Katie Britt won the GOP Senate primary over Rep. Mo Brooks.
This week, Trump filled his endorsement card with a number of safe incumbents, but he also got involved in another hard-fought member-on-member primary in Illinois. The former president awarded an endorsement to Rep. Mary Miller — who has made a number of controversial statements during her year and a half in Congress — against Rep. Rodney Davis, who did not vote to overturn 2020 election results and supported establishing a Jan. 6 investigative commission. Both are conservatives, but Miller’s more consistent alignment with Trump helped win her the nomination in the end.
State Sen. Darren Bailey’s gubernatorial win in Illinois also came after a late Trump endorsement, though Bailey had already climbed atop the polls before then. Bailey beat out moderate candidate Richard Irvin, who was bankrolled by local billionaire Ken Griffin.
In the deep-red Utah, Trump chose to back Reps. Burgess Owens and Chris Stewart, who voted to contest the 2020 election results, and snubbed Reps. John Curtis and Blake Moore, who voted to establish a bipartisan commission to investigate the Jan. 6 attacks. But no matter — all Utah GOP House incumbents won nominations on Tuesday. Besides Davis, four representatives who voted to create the bipartisan commission survived primary challengers, though Trump avoided getting involved in their races.
Colorado wins
CO03
Rep. Lauren Boebert
Won with 65 percent of the vote. She voted to overturn 2020 election results.
According to witness testimony, Boebert was among those who met with White House aides and Trump campaign officials around Thanksgiving in 2020 to discuss ways former Vice President Mike Pence could delay election certification processes on Jan. 6. She tweeted “Today is 1776” on Jan. 6, but denied playing a role in the day’s riots or planning sessions. In his endorsement, Trump said Boebert was a “fearless leader, a defender of the America First agenda and a fighter against the loser RINOs and radical Democrats.”
Illinois wins
GOVERNOR
Darren Bailey
The state senator aggressively sought Trump’s endorsement among a field of six candidates, including Irvin, whose funding from Griffin made the race one of the most expensive non-presidential primaries ever. Bailey was a nominating delegate for the former president in 2020, and specifically sought Trump's endorsement. During the weekend rally where he endorsed Bailey, Trump called him an “outstanding warrior in the Illinois state Senate where he’s totally, totally respected by all of them,” while naming current Democratic Gov. JB Pritzker "one of the worst governors in America.”
IL12
Rep. Mike Bost
Unopposed.
IL15
Rep. Mary Miller
Won with 58 percent of the vote. She voted to overturn 2020 election results.
Miller ran against fellow GOP member Rep. Rodney Davis, who voted to create the Jan. 6 commission and drew ire from within the party. The representative has had her own share of controversies while in office: She repeated an Adolf Hitler quote to crowds on January 5, and more recently called the SCOTUS Roe v. Wade a “victory for white life” during a Trump rally and received several cheers, though later said she meant to say “right to life.” Trump said Miller was “a warrior for our movement” during a weekend rally.
IL18
Rep. Darin LaHood
Won with about two-thirds of the vote.
Oklahoma wins
GOVERNOR
Gov. Kevin Stitt
Won with 69 percent of the vote.
Stitt previously said Trump was one of his inspirations for running for office four years ago. The former president had also endorsed Stitt then, following his career from when he “was a very successful businessman in 2018… Now, he is a fighter for the incredible people of Oklahoma,” he said in his 2022 endorsement. Trump threw a fundraiser for the candidate in April.
OK01
Rep. Kevin Hern
Unopposed.
OK03
Rep. Frank Lucas
Won with 61 percent of the vote. He voted to overturn 2020 election results.
OK04
Rep. Tom Cole
Won with 70 percent of the vote.
Utah wins
SENATOR
Sen. Mike Lee
Won with 61 percent of the vote.
A former Trump skeptic, Lee heavily sought the former president’s endorsement, causing his leading challengers to campaign on the premise that the state had moved on from both of them. The senator has also used his faith to justify his support for the then-president, leading to disgruntlement among Latter-day Saint residents. Recent investigations by the Jan. 6 committee showed Lee discussed methods of legally denying the 2020 election results in texts with former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows.
UT02
Rep. Chris Stewart
Won with 72 percent of the vote. He voted to overturn 2020 election results.
UT04
Rep. Burgess Owens
Won with 61 percent of the vote. He voted to overturn 2020 election results.
Days before Jan. 6, Owens said he would challenge election results because there was “no question in my mind” Trump was the legitimate winner. He maintained the position until the end of January, saying he accepted President Joe Biden had been the winner from “the beginning.” Trump backed Owens over the weekend, who spoke at the 2020 Republican National Convention. “I campaigned with Burgess to flip this seat in 2020, and I am proud to support him again,” he said in a statement.
ICYMI: Alabama wins on June 21
SENATE
Katie Britt
Won with 63 percent of the vote.
ICYMI: Virginia wins on June 21
VA01
Rep. Rob Wittman
Unopposed. He voted to overturn 2020 election results.
VA05
Rep. Bob Good
Unopposed. He voted to overturn 2020 election results.
VA06
Rep. Ben Cline
Won with 82 percent of the vote. He voted to overturn 2020 election results.
VA09
Rep. Morgan Griffith
Unopposed. He voted to overturn 2020 election results.
