Trump endorsements were tested nationwide on Tuesday, and many came up short as Democrats regained control of both the House and the Senate, according to unofficial results. The shift included wins in longtime Republican territories such as Kansas, South Carolina, and Texas.
Several Senate hopefuls backed by Donald Trump lost decisively, including Ken Paxton in Texas, Michael Whatley in North Carolina, Mike Collins in Georgia, and Darline Graham in South Carolina. His gubernatorial choices fared little better. Vivek Ramaswamy in Ohio and Steve Hilton in California were defeated, while Byron Donalds in Florida narrowly prevailed.
Trump responded with a flurry of late-night posts on his Truth Social account, venting at Republicans and the media. In one message, he faulted Texas Governor Greg Abbott for losing re-election, calling him a RINO and claiming Abbott “went back to his original formula, and it wasn’t pretty.”
Abbott was defeated after a late pivot away from his earlier support for data center growth amid broader pushback against AI. During his tenure, he had been a reliable conservative and a consistent Trump ally.
On the trail this cycle, Trump urged voters to treat the midterms as if he were on the ballot, despite ongoing criticism of his policies, including the war on Iran and tariffs that have raised consumer prices. After Tuesday’s results, he sought distance from the slate of candidates he endorsed, writing, “I wasn’t on the Ballot and if I was, we would have won IN A LANDSLIDE!”
Trump endorsements and blame over midterm losses
A White House official reinforced that view, arguing the candidates were at fault, not the president. “President Trump was not on the ballot, and it’s proven that Trump voters show up when he is on the ballot,” the official said, adding that candidate quality played a decisive role and that Trump promoted them more effectively than they did themselves.
Trump also criticized Fox News, alleging its ratings are slipping because of coverage focused on what he called “Trump Deranged Dumocrats,” and he insisted his own numbers “are better than they have ever been.” He further attacked Fox’s polling, calling its questions biased and the results untrustworthy.
The results leave Republicans assessing the political cost of tying closely to Trump endorsements in battlegrounds and deep-red states alike, while Democrats prepare to govern with new majorities on Capitol Hill.
Amid broader pushback against AI, some party strategists are also weighing how voter concerns over rapid technological change may have intersected with electoral dynamics, echoing debates seen in academia over the pace of adoption, such as those described by a Cornell professor’s response to AI advances.