Topline
A Michigan House candidate endorsed by President Donald Trump appears set to lose his GOP primary race against a candidate who dropped out and ended his campaign, in one of the most surprising results of Tuesday night’s elections.
President Donald Trump listens as Republican congressional candidate Amir Hassan speaks at an event at the General Motors Proving Ground in Milford, Michigan.
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Key Facts
While the race has not yet been officially called by the Associated Press, its vote count shows Thomas Smith has secured 50.4% of the votes with 99% of the count completed.
Amir Hassan, who was endorsed by Trump, is significantly behind with only 33.2% of the vote, but it’s unclear why the race has not been called by AP yet.
The winner of the GOP primary will take on incumbent Rep. Kristen McDonald Rivet, D-Mich., for the state’s 8th Congressional District.
Hassan’s impending loss appears to be the latest miss by Trump, even as several of the president’s endorsees have beat prominent incumbents like Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., and Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky.
What Do We Know About Trump’s Endorsement Of Hassan?
In the past few months, Trump has made three posts on Truth Social touting his endorsement of Hassan and pointing out his earlier service in the U.S. Navy and as a Federal law enforcement officer. The most recent such post was made on Monday, when the president wrote: “Amir Hassan has my Complete and Total Endorsement to be the next Representative from Michigan’s 8th Congressional District.” The post attacked the incumbent Democratic lawmaker, Rivet, saying she “voted against NO TAX ON TIPS, NO TAX ON OVERTIME, and NO TAX ON SOCIAL SECURITY and, if she and the Dumocrats ever got in, all of these things would be terminated.”
What Do We Know About Thomas Smith Dropping Out?
According to Detroit News, Smith dropped out of the contest in mid-July, but his name remained on the ballot. After dropping out, Smith had endorsed rival Al Lemmo and even appeared in a Facebook video wearing a Lemmo for Congress hat. With nearly all votes counted, Lemmo has only managed to secure 16.4% of the votes, placing a distant third behind the two other candidates.
Tangent
Trump has not yet commented on Hassan’s loss, as most of his Truth Social posts on Tuesday evening were focused on endorsees who won their races. In June, Trump made a rare acknowledgment after the loss of his preferred candidate, Georgia Lt. Gov. Burt Jones, in the state’s gubernatorial runoff. The president, however, appeared to take credit for billionaire Rick Jackson’s surprise win by claiming he “very successfully campaigned on being ‘TRUMP,’ and won.” Reiterating this in a follow-up post, the president wrote: “Rick Jackson ran a great TRUMP Campaign. Very smart!”