Three Republican candidates endorsed by Donald Trump lost primary contests on Tuesday, including two defeats in Florida and one in Wyoming. Catalina Lauf lost the crowded 19th Congressional District primary to Jim Schwartzel; Rep. Cory Mills was defeated by Ryan Elijah amid several controversies; and Wyoming education superintendent Megan Degenfelder trailed Eric Barlow in the governor's primary. The results add to a recent string of setbacks for Trump-backed candidates, which Trump downplayed on Truth Social.
Trump's Endorsements Falter: Three Trump-Backed Republicans Lose Key Primaries
Photo Illustration by Victoria Sunday/The Daily Beast/Getty Images
Three Republican candidates endorsed by former President Donald Trump were defeated in primary contests on Tuesday, extending a recent string of setbacks for many of his chosen candidates.
Florida Setbacks
Two of the losses came in Florida. In the crowded primary for the 19th Congressional District, which covers Naples and Fort Myers, Trump endorsed Catalina Lauf — a 33-year-old former Commerce Department adviser who previously ran for Congress in Illinois. According to the Associated Press, Lauf was projected to lose to Jim Schwartzel, president of Sun Broadcasting, by roughly seven percentage points.
Trump endorsed Lauf, a Commerce Department adviser during his first term and a twice-failed congressional candidate in Illinois. / Lauf Campaign
The race drew extra attention after an audio recording surfaced in which Lauf appeared unfamiliar with basic local officials in the district. Gulf Coast News reported that Lauf, who recently moved from Illinois, could not name her county commissioner, a school board member, or the mayor during a meeting with the political action committee BUPAC. Lauf responded to questions about the recording by saying she had been "deliberately ambushed" and threatened legal action.
Incumbent Defeat in Florida
The other Trump-backed loss in Florida involved incumbent Rep. Cory Mills. Mills, an Iraq War veteran first elected in 2022, was defeated by Ryan Elijah, a former Orlando-area reporter, by more than 13 percentage points, per the AP. Mills' reelection campaign was clouded by allegations of an assault in Washington, D.C., in February 2025 and reports that an arrest warrant was routed to prosecutors but not signed, as reported by NBC News. Mills has denied wrongdoing. He was also previously subject to a restraining order stemming from allegations he threatened to release intimate videos of an ex-girlfriend, and he is under investigation by the House Ethics Committee.
Mills' campaign was hampered by controversy in his personal life. / Piroschka Van De Wouw / REUTERS
Wyoming Governor's Race
In Wyoming, education superintendent Megan Degenfelder, who had Trump’s endorsement for governor, trailed state Senator Eric Barlow by more than 17 percentage points with roughly 38 percent of votes reported, the AP said. The margin left Degenfelder facing an uphill climb as results continued to come in.
Broader Context and Reaction
These defeats follow other recent losses for Trump-backed candidates, including Mike Lindell's unsuccessful run in Minnesota and the earlier losses of Tennessee Rep. Andy Ogles and Michigan Rep. Amir Hassan. Trump, 80, downplayed the Tuesday results on his platform Truth Social, posting: "A lot of great WINS tonight!!!" The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Daily Beast.
Sources: Associated Press, Gulf Coast News, NBC News, Daily Beast.
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