President Donald Trump’s influence in Republican primaries faced another major test Tuesday as voters in Georgia and Alabama headed to the polls for high-profile runoff elections, as reported by Fox News.
While Trump-backed candidates scored victories in two of the three marquee contests, a wealthy Georgia businessman delivered a notable setback by defeating a candidate endorsed by both Trump and Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp.
In Alabama’s Republican Senate runoff, Rep. Barry Moore, a member of the House Freedom Caucus and longtime Trump ally, defeated former Navy SEAL sniper Jared Hudson.
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Moore entered the race with Trump’s endorsement and secured a comfortable victory in the deeply Republican state.
Trump also notched a win in Georgia’s Republican Senate runoff. Rep. Mike Collins received a late endorsement from the president over the weekend and defeated former college football coach Derek Dooley, who had been backed by Kemp.
Collins now advances to a general election showdown against Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff.
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The race is expected to be one of the most closely watched Senate contests of the 2026 midterms and could play a major role in determining whether Republicans maintain their narrow Senate majority.
Following Collins’ victory, Trump quickly pledged additional support for the campaign.
The president wrote that he would “be doing Big TRUMP Rallies for Mike in Georgia.”
The biggest surprise of the night came in Georgia’s Republican gubernatorial runoff.
Lt. Gov. Burt Jones entered the race with endorsements from both Trump and Kemp.
Despite that support, Jones was defeated by billionaire businessman Rick Jackson, who campaigned as an outsider and invested more than $100 million of his own money into the race.
Jackson launched his campaign months after Trump had already endorsed Jones, but repeatedly emphasized his admiration for the president and argued that his business background mirrored Trump’s approach to governing.
“I just thought, you know, if you had somebody doing business solutions for the state of Georgia, just like Trump is for the United States, I just felt like I would have a major impact on the state of Georgia, and so that was one of the reasons I wanted to get in. I was inspired by President Trump,” Jackson told Fox News Digital.
Jackson also argued that he would be closely aligned with the president’s agenda if elected governor.
“I'm going to be Trump's favorite governor because we're just alike on the way that we handle business and handle problems, and I want to do exactly in Georgia what he's doing at the federal government,” he said in a Fox News Digital interview Sunday.
Rather than criticizing Jackson after the loss, Trump praised the businessman from abroad while attending the G7 Summit in Europe.
“Rick Jackson ran a great TRUMP Campaign. Very smart! Was with me on Saturday Night making a pitch. Amazing!!!” Trump wrote on social media.
The president also praised Jones, writing that Jackson “won against a great guy, Burt Jones, who has a fantastic future!!!”
The Georgia result marked one of the few recent instances in which a Trump-endorsed candidate failed to prevail.
Over the past several weeks, Trump-backed candidates have defeated incumbents and rivals in major Republican contests across Indiana, Louisiana, Kentucky, and Texas.
However, Trump’s streak suffered another interruption earlier this month in Iowa. There, Rep. Randy Feenstra lost the Republican gubernatorial primary despite receiving a late endorsement from the president.
Feenstra was narrowly defeated by businessman, farmer, and former political strategist Zach Lahn, who received support from organizations aligned with the Make America Healthy Again movement and Turning Point USA.
Trump’s endorsement record rebounded last week in South Carolina, where Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette finished first in the Republican gubernatorial primary and advanced to a runoff.
Sen. Lindsey Graham, another Trump-backed candidate, also avoided a runoff in South Carolina’s Republican Senate primary.
Republican strategists argued that Jackson’s victory in Georgia reflected unique circumstances rather than a rejection of Trump’s influence.
One Trump political operative noted that Jackson spent unprecedented sums in the race and embraced Trump throughout the campaign.
“Rick Jackson set a record for spending in a statewide Republican primary. He spent Tom Steyer-level money in a state a fraction of the size of California. That's going to have an impact,” the operative said.
The operative added, “Rick bearhugged Trump. All of his ads and material was about how he's going to be Trump's favorite governor. So the race was not really a referendum on Trump.”
Veteran Republican strategist Matt Gorman echoed that assessment.
“Rick was a great candidate. Trump's endorsement can't do all the work. It's a massive value add, but it's not a panacea. Now the focus is on coming together for the fall,” Gorman said.
Jackson also received a late endorsement from Sen. Ted Cruz, who campaigned alongside him during a rally on the eve of the runoff.
“Rick has an extraordinary record, an extraordinary life story. And I also think he's positioned to win. And the stakes are too high. This election is a battleground all across the country. We can't afford to lose Georgia,” Cruz told Fox News Digital.
When asked whether his endorsements placed him at odds with Trump in certain races, Cruz rejected the suggestion.
“No. Not remotely.... The president and I agree on the vast majority of races. What I try to do in every race is endorse the strongest conservative who can win. And typically, I get in races late in the race at a time where my support might be able to make a difference and be helpful,” Cruz said.
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