Donald Trump’s endorsed candidate Amir Hassan just lost Michigan’s 8th District GOP primary to Thomas J. Smith—a candidate who had suspended his campaign, stopped actively running, and still stayed on the ballot. Smith won anyway.
And it is not an isolated embarrassment. Trump’s picks also lost major Republican governor primaries in Georgia and Iowa: Burt Jones lost to Rick Jackson in Georgia, while Randy Feenstra lost to Zach Lahn in Iowa.
In this episode of Pragmotiv News, I break down whether Trump’s grip on Republican primary voters—especially in the Midwest and competitive states—is beginning to crack. We revisit what Trump promised Michigan, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Iowa, and Ohio in 2016: factory jobs, American steel, better trade deals, relief for farmers, fossil-fuel jobs, health-care reform, and protection for Social Security and Medicare.
Are voters finally judging Trump and MAGA Republicans by the results instead of the promises? And could these GOP primary losses be an early warning sign for the 2026 midterms and the road to 2028?
