UPDATED: 09 JUN 2022 09:39 AM EST
Donald Trump came into Tuesday’s primaries on the heels of a dismal May 24 performance, when his endorsements in Georgia largely proved to be a flop.
This time around, he didn’t have as much at stake: Trump didn’t endorse in any heavily contested primaries, nor did he support any challengers to Republican incumbents. For the most part, the former president backed incumbents who were expected to easily dispatch little-known opponents and a few open-seat House candidates in California.
Among his endorsements this week: GOP Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa; South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy of California.
Notably, Trump refrained from backing a primary challenger to California Rep. David Valadao, who was one of 10 House Republicans who voted to impeach him last year.
Trump did not endorse any candidates at all in two of the seven states that voted Tuesday: New Jersey and New Mexico. Both were blue states where he lost by double-digits in 2020.
Here is a look at the Trump-endorsed candidates who won Tuesday.
California wins
CA01
Rep. Doug LaMalfa
Made the general election by finishing in first place.
He voted to overturn 2020 election results.
CA03
Kevin Kiley
Made the general election by finishing in second place.
A GOP state assemblyman and sharp critic of Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom, Kiley placed sixth in his bid to unseat Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom in 2021. But that finish didn’t dissuade Trump from backing him after meeting Kiley in May at a Trump California golf course. “No one has fought Gavin Newsom harder than Kevin. He doesn’t wait for the fight, like the do-nothing RINOs who have watched California get absolutely destroyed by the radical maniacs in Sacramento,” Trump said in his endorsement.
CA05
Rep. Tom McClintock
Made the general election by finishing in first place.
CA20
Rep. Kevin McCarthy
Made the general election by finishing in first place.
The House minority leader, whom Trump has referred to as “my Kevin,” received his endorsement from the former president over the weekend. Audio tapes released in April showed McCarthy privately bashing the former president following the Jan. 6 attacks — to the brief irritation of Trump and others in the GOP — though the two still publicly support each other.
McCarthy voted to overturn 2020 election results.
CA22
Connie Conway
Made the general election by finishing in first place.
Trump backed the former state legislator in the special election runoff to replace GOP Rep. Devin Nunes, who resigned his seat to run Trump’s media company. In his endorsement statement, the former president commended Conway’s work for his administration as California executive director for the Department of Agriculture’s Farm Service Agency.
Conway will only serve in Congress temporarily, as the district lapses next year after the state’s new congressional district map takes effect.
CA23
Rep. Jay Obernolte
Made the general election by finishing in first place.
He voted to overturn 2020 election results.
CA41
Rep. Ken Calvert
Made the general election by finishing in first place.
He voted to overturn 2020 election results.
CA48
Rep. Darrell Issa
Made the general election by finishing in first place.
He voted to overturn 2020 election results.
Iowa wins
GOVERNOR
Gov. Kim Reynolds
Unopposed.
SENATE
Sen. Chuck Grassley
Won with 74 percent.
The 88-year-old senator has criticized Trump’s role in the Jan. 6 attacks in the past — and called for the prosecution of participants — but that didn’t stop Grassley from touting the former president’s support. "So if I didn't accept the endorsement of a person who has 91% of the Republican voters in Iowa, I wouldn't be too smart. I'm smart enough to accept that endorsement,” Grassley said at an October rally last year where he received Trump’s backing.
IA01
Rep. Ashley Hinson
Unopposed.
IA04
Rep. Randy Feenstra
Unopposed.
Mississippi wins
MS01
Rep. Trent Kelly
Won with 90 percent.
He voted to overturn 2020 election results.
Montana wins
MT01
Ryan Zinke*
*With 95 percent of the expected vote in, Zinke held a narrow lead over Al Olszewski, 41 percent to 40 percent.
Zinke served as U.S. Interior Secretary under Trump for two years after a previous stint in Congress. He resigned in 2018 over financial ethics concerns, related to an investigation that found he inappropriately used his authority to support a Montana-based project and did not divulge all information related to his involvement. In his endorsement, Trump praised Zinke for his previous Cabinet work and said he looked forward to someone who would “fight against the radical left Democrats who continually block the America First policies we put in place.”
MT02
Rep. Matt Rosendale
Won with 76 percent.
He voted to overturn 2020 election results.
South Dakota wins
GOVERNOR
Gov. Kristi Noem
Won with 76 percent.
Trump took notice of Noem during her tenure in Congress and then as governor — the former president even asked her to consider running against Sen. John Thune, which she declined. During Trump’s Independence Day visit to South Dakota’s Mount Rushmore in 2020, Noem presented him with a replica with his face on it after he expressed interest in joining his presidential predecessors on the national landmark. She also campaigned around the country for Trump in 2020 and had a 2021 fundraiser for her reelection campaign at Mar-a-Lago, hosted by Donald Trump Jr. and girlfriend Kimberly Guilfoyle.
