Trump supporters won two of the three races in the Georgia, Alabama runoffs

ATLANTA, GA. – He was not in the vote, but the President Donald TrumpThe GOP’s strong hold faced key tests in key Republican contests in Georgia and neighboring Alabama on Tuesday.

Although the strength of Trump’s endorsement in the Republican primaries did not escape unscathed, Trump-backed candidates won two of the three top races, with one setback coming from a billionaire businessman who gave more than $100 million of his own money to boost his campaign.

Rep. Barry Moore, a member of the House Freedom Caucus and a longtime Trump supporter endorsed by the president, comfortably defeated challenger Jared Hudson, a former Navy SEAL sniper who was backed by some top right-wing names, in Alabama’s deeply red GOP Senate race.

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In the Georgia Senate battleground, Trump’s 11th-hour endorsement this past weekend helped Rep. Mike Collins, MAGA champion, to defeat college football coach Derek Dooley, who was backed by Gov. The famous Brian Kemp.

Collins will face Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff in the general election in a narrow race that could determine the GOP’s slim majority in the party during the midterms.

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But in the Georgia Gubernatorial Runoff, Trump supported, Lt. Gov. Burt Jones, who was also sponsored by Kemp this past weekend, was defeated by Rick Jackson, who ran as an outsider.

Jones has consistently touted Trump’s endorsement, but Jackson, who launched his bid in February long after the president endorsed Jones, has repeatedly said Trump inspired him to run.

“I just thought, you know, if you had someone doing business solutions in the state of Georgia, just like Trump is in the United States, I felt like I would have a big impact in the state of Georgia, so that was one of the reasons I wanted to get in. I was inspired by President Trump,” Jackson told Fox News Digital recently.

And he has been insisting that, like Trump, he is an outsider and a businessman. “I’m going to be Trump’s favorite governor because we’re similar in how we do business and how we handle problems, and I want to do exactly in Georgia what he’s doing in the federal government,” he said in an interview with Fox News Digital on Sunday.

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The president’s brute force has been on display in the GOP primaries over the past six weeks, with candidates ousting incumbents in statewide contests in Indiana, Louisiana, Kentucky and Texas.

But Trump’s support nationally and in the Republican primaries took off two weeks ago when his 11th-hour endorsement of Republican Representative Randy Feenstra of Iowa in the race to replace Gov.

Feenstra was cut short by Zach Lahn, a businessman, farmer and political strategist who once supported the political wings of MAHA – an acronym for the Make America Healthy Again movement associated with Trump’s Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. – and Turning Point USA, the powerful conservation organization founded by the late Charlie Kirk.

Zach Lahn raises his fist in celebration after defeating his primary opponent in the Iowa GOP primary race on Tuesday, June 2, 2026. (Zach Lahn for Governor via Facebook)

Trump resurfaced last week, as the South Carolina GOP gubernatorial primary candidate, Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette, who finished first in a crowded field and won one of the two tickets in the nomination race.

Meanwhile, Trump’s longtime supporter, Sen. Lindsey Graham, won the majority of votes in the Republican Senate primary, and avoided a runoff.

Graham, who was endorsed by Trump, was facing serious challenges from five candidates, including conservative businessman Mark Lynch, who was targeting the congressman over his support for the war on Iran. Lynch was supported by some MAGA leaders who were critical of the president.

Gubernatorial candidate Rick Jackson speaks to supporters at a campaign stop in Alpharetta, Ga., on June 14, 2026. (Paul Steinhauser/Fox News)

Trump’s political organization, pointing to Tuesday’s loss to Trump-backed Jones, noted that “Rick Jackson set a statewide Republican primary spending record. He spent Tom Steyer’s level in a small state in California. That will have an impact.”

And the employee, who asked not to be named in order to speak more freely, reiterated that “Rick held Trump. All of his ads and material were about how he would be Trump’s favorite governor. So the race wasn’t really a poll on Trump.”

Veteran Republican strategist Matt Gorman told Fox News Digital that “Rick was a great candidate. Trump’s endorsement won’t do all the work. It’s a big value-add but not a panacea. Now the focus is on coming together to have a fall.”

Jackson was approved at the last minute by Sen. Ted Cruz, and the firebrand from Texas joined Jackson in a pre-race rally campaign.

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“Rick has an extraordinary record, an extraordinary life story. And I think he has a chance to win. And the stakes are very high. This election is a battleground for the whole country. We can’t afford to lose Georgia,” Cruz told Fox News Digital.

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While Cruz endorsed Jackson on Friday, he also supported South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson, who is facing a lawsuit this week against Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette supported by Trump.

Asked if he was trying to put daylight between himself and the president in his campaign, Cruz quickly responded, “No. Not far….The president and I agree on most races. What I try to do in every race is recommend a strong candidate who can win. And I usually get into races late at a time when my support​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​