Primary night results highlight President Trump’s influence in the GOP

Añadido: 2026-05-20

[00:00:02]I want to thank President Trump for his support, his endorsement, and his counsel as I navigated this campaign, which is a journey of unto itself, and for his courageous leadership of our nation at this critical time. I want to emphasize that, this critical time and juncture in history. Thank you, Mr. President.

[00:00:30]Former Congressman Thomas Massie is out after a significant primary loss to the guy you just heard from right there, Trump backed challenger Ed Gowrine in Kentucky, marking one of the biggest political wins of the night for the president. The results did cap off a dominant night for Trump aligned candidates across the country from Kentucky to Georgia to Alabama, further proving President Trump's political power and influence over the Republican base he helped shape. And joining us now to discuss these wins is RNC senior advisor Danielle Alvarez. What a night.

[00:01:01]Good morning to you, Danielle. Great to see you as always.

[00:01:04]>> Good morning. It's great to be on with you. And yes, what a night for President Trump uh whose endorsements carried the night. It was a big win for the Republican party. It was a big win for the president. Certainly, >> when you look at the big picture, Trump backed candidates were racking up wins across the country throughout the night, like we said, including uh also Andy Bar in Kentucky, Tommy Tubberville in Alabama, Bert Jones advanced there in Georgia. What does this say about President Trump's influence right now heading into the midterms?

[00:01:30]>> I think it says two things. First, that the president's endorsement is worth its weight in gold. And secondly, that he understands his base. He understands voters. Uh, of course, Thomas Massie very famously voted against the working families tax cuts, which provided no tax on tips, no tax on overtime, no tax on social security, secured our border funded uh, DHS. And so, I really think that that was to Thomas Massiey's detriment. Of course, Gal Ryan ending up with the president's endorsement and sailing to a massive victory in the Kentucky primary. He also voted against aid to Israel. So I know a lot of pro-Israeli groups also spent a lot of money in the state of Kentucky for Galin as you mentioned. What message do you think Republican primary voters sent last night? And can you count on them to show up uh for the midterms?

[00:02:19]>> We know that the president's base shows up. They are very fired up of course about President Trump, about the Republican party uh and about Republicans putting America first in their agenda. And so I think that it is of course incumbent on the Republican National Committee and the entire Republican ecosystem to make sure to keep those voters motivated to make sure that those voters that we do voter contact programs and turn out those voters come November, but at the end of the day, what they're going to remember is good governance from this administration. Again, pointing back to not just the working families tax cuts, but of course Trump RX, which the president had a huge event yesterday to promote lowered prescription drug costs.

[00:02:56]We also saw some of these races really become tests between the the more establishment wing of the party and the America first movement. So when you when you look at it from that perspective, how do you think that changed? How did American voters change between more of the establishment wing and the America first movement and what changed it?

[00:03:16]>> Well, the reality is that our party has grown and of course that is a result of that America first movement. That is uh the core of the Republican base right now. working families. Uh and so I think that again that is the most important focus that we have headed into November.

[00:03:31]Understanding our electorate, understanding our voters, understanding the priorities of this nation. Again, this administration keenly focused on lowering costs as I mentioned, whether it's the working family tax cuts or Trump RX, uh making sure that we bring an end to this conflict in Iran so that we can bring down those gas prices. And if all is aligned in November, I imagine that Republicans will hold the House and hold the Senate.

[00:03:55]>> President Trump also shaking up the Texas Senate race. I want to get to this very quickly, endorsing Ken Paxton over incumbent Senator John Cornin. How big of a gamecher is this endorsement?

[00:04:07]>> Well, I would definitely again emphasize that the president's endorsement is worth its weight in gold. I certainly wouldn't bet against President Trump uh in any of these primary endorsements. Of course, we will see what happens in this runoff election, but it, you know, Ken Paxton has had a great relationship with the president, supported the president, of course, and all of uh the lawsuits against the Biden administration, making sure that the border was secure, making sure to defend the America first movement. So, uh it was surprising the timing, but not surprising the endorsement. RNC senior adviser Danielle Alvarez.