Donald Trump’s “unblemished” primary record is now very blemished

A second Donald Trump-backed contender has lost a Republican candidacy race, overturning the former president’s self-proclaimed “very unblemished” record in such matters.

It could also be another sign that the former president’s overall influence on Republican voters is waning, although wider polling varies.

Mendham Mayor Christine Serrano Glassner, who was endorsed by Trump for the Senate during his campaign rally in Wildwood, New Jersey, on May 11, was defeated by real estate developer Curtis Bashaw by seven points (45.6 percent to 38.6), with most of the votes reported, according to The Associated Press.

At the rally, Trump suggested his record for supporting political candidates is “very unblemished” while urging people to “go out and vote” for Glassner.

However, Glassner’s defeat in the state is now the second time in recent weeks that a Trump-backed candidate has lost their race. On May 29, Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan narrowly defeated the Trump-endorsed challenger David Covey in the primary runoff for the state’s District 21 seat by just under 400 votes.

Trump has often cited his record of endorsing candidates who go on to win their respective races as a sign of his influence and power over the GOP.

And he continued to emphasize his claimed endorsement power by highlighting on Truth Social, his social platform, the candidates he backed who did win their races on Tuesday, including Montana state auditor Troy Downing winning the GOP primary in the state’s Second Congressional District, and Tim Sheehy winning the Republican nomination to run for Montana’s U.S. Senate seat.

Glassner’s election defeat occurred just days after Trump became the first current or former president in U.S. history to be convicted of a crime after a New York jury found him guilty of 34 felony falsifying business records charges on May 30.

However, it may be too early to suggest that the conviction had an influence on the results.

Despite not getting the support of Trump, Bashaw was endorsed by multiple other Republican figures in the state. Bashaw also had an advantage with the state’s county lines, which essentially gave him a more favorable position on the primary ballot, because he was the candidate with greater establishment backing.

In a statement to The Independent following her defeat, Glassner said she is now looking forward to “supporting President Trump and America First candidates in the election this November.”

The loss means that Bashaw will now go up against Democratic Rep. Andy Kim for the New Jersey seat now held by Sen. Bob Menendez, a Democrat currently on trial for federal bribery charges who intends to seek reelection as an independent in November if acquitted of the charges.

Trump’s office has been contacted for comment via email.

This is not the first time that Trump’s endorsements have come under scrutiny.

Ahead of the 2022 midterms, Trump frequently cited his track record of picking Republican candidates who went on to win their primary races.

However, a large majority of these were already incumbents running for reelection, meaning they would be huge favorites to win their GOP primary.

When it came down to the general elections in November, 2022, several of these Trump-backed candidates lost their races, including Herschel Walker‘s defeat in the Georgia Senate runoff election to Raphael Warnock and celebrity heart surgeon Mehmet Oz losing the Pennsylvania Senate race to John Fetterman.

The results meant Trump was widely blamed, including by those in the GOP, for the party severely underperforming in the 2022 midterms after their failed retake of Senate control from the Democrats, and only winning a small majority in the House.

“I think a huge factor in all of this was the disastrous role of Donald Trump in this whole process,” Pat Toomey, the former Republican senator who was replaced by Fetterman following the 2022 midterms, told the Wall Street Journal.

“All across the country we see that the hardcore MAGA candidates dramatically underperformed more conventional Republicans, so that’s a big reality that we have to recognize.”