{"id":357,"date":"2026-05-27T21:37:47","date_gmt":"2026-05-27T21:37:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/trustedmovinggroups.com\/?p=357"},"modified":"2026-05-27T21:37:47","modified_gmt":"2026-05-27T21:37:47","slug":"trumps-may-primary-scorecard-from-the-politics-desk","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/trustedmovinggroups.com\/?p=357","title":{"rendered":"Trump\u2019s May primary scorecard: From the Politics Desk"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Welcome to <\/em>From the Politics Desk<\/em>, a daily newsletter that brings you the NBC News Politics team\u2019s latest reporting and analysis from the White House, Capitol Hill and the campaign trail.<\/em><\/p>\n

Read more Two confirmed dead amid search for missing in Longview implosion<\/a><\/p>\n

In today\u2019s edition, we take stock of President Donald Trump\u2019s retribution campaign this month as Ken Paxton and James Talarico look ahead to the general election in Texas. Plus, Andrea Mitchell digs into an under-the-radar shift in the Russia-Ukraine war. <\/em><\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

Sign up to receive this newsletter in your inbox every weekday here.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u2014 Adam Wollner<\/em><\/p>\n

Trump\u2019s May primary scorecard<\/h2>\n

President Donald Trump<\/strong> endorsed 10 challengers to incumbent Republicans in their primaries this month, seeking to further tighten his grip on the party as his poll numbers with the broader electorate continued to sag.<\/p>\n

The almost-final tally, courtesy of Bridget Bowman: Trump ousted all but two of the GOP lawmakers who had crossed him, with one of the races still too close to call. <\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

The latest result came last night in Texas, where state Attorney General Ken Paxton<\/strong> trounced longtime Sen. John Cornyn<\/strong>, 64%-36%, in a primary runoff. Trump endorsed Paxton just one week ago, even after Cornyn narrowly finished first, but short of a majority, in the initial March primary. <\/p>\n

\u201cI think it made it from a likely Paxton win, even though those of us who\u2019ve been lifelong friends of John Cornyn were hoping for the opposite result, to an overwhelmingly likely win,\u201d said George Seay<\/strong>, a longtime Cornyn friend and donor.<\/p>\n

\u201cClearly the president has an impact on the base that has not been seen in our lifetime,\u201d Seay added.As Sahil Kapur writes, Cornyn had tried to play up his loyalty to Trump on the campaign trail, and his voting record in the Senate was almost perfectly aligned with the president. But ultimately, it wasn\u2019t enough. Behind Cornyn\u2019s record, there was an institutionalist instinct and a paper trail of misgivings about some of Trump\u2019s more controversial actions.<\/p>\n

Cornyn\u2019s defeat occurred in the wake of two other sitting Republican members of Congress who faced Trump-backed opponents, Sen. Bill Cassidy<\/strong> of Louisiana and Rep. Thomas Massie <\/strong>of Kentucky, losing renomination. Cassidy had voted to convict Trump in his 2021 impeachment trial, while Massie had been a persistent thorn in the president\u2019s side on a number of issues. <\/p>\n

And at the beginning of the month, five of the seven Indiana state senators Trump targeted for voting against his redistricting push were unseated in their GOP primaries. State Sen. Greg Goode<\/strong> survived his challenge, while the race between state Sen. Spencer Deery<\/strong> and Fountain County GOP Chairwoman Paula Copenhaver<\/strong> is headed for a recount, with the two candidates separated by 3 votes. <\/p>\n

The bottom line<\/strong>, according to Bridget: It\u2019s still Trump\u2019s party, and he can take you down if he wants to.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

On to November: <\/strong>Paxton is now set to face Democratic state Rep. James Talarico<\/strong> in a general election in Texas that could be key in the battle for the Senate majority. Democrats \u2014 and some Republicans \u2014 think Paxton\u2019s long list of controversies could put the seat in the traditionally red state in play.<\/p>\n

Paxton is already trying to cast Talarico as an out-of-touch liberal. In his victory speech last night, Paxton referred to his new opponent as \u201cTofu Talarico,\u201d \u201csix-gender Jimmy,\u201d \u201cJames Tala-freako\u201d and \u201clow-T Talarico,\u201d denouncing his positions on gender-affirming care, immigration, energy and religion.<\/p>\n

In an interview today with NBC News\u2019 Ryan Chandler, Talarico said that previous comments he\u2019s made on sensitive cultural issues \u201cmissed the mark.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll be the first to admit that I missed the mark on some of those old statements, but what Ken Paxton is doing is clipping my cringey comments to distract from his career of corruption,\u201d Talarico said.<\/p>\n

For subscribers: Incumbents in both parties are falling in primaries \u2014 but for very different reasons<\/h2>\n

Analysis by Scott Bland<\/h3>\n

In addition to Cornyn, two House Democrats in Texas lost their primaries last night: Veteran Rep. Al Green <\/strong>was defeated in a member-versus-member matchup by Rep. Christian Menefee<\/strong>, while former Rep. Colin Allred<\/strong> unseated first-term Rep. Julie Johnson<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Read more Packers star Josh Jacobs freed from jail while police continue domestic abuse investigation<\/a><\/p>\n

In total, six members of Congress have lost renomination this year, already more than during the entire 2024 cycle. And there\u2019s reason to believe it could get worse for entrenched incumbents.<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n
\n