(EDITOR’S NOTE, 11/12/18, 5:55 PM ET: This headline has been changed from “71 Percent of Trump-Endorsed Candidates Lost Their Elections Last Night” to “71 Percent of Candidates Trump Endorsed on Twitter Lost Their Elections.” Out of the total of 92 candidates Trump endorsed in the 2018 election cycle, 45 percent of them lost. This article specifically focuses on the 70.9 percent of candidates President Trump endorsed on his official Twitter account who lost on Tuesday night. We apologize for not explicitly referring to Twitter endorsements.)
While President Trump is claiming victory after Tuesday’s midterm elections, almost half of the 92 candidates he endorsed lost to their Democratic opponents. 71 percent of candidates Trump endorsed on Twitter also lost their bids.
Democrats in the House of Representatives on Tuesday, after Democrats flipped 29 seats previously held by Republicans. Democrats also flipped in states previously controlled by Republican governors, including in states Trump won just two years ago, like Kansas, Michigan, and Wisconsin.
To be fair, Trump-backed candidates like Brian Kemp and Ron DeSantis won close races in Georgia and Florida, respectively (Kemp’s opponent, Stacey Abrams, has not yet conceded), and Republicans strengthened their control over the U.S. Senate by defeating pro-Trump Democrats in red states (like in Indiana and in North Dakota). However, Democrats flipped a Republican senate seat in Nevada, and could possibly flip a Republican senate seat in Arizona, which is still too close to call as of this writing.
Twitter user Ally Maynard a list of 55 House, Senate, and gubernatorial candidates President Trump either held rallies for or endorsed on Twitter, and found that 39 of them lost, meaning 70.9 percent of candidates President Trump endorsed on Twitter were defeated.
One of the more high-profile losses included Republican Patrick Morissey, who was running for U.S. Senate in West Virginia, which Trump handily won in 2016 with more than two-thirds of the vote. Another surprising loss for a Trump-backed candidate was Kris Kobach, who was running as the Republican gubernatorial candidate in Kansas. Even though Trump won Kansas , Kobach still lost by a comfortable margin to state senator Laura Kelly.
Additionally, Republican Karen Handel lost Georgia’s 6th Congressional District on Tuesday night, which she originally won in 2017 after former Congressman Tom Price took a job in the Trump administration (which he eventually resigned from after an embarrassing corruption scandal). That district is a significant blow to Trump and the GOP, as it has been represented by Republicans dating back to 1979.
Maynard’s full list of the 35 candidates Trump endorsed on Twitter who lost their elections is below:
Trump-backed candidate, Jim Renacci, has lost to Sherrod Brown in the Ohio Senate race. He got crushed.
— Ally Maynard (@missmayn)
Trump-backed candidate, Bob Hugin, has lost to Bob Menendez in the New Jersey Senate race. Sad.
— Ally Maynard (@missmayn)
Trump-backed candidate, Patrick Morrissey, has lost to Joe Manchin in the West Virginia Senate race. Trump's "Rally Speech" ineffective.
— Ally Maynard (@missmayn)
Trump-backed candidate and disgraced Vice Chairman of the bogus Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity, Kris Kobach, has lost to Laura Kelly in the race for Kansas Governor.
— Ally Maynard (@missmayn)
Trump-backed candidate, Erik Paulsen, has lost his MN-3 seat to Dean Phillips despite Trump's "Strong Endorsement."
— Ally Maynard (@missmayn)
Trump-backed candidate, John James, doesn't have the stamina to beat U.S. Senator, Debbie Stabenow, in the state of Michigan. Another -crowned Loser.
— Ally Maynard (@missmayn)
Trump-backed candidate, John Cox, loses heavily to Gavin Newson for the California Governorship, despite Trump believing he could make a big impact in the state. Embarrassing.
— Ally Maynard (@missmayn)
Trump-backed candidate, John Faso, loses big to Antonio Delgado in New York's 19th congressional district. Trump implied Delgado was a pro-Iran terrorist because he is black. Now he's a Congressman.
— Ally Maynard (@missmayn)
Trump-backed *four* Republicans in Minnesota who all were weak against Democrats in their Minnesota Senate and House races. Trump has pattern of wasting time on losers.
— Ally Maynard (@missmayn)
Trump-backed Danny Tarkanian gets crushed by Democrat Susie Lee in Nevada's 3rd congressional district, making him the 20th Trump endorsement to get served an L tonight. Democrats now control the House.
— Ally Maynard (@missmayn)
Trump-backed candidate, Katie Arrington, loses in SC-1 to Joe Cunningham, proving South Carolinians didn't want to "VOTE Katie!" like Trump demanded. What a joke.
— Ally Maynard (@missmayn)
Trump-backed candidate, Bill Schuette, loses big to Gretchen Witmer, the new Democratic Governor of Michigan. Trump tweeted Bill would have a "Big win" in November. Bill lost by over 300k votes.
— Ally Maynard (@missmayn)
Trump-backed candidate, Jeff Johnson, can be added to the long list of losing Republican gubernatorial candidates. Trump Low-IQ and wrong again.
— Ally Maynard (@missmayn)
Trump-backed candidate and fellow Putin employee, Dana Rohrabacher, loses his seat to "super liberal" Harley Rouda in CA-49. What a great win for America!
— Ally Maynard (@missmayn)
Trump-backed candidate, Bob Stefanowski, has lost the Connecticut Governor's race thanks to another useless "total Endorsement!" from Trump.
— Ally Maynard (@missmayn)
Trump-backed candidate, Pete Sessions, has lost to Collin Allred in deep red Texas after holding the Congressional seat for 15 years. Lame!
— Ally Maynard (@missmayn)
Trump-backed candidate, Jay Webber, has lost to Democrat Mikie Sherrill in New Jersey's 11th congressional district. Trump tweeted Webber would "get the job done-and I will help!" It did not help.
— Ally Maynard (@missmayn)
Trump-backed candidate, Diane Harkey, loses seat formerly held by Darrell Issa to Democrat Mike Levin. Democrats gain another seat in the House.
— Ally Maynard (@missmayn)