Missouri, Michigan, Washington and Kansas primaries 2024: Cori Bush loses

In today's slate of gubernatorial and congressional primaries, Trump has endorsed 25 Republican contenders across 22 different races. If you're wondering why that doesn't seemingly add up, it's because Trump has endorsed more than one candidate in two different primaries: the gubernatorial race in Missouri and Washington's 4th District. Doing so has expanded the universe of potential winners with Trump's stamp of approval — but the perceived value of his endorsement will also be harder to ascertain in those primaries.

In Missouri, Trump told GOP primary voters they "can't go wrong" in their choice for governor. He endorsed Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft, Lt. Gov. Mike Kehoe and state Sen. Bill Eigel, all of whom are polling between about 16 and 26 percent in surveys ahead of today's vote. And while we don't have it in the table above, he also endorsed both of the high-profile Republican contenders in the state's attorney general primary, too.

Endorsing more than one candidate in the same race is a rare move for Trump, although it's one he's pulled in Missouri before. Back in 2022, he endorsed "ERIC" in the Show Me State's Republican primary for U.S. Senate, which happened to be the first name of both major GOP aspirants: former Gov. Eric Greitens and then-Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt, the latter of whom won the primary and is now in the Senate.

Trump also endorsed two Republicans in Washington's 4th District: former NASCAR driver Jerrold Sessler and veterans advocate Tiffany Smiley. Trump is hoping that either Sessler, whom he endorsed first, or Smiley, whom he backed the weekend before the primary, can oust GOP Rep. Dan Newhouse, one of the two House Republicans still in Congress who voted to impeach Trump after the events of Jan. 6.

Overall, Trump's multi-endorsement approach has edged up this cycle. Besides the Missouri and Washington races, Trump also endorsed two major Republican candidates in the primary for Arizona's 8th District that took place last week.

Trump has endorsed in six other races that lack a Republican incumbent, all of whom appear favored to win their nominations. In Missouri's solidly red 3rd District, he's backed former state Sen. Bob Onder. In Kansas's safely Republican 2nd District, he's supporting former state Attorney General Derek Schmidt. In Michigan, Trump has endorsed former Rep. Mike Rogers in the state's pivotal open-seat Senate race, as well as two House candidates who lost in 2022: former state Sen. Tom Barrett and former Trump administration official Paul Junge, who are running in the open, Democratic-held 7th and 8th districts, respectively. Lastly, in Washington's swingy 3rd District, Trump is backing another defeated 2022 candidate: former Green Beret Joe Kent, who had Trump's support in the primary that year but later lost the general election to now-Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, a Democrat.

—Geoffrey Skelley, 538

The Republican primary for Missouri attorney general is a battle between two culture warriors. After former Attorney General Eric Schmitt was elected to the U.S. Senate in 2022, Gov. Mike Parson appointed his general counsel, Andrew Bailey, to the post. Bailey is now seeking his first full term in office, but first he'll have to get through Will Scharf, who is one of Trump's personal attorneys.

As attorney general, Bailey has thrown his office's weight behind many a conservative cause célèbre; last year, he issued (but eventually rescinded) emergency rules that limited access to gender-affirming care for both children and adults, and in July he sued New York over Trump's criminal conviction there. But Scharf actually argues that Bailey hasn't been enough of an activist AG, and he's tried to frame himself as a "conservative outsider" facing off against "the Jefferson City establishment."

Indeed, virtually every major Republican in state politics, including Parson, Schmitt and Sen. Josh Hawley, has endorsed Bailey. And if Scharf thought his old boss would come through for him, he was sadly disappointed: Trump issued yet another wishy-washy endorsement in this race, giving both candidates his seal of approval. And although, thanks to profligate spending from the Club for Growth, Scharf has more money behind him than Bailey does, it looks like incumbency will carry the day here: A July 10-11 poll from co/efficient sponsored by Bailey's campaign gave Bailey a 21-point lead.

—Nathaniel Rakich, 538

Missouri will elect a new governor in 2024, with today's Republican primary likely to be decisive in this solidly red state. Thanks to strong name recognition (his father, former U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft, is a former Missouri governor and senator), Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft started off the year with a healthy lead in the polls. However, Lt. Gov. Mike Kehoe outraised Ashcroft $4.2 million to $1.4 million and, in total ad spending, Kehoe and his allies have outpaced Ashcroft and friends $11.2 million to $6.5 million, per AdImpact. Tellingly, once Kehoe's side started deploying that cash, Ashcroft's lead evaporated: According to 538's polling average of the race, Ashcroft and Kehoe go into the primary running almost even at around 25 percent apiece.

A third candidate, state Sen. Bill Eigel, sits at 16 percent and can't be counted out either. He also raised more than Ashcroft at $1.7 million — with $4.4 million in total ad support — and he's the farthest right of the trio, with a reputation for holding legislation hostage until he gets what he wants. For his part, Ashcroft has campaigned as a staunch conservative as well, while Kehoe is seen as the most mild-mannered candidate in the race. However, perhaps the best chance to halt Kehoe's momentum evaporated last week when Trump endorsed Kehoe … and Ashcroft … and Eigel. It was Trump's first-ever three-way endorsement and ensured this primary will go into election day with no clear favorite.

—Nathaniel Rakich, 538

In Kansas, Michigan, Missouri and Washington there are 38 candidates whose campaign websites use the phrase "pro-life," "sanctity of life," "right to life," "protect life," "no abortion," "against abortion" or "unborn" and do not say abortion is an issue of states' rights. As usual, we'll be tracking how they do tonight.

Despite being a reliably red state, Kansas has become a frequent battleground for abortion rights. In August 2022, shortly after Roe v. Wade fell, Kansas voters famously rejected a referendum that would have removed abortion protections from the state constitution. But some restrictions remain, including a ban on abortions after 22 weeks of pregnancy. In the past two years, the state's Republican legislative majority has tried to pass even more restrictions, which have been rejected by the Democratic governor and shot down by the state Supreme Court. At least one Republican in each of the state's four congressional districts is running on an explicitly anti-abortion platform, including two of the five candidates in the 2nd District's open-seat race.

Abortion was banned in Missouri when a trigger law passed in 2019 went into effect after Roe v. Wade was overturned. But this year, voters may have the chance to pass a ballot measure that would restore abortion rights in the state. Polls suggest a plurality of voters in the state support the measure, but nearly a fifth remain unsure about it. But in line with the state's red lean, all three leading Republican candidates for the wide-open governor's race (Ashcroft, Keho and Eigel) are on our anti-abortion candidates list. The same is true of front-runners Onder and Schaefer in the solid-red 3rd District, where we're also keeping a close eye on an open-seat GOP primary.

Abortion is protected in Michigan and Washington. Accordingly, more of the anti-abortion candidates running in these states are minor candidates, though the list includes embattled Republican Rep. Dan Newhouse, who's fending off two serious challengers from his right, and Sherry O'Donnell, a physician and pastor running for the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate in Michigan with far-right backing — though she'll have a hard time beating out Trump-endorsed former Rep. Mike Rogers in that race.

—Monica Potts, 538