Trump-Backed Michigan Candidate Loses Primary to Rival Who Suspended His Campaign

Without running a single ad or filing a campaign finance report, Tom Smith, who had suspended his bid, soundly defeated Amir Hassan, a Navy veteran backed by President Trump.

For the third time in two months, Republican primary voters simply ignored the president’s advice, despite weird boasts about his intraparty powers.

August 05, 2026 10:47 AM ET A little-known candidate soundly defeated President Donald Trump’s pick for a swing House seat Tuesday despite dropping out of the race one month earlier and barely campaigning.Retired engineer Thomas J. “Tom” Smith had 50.4% of the vote compared to Trump-backed Navy veteran and law enforcem

Tom Smith, who ended his election bid on July 16, has secured the Republican nomination in Michigan’s 8th District over Trump-endorsed Amir Hassan. Smith won just over 50% of the votes, compared to Hassan’s 33.2%, as of Wednesday morning. After Smith dropped out of the race, he endorsed Al Lemmo, who received 16.4% of

Amir Hassan lost to Tom Smith, who had suspended his campaign but is now jumping back into the race for the purple 8th District.

Kevin Lamarque/Reuters Donald Trump’s endorsed candidate in a Michigan battleground district has eaten the dust of a rival candidate who dropped out of the race to back someone else instead. The president, 80, likes to trumpet his GOP kingmaker credentials, sharing graphics on Truth Social that declare: “President Trum

The Republican primary in Michigan’s 8th Congressional District went a little bit sideways when President Donald Trump’s chosen candidate lost — to a candidate who’d suspended his campaign a month earlier. Trump endorsed U.S. Navy veteran and former federal law enforcement officer Amir Hassan, but after votes were tall

Thomas J. Smith's lead exceeds the estimated number of remaining ballots, leaving Amir Hassan with no path to victory.