Trump always brags about his record of endorsing candidates - here's how many won
"In a sense, I am on the ticket," President Donald Trump told the crowd at a Cleveland rally one day before this year's hotly contested midterm elections.
After months of tweeted endorsements and dozens of raucous rallies across the nation, at least 51 Trump-backed candidates won and 37 lost. Several other races with Trump endorsements hadn't been decided by Wednesday afternoon.
Here are the winners from across the country who had Trump's stamp of approval.
Alabama Rep. Martha Roby
Trump tweeted in June to endorse the five-term congresswoman as "a consistent and reliable vote for our Make America Great Again Agenda."
Arizona Rep. Andy Biggs
Trump tweeted in October that Biggs "is doing a great job for Arizona and our Country!"
Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson
Trump announced his support for the incumbent governor in May ahead of the primary.
California Rep. Paul Cook
Trump urged voters in September to back Cook because he was "Strong on Crime, the Border, and supported Tax Cuts."
California Rep. Devin Nunes
Trump has said Nunes, the Chair of the House Intelligence Committee, "should get the Medal of Honor" for his role as a vocal critic of the special counsel Robert Mueller's probe into Russian meddling in the 2016 election.
"If [the probe] turns out as everyone thinks it will, Devin Nunes should get the Medal of Honor," Trump said in an October Fox & Friends interview. "What he’s gone through, and his bravery, he should get a very important medal."
Perhaps upon realizing his mistake that the Medal of Honor is for military heroes, Trump continued: "Maybe we’ll call it the Medal of Freedom because we actually give them, the high awards for civilians."
California Rep. Kevin McCarthy
Trump tweeted in June to urge voters that a vote for incumbent McCarthy was a vote to "Keep our country out of the hands of High Tax, High Crime Nancy Pelosi."
Florida Rep. Neal Dunn
Trump tweeted in October that the House incumbent had "done an outstanding job ateverything having to do with #MAGA."
Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz
Trump announced his support for Gaetz in July, after the freshman congressman established himself as one of the most media-friendly Republican lawmakers and a vocal Trump defender.
Florida Rep. Ross Spano
Trump headlined a fundraiser in Washington last month as a last-minute push for Spano, who was previously outraised for the open seat in Florida's 15th district.
Florida Rep. Michael Waltz
Trump tweeted on Election Day to endorse Waltz, a former Green Beret veteran who served in Afghanistan.
Florida Rep. Ted Yoho
Trump tweeted in August that if residents in Florida's 3rd district would "Vote all the way for Ted in the upcoming Primary - he will never let you down!"
Florida Governor Ron De Santis
Trump lauded DeSantis at a rally last week, saying that he is "a smart guy; he’s a great guy. He’ll keep your jobs going way up, he’ll keep your taxes going way down."
Illinois Rep. Mike Bost
Trump said House incumbent Bost "fights every day for the hardworking people of Illinois, and I know it probably better than anyone."
"He calls me: 'Please, you've got to help my people,'" Trump said. "Other people, honestly, other people don’t care."
Indiana Sen. Mike Braun
Trump cast Senate challenger Braun as an outsider candidate who was tough, if inexperienced.
"Mike Braun is not a career politician," Trump said at an Indiana rally last week. "He's a very successful businessman and a patriot … he's a fighter, he's a winner. He's a very successful guy. He didn't need this. I didn't need it either, by the way. But we're having fun. You know why? We're winning."
Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds
The president's daughter and White House adviser Ivanka Trump even went to campaign for Reynolds in the week before the election.
Kansas Rep. Steve Watkins
Trump said during a rally for the open seat contender that he was "a great veteran," "a patriot, and a proud West Point graduate, that means he's very smart."
Kentucky Rep. Andy Barr
Trump urged voters in October to back the House incumbent "if you want to stop Nancy Pelosi from becoming Speaker of the House."
Louisiana Rep. Clay Higgins
Trump tweeted in June to announce on behalf of "The Great State of Louisiana, we want Clay!"
Minnesota Rep. Pete Stauber
Trump said in August that Stauber would be "great" for Minnesota's 8th district.
Minnesota Rep. Tom Emmer
Trump endorsed Stauber with four other Minnesota candidates, only one other of which won.
Mississippi Sen. Roger Wicker
Trump said in June Senate incumbent Wicker "has done everything necessary to Make America Great Again!"
Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley
On a sixth visit to Missouri, Trump urged voters to back the Senate challenger and ensure a Republican seat.
"Just pretend he’s one point down, please," Trump told the rally's crowd. "We cannot take a chance of something going awry on Tuesday. That’s why I’m coming again Monday."
New York Rep. Tom Reed
Trump tweeted his support in October after Reed publicly defended the administration's tax cuts.
North Carolina Rep. Ted Budd
Budd was one of the candidates included in a slew of last-minute rallies through the end of October.
North Dakota Sen. Kevin Cramer
Trump returned Cramer's vocal support with an endorsement announced in June.
Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan
Trump, in addition to an endorsement, offered Jordan staunch support after the Republican denied allegations he neglected to address years of sexual abuse while he was an Ohio State University wrestling coach.
Pennsylvania Rep. Scott Perry
Trump tweeted to support the House Freedom Caucus member after the race for Pennsylvania's 10th District was cast as a "toss-up" by the Cook Political Report days ahead of the midterms.
South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster
Trump staunchly backed the incumbent governor at a South Carolina rally in June.
"There was nobody else," Trump said. "Henry was there at the beginning. He’s a fighter. He’s tough. He’s strong."
Tennessee Sen. Marsha Blackburn
Trump aligned Blackburn with his own administration, saying during a rally "a vote for Marsha is really a vote for me and everything that we stand for."
Tennessee Rep. David Kustoff
Trump announced his support for House incumbent Kustoff in July, calling him "a champion for the Trump Agenda."
Texas Sen. Ted Cruz
Trump reversed his previously harsh tone against incumbent Sen. Cruz at an October rally, saying "He’s not Lyin’ Ted anymore. He’s Beautiful Ted. I call him Texas Ted."
Texas Rep. Kevin Brady
Trump said in October Brady is the "'King' of Cutting Taxes" and announced a "Strong Endorsement" for the House incumbent, even though "he doesn’t need any help."
Utah Sen. Mitt Romney
Virginia Rep. Denver Riggleman
Washington Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers
Trump said in October that voters need House incumbent Rodgers "badly".
West Virginia Rep. Carol Miller
Trump delivered a raucous statement of support for Miller, calling her "a woman that everybody respects."
"She is running against a total wacko," Trump said, referring to Army veteran and state senator Richard Ojeda. "Now I’ve seen this person, you can’t have that person in Congress. That person is stone-cold crazy. A person that you know very well, and everybody in West Virginia loves Carol Miller."
Wisconsin Rep. Bryan Steil
Trump gave Steil his blessing in August to replace Speaker of the House Rep. Paul Ryan.
Wyoming Sen. John Barrasso
Trump announced his support for Barrasso in July, even though he said the incumbent senator "doesn’t need any help because he is absolutely outstanding in every way."
Minnesota Rep. Jim Hagedorn
Trump tweeted to endorse Hagedorn in September, saying he was the better choice over his "Pelosi Liberal Puppet" opponent.
Montana Rep. Greg Gianforte
Trump even praised Gianforte for body-slamming Guardian reporter Ben Jacobs in May 2017. "Any guy who can do a body-slam, he's my guy," the president said in October.
These are the 37 Trump-endorsed candidates who lost their midterms:
- New York Rep. Claudia Tenney
- New York Rep. John Faso
- Ohio Sen. Jim Renacci
- New Jersey Rep. Jay Webber
- New Jersey Sen. Bob Hughin
- Nevada Sen. Dean Heller
- Pennsylvania Sen. Lou Barletta
- Minnesota Gov. Jeff Johnson
- Pennsylvania Rep. Keith Rothfus
- Minnesota Rep. Jason Lewis
- Pennsylvania Rep. John Chrin
- South Carolina Rep. Katie Arrington
- Minnesota Rep. Erik Paulsen
- Minnesota Rep. Dave Hughes
- New York Rep. Dan Donovan
- Michigan Gov. Bill Schuette
- Michigan Rep. Lena Epstein
- Texas Rep. Pete Sessions
- Kansas Gov. Kris Kobach
- Kansas Rep. Kevin Yoder
- Virginia Sen. Cody Stewart
- Virginia Rep. Dave Brat
- Iowa Rep. Rod Blum
- Illinois Rep. Randy Hultgren
- West Virginia Sen. Patrick Morrissey
- Colorado Gov. Walker Stapleton
- Wisconsin Sen. Leah Vukmir
- California Gov. John Cox
- Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker
- Minnesota Sen. Karin Housley
- Michigan Sen. John James
- Nevada Rep. Danny Tarkanian
- California Rep. Dana Rohrbacher
- California Rep. Diane Harkey
- Nevada Gov. Adam Laxalt
- Connecticut Gov. Bob Stefanowski
- Michigan Rep. Mike Bishop