Trump-backed Republicans win primaries in Nebraska, West Virginia

Candidates backed by Donald Trump easily won Republican primaries in Nebraska and West Virginia. The president had endorsed the Republicans on his Truth Social account.

In Nebraska, the president had endorsed incumbent GovernorJim Pillen and incumbent Senator Pete Ricketts, who in 2024 won a special election to complete the term of Ben Sasse, who resigned for personal reasons in January 2023. Pillen won 75% of the vote and comfortably beat John Walz and Sheila Korth-Focken. In November he will face Democrat Lynne Walz.

In 2022, Trump endorsed Charles Herbster in the Nebraska gubernatorial election, but he was defeated in the primary against Pillen, a then-former chairman of the University of Nebraska Board of Regents. That was one of the few Republican primaries that year in which Trump's candidate did not win.

As for Ricketts, a former governor of the state, he exceeded 80% of the vote in the Senate primary. On the Democratic side, they are expected to withdraw their candidate, Cindy Burbank, to line up behind independent candidate Dan Osborn, who in 2024 put Senator Deb Fischer in a tight spot. Although Fischer ended up prevailing by seven points, Republicans had to invest more resources than expected in a state that Trump won by more than 20 points on the same ballot.

In West Virginia, incumbent Senator Shelley Moore Capito faced five Republican rivals for the nomination, including state Senator Tom Willis. With more than 80% of the votes counted, Capito won with 66% of the vote. His closest pursuer was Willis, who got 19%. He even prevailed in two counties. His rival in November will be Rachel Anderson, who won a close Democratic primary with 33%.