Daniel Cormier maintains that his Twitter account was hacked.
On Sunday, Cormier became the center of controversy in the MMA world after a Tweet sent from his account posted alleged screenshots of an interaction with Eric Trump, where the President’s son appeared to ask Cormier about the possibility of fixed fights at the UFC White House event. The tweet in question was deleted, with both Cormier and Trump denying that anything of the sort had actually taken place.
On Wednesday, Cormier addressed the situation, explaining where he was when he found out and what was going on from his side of things.
“I get to the UFC on Sunday,” Cormier said on his YouTube channel. “Two of the UFC social media people are telling me, ‘We were just talking about you.’ I said, ‘About what?’ They said, ‘You and Eric Trump.’ I said, ‘What about me and Eric Trump?’ Guys, this is at 6:30 p.m. on Sunday night. I go to the event, and they’re telling me, talking to me about something that I have no idea that is going on. I have no idea how long it was up. I had no idea how long it had been taken down.
“Now, whoever did this, whoever hacked my Twitter, they posted and took it down, because they think that people are going to believe stuff like that. At the end of the day, I would never do anything like that. I would never engage in those conversations. I would never go to Twitter and post that after engaging in those conversations. I just wouldn’t do that. That’s not what I do.
“So, then I go and look at my Twitter account, and I see all these comments on the next thing that I ended up posting about it. Or on my Instagram channel, people are asking me why I deleted a Tweet. I had no idea what was going on. …
“I’m still just barely getting into my Twitter account this morning,” Cormier continued. “For the last two and a half days, I have been trying to work with Twitter to get me back into my account, because during the show, they told me to change the account. I’m trying to broadcast this historic event, and in the middle of it all, I’m trying to change the password to my Twitter account, to try and make sure people are doing and posting crazy things from the account, as I’m trying to broadcast one of the biggest broadcasting moments of my entire career.”
Cormier went on to argue that the entire situation was so patently absurd on its face that nobody should have believed it in the first place.
“I don’t think he’s stupid enough to do that,” Cormier said of Eric Trump. “I don’t think anybody would be dumb enough to do that to somebody they just don’t know. He doesn’t know me! And, logic! Twitter, for as long as Twitter has been around, in order to have conversations with someone, you and that person have to follow each other to direct message. We don’t follow each other on any social channels. … If I’m being completely honest, I met Donald Trump Jr. on Saturday, and I mistook him for Eric Trump. I don’t follow politics that closely. I just don’t. …
“With me, it’s all logical,” Cormier continued. “I would never do something like that, first off, because I just wouldn’t do it. It doesn’t make sense. And secondly, not as you get ready to go and try to broadcast the biggest night of your entire career. Because had I done that, and I’m getting ready to go to the octagon, all of a sudden, I’m around all the people that I’m trying to expose. Doesn’t make sense. It really does not make sense.
“Not only that, but I have a family. In any situation, you start attacking any type of situation like that, where we’re guests on the White House lawn, and you attack the family that’s in the White House right now, you run the risk of losing your job. What about my children? What about my family? And I doubt that would happen, but it just doesn’t make sense.”
Unfortunately, that hasn’t stopped the internet from running with the story. Even on Cormier’s response video, there are numerous comments suggesting he’s not telling the truth, and the salaciousness of the original Tweet is resulting in Cormier having to deal with a lot of backlash, regardless of him not sending it.
“It’s become an issue for me,” Cormier said. “Not with the UFC, but with sponsors. I’ve had more conversations with sponsors than I’ve had in years, because every company that’s come into contact with me, they generally are happy with the way that the relationship goes. So there’s no need to contact me unless I’m working. But now I’m getting contact from sponsors about this thing. And it’s just not true. So I get annoyed, and I get frustrated, because I don’t understand how it’s not true, and I’m telling you it’s not true, and people just don’t seem to want to believe it.”
But whether or not people will believe him, Cormier is unequivocal in stating that all of this is the result of someone hacking his account.
“There was nothing to it,” Cormier said. “My Twitter got hacked. Someone got into my shit and started posting stuff. … Anybody that knows me knows I don’t speak like that.”

Washington, D.C., mayoral candidate Janeese Lewis George looked at a teeming crowd Tuesday evening and issued a proclamation about her candidacy as a democratic socialist: “If there were any doubt, let it now be laid to rest,” she said. “It is the people of D.C. who elect the mayor of D.C.”
Flanked by supporters after early Democratic primary results showed her with a significant lead, she continued: “Tonight, D.C. made its demands.”
Her remarks came days after President Donald Trump had warned that he could attempt a federal takeover of Washington if Lewis George, a City Council member, rose to power.
“We won’t put up with it,” Trump warned in comments to reporters.
But he already has. In some of the United States’ most powerful and populous cities, including its financial hub and now potentially its political center, politics are shifting further left — and some say it is in direct response to Trump and his policies.
Democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani spectacularly rose to prominence to lead New York City in last year’s elections, offering free bus rides and rent stabilization.
In Los Angeles, democratic socialist Nithya Raman advanced to the mayoral runoff, in which she’ll face off against incumbent Karen Bass, a fellow Democrat.
In Seattle, democratic socialist Katie Wilson assumed office this year after having risen as a leader and an advocate in the Transit Riders Union.
In Chicago, far left-leaning Brandon Johnson — who, unlike the others, is not a self-described democratic socialist but is an acolyte of Bernie Sanders and was backed by the organization Sanders founded, Our Revolution — is closing out his first term as mayor and is likely to seek another.
Now, Lewis George could claim power over the nation’s capital when Trump is pushing the limits of power in the executive branch and residents are increasingly feeling the squeeze of higher rent, higher transportation costs, higher unemployment and low wages. At the same time, the nation’s richest people are attaining wealth by leaps and bounds.
“More people are having to work multiple jobs or just more hours to make ends meet, just to deal with those costs. Meanwhile, people see what the federal government is doing: investing more in militarism, giving trillions of dollars in tax cuts to the already wealthiest,” said Ashik Siddique, a national co-chair of the Democratic Socialists of America. “So when we have people who are running on credible platforms of expanding public services to be universal and high-quality for everybody and taxing the rich to do it, that message really resonates. People are really hungry for an alternative to the status quo.”
Progressives say the phenomenon is an evolution of a movement that began with Sanders’ presidential run 10 years ago, which inspired a new generation of leaders. Democratic socialism grew under his rise, with major groups like DSA and Our Revolution recruiting and supporting candidates for local offices. In most cases, DSA mayors and mayoral candidates held previous positions on city councils or county commissions or in local unions.
Lewis George ran on what she called a “people first” platform focused heavily on the cost of living. She said she would seek universal childcare, caps on rent and stabilization of utility prices. As of Wednesday, with ballot counting still underway, she had about 53% of the vote, with her nearest rival, former City Council member Kenyan McDuffie, at 37%. Ranked-choice voting will come into play to determine the primary winner if she falls below the majority mark.
Ironically, the rise of the far left mirrors the economic populism Trump originally tapped during his 2016 run. His MAGA movement grew out of promises to tear apart the status quo and “drain the swamp” in Washington. It helped him win over some blue-collar white voters who had voted for former President Barack Obama.
But economic strain has dominated Trump’s second term in office, and there is evidence he’s losing ground with those same voters.
Today, poll after poll shows Americans are distraught over the economy amid rising gas prices and grocery costs, as well as growing inflation.
A recent NBC News poll, sponsored by the nonpartisan, nonprofit group More Perfect and taken in advance of the nation’s 250th anniversary, found that 78% of American adults believed the “American Dream” was more difficult to attain now than it was a generation ago. The survey found that the sentiment was consistent across demographic groups.
“It’s a reaction to Trump. Trump has attacked major cities, which have a higher concentration of Democratic voters. He’s infiltrated them with ICE and National Guard troops. He’s cut off funding,” Our Revolution Executive Director Joseph Geevarghese said. “It’s a part of a larger trend. … The cost of living is just unaffordable, and so you’re seeing a referendum not just on Trump but also on this Democratic establishment in their governance of these cities.”
Whether Trump will follow through with his threats to attempt a federal takeover in Washington should Lewis George win remains to be seen. Trump made similar remarks amid Mamdani’s rise last year, only to later sing his praises from the Oval Office.
And groups on the left say that if Trump were to attempt a militarization of Washington, he would expect it to be met with the kind of wide-scale protests and resistance that eventually drove a large immigration enforcement operation out of Minneapolis this year.
“There was massive organizing at every level of society … that helped push them out and let them see that there’s just massive resistance from the public,” Siddique said. In Washington, he continued, there’s a storied history of pushing back against power grabs. He forecast the same would happen if Trump tried to take that route.
“There are a lot of people in D.C. who will stand with somebody who’s a mayor who really represents all those organized people,” he said.

At the G7 summit, Donald Trump repeated familiar language about the Ukraine war – lamenting “the great antipathy” between the Ukrainian and Russian leaders that made it difficult to reach a settlement. He vowed to do what he could, saying Moscow “should make a deal”, noting that it had “lost a great many people, just like Ukraine”.
Trump spoke to Ukraine’s Volodymr Zelenskyy and Russia’s Vladimir Putin on Sunday before travelling to the G7 and claimed both men were open to a meeting. He described the death toll in the war as “ridiculous”. The US president some time ago lost patience with his inability to force home a deal in which Ukraine gave up territory it had not lost on the battlefield.
Catching up? Here’s what happened Monday 15 June.
The subheading of this article was amended on 17 June 2026. An earlier version said “Trump-aligned [Jon] Ossoff” won the Senate primary in Georgia; this should have said Mike Collins. Ossoff is the Democratic incumbent.

Pastors for Trump founder Jackson Lahmeyer and state lawmaker Mark Tedford will advance to an August 25 runoff for the Republican nomination to represent Oklahoma’s 1st District, CNN’s Decision Desk projects.
The lead pastor of Sheridan Church in Tulsa, Lahmeyer, brought together a coalition of colleagues to lobby for President Donald Trump’s reelection in 2024. The president rewarded Lahmeyer for his support with an endorsement in May, but it was not enough for him to avoid a runoff.
Lahmeyer has repeatedly promoted the belief that the US was founded as a Christian nation, an idea tied to Christian nationalism. But he disputes that label, calling it a political attack.
Tedford, a conservative lawmaker elected to Oklahoma’s House of Representatives in 2022, campaigned on his record in the legislature and his experience as a businessman.
They advance from a crowded field of Republicans vying to succeed GOP Rep. Kevin Hern, who is running for Senate.
Burt Jones, the Republican candidate for Georgia governor endorsed by President Donald Trump, offered a somber concession Tuesday night after losing a primary runoff for the office.
Jones, the lieutenant governor, told supporters he performed “great” on Election Day but that opponent Rick Jackson’s advantage in early voting was “just a little too much to overcome.” He congratulated Jackson, a billionaire businessman, and suggested he was looking forward to “life after politics.”
Jones is the rare candidate to lose a primary after an endorsement by Trump.
The president got behind Jones early, backing him in August 2025.
Billionaire Rick Jackson built up a more than 55,000 vote lead from mail and early votes in the Georgia Republican runoff for governor, which was too much for Lt. Gov. Burt Jones to overcome, despite Jones’ stronger performance on Election Day.
Early in evening, Jackson was winning around 60% of the vote, and while his share has narrowed consistently as more Jones-friendly Election Day vote has been reported, CNN was able to project that Jackson would win when it became clear that Jones’ performance wouldn’t be enough to make up the gap.
As of about 10:15 p.m. ET, Jones was winning about 53% of the roughly 370,000 Election Day votes counted so far, a margin that was good enough to net him about 20,000 votes on Jackson. But in order to catch him, Jones would need to win about 80% of what CNN currently estimates to be roughly 50,000 Election Day votes left to count, a significantly larger share than he’s won so far.
US Rep. Barry Moore will win the Alabama Republican primary for the seat held by outgoing Sen. Tommy Tuberville, CNN’s Decision Desk projects.
The small business owner and US representative for the state’s 1st Congressional District was endorsed by President Donald Trump to succeed Tuberville, who is running for governor.
He defeated former Navy SEAL Jared Hudson in Tuesday’s runoff election after no candidate secured a majority of the vote in the first round of last month’s primary.
Moore is a member of the far-right House Freedom Caucus and has emphasized his close alignment with the president and his “America First” agenda. Born and raised in Coffee County, Moore also served in the Alabama National Guard and Reserves.
Republicans are heavily favored to retain the seat in deep-red Alabama in November.
Rick Jackson celebrated his victory in the runoff for the Georgia Republican gubernatorial nomination Tuesday night, remarking that “the SEC championship is over — onto the national championship.”
Jackson, a billionaire health care executive, poured more than $100 million from his personal fortune into his outsider bid for the GOP nomination, defying the state political establishment and overcoming President Donald Trump’s endorsement of his runoff rival, Lt. Gov. Burt Jones.
And pivoting into general election mode, Jackson delivered a sharp condemnation of his Democratic opponent, former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms.
“Georgia cannot afford to get this wrong. We face Keisha Lance Bottoms, the former mayor of Atlanta. Keisha Lance Bottoms did such a bad job as mayor, she didn’t even run for reelection. She would be an absolute disaster for Georgia,” Jackson said. “She hopes Georgians forget what happened when she was in charge — I won’t let them.”
Billionaire Rick Jackson jumped into Georgia’s gubernatorial contest in February, and his extraordinary spending quickly and dramatically reshaped the race, forcing Lt. Gov. Burt Jones – a longtime Trump ally – into Tuesday’s runoff.
CNN’s Decision Desk projects Jackson will win the GOP nomination to face Democrat Keisha Lance Bottoms in November.
Although Jones had Trump’s steadfast support, Jackson sought to cultivate ties to the president, donating $1 million to a super PAC aligned with Trump before launching his bid and attending a dinner with president and other major donors at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago private club in Florida.
To Georgia voters, he cast himself as a businessman-turned-politician in the Trump mold and repeatedly pledged to be Trump’s “favorite governor” if elected.
In recent weeks, Jackson picked up support from two of Trump allies on Capitol Hill, Sens. Rick Scott of Florida and Ted Cruz of Texas. He also won some late praise – that stopped short of an endorsement – this week from Donald Trump Jr.
“I know Rick Jackson to be a good man – and that counts for a lot,” the younger Trump wrote on X
After defeating college football coach Derek Dooley in tonight’s runoff election for the Georgia Senate, Rep. Mike Collins is looking ahead to November’s election against Sen. Jon Ossoff, a rising Democratic Party star.
After giving thanks to his wife, mother, his staff and other supporters, he said Republicans now “stand united around one mission” following tonight’s performance in the polls.
Collins went on to thank “the people of Georgia,” touted his past work in the House of Representatives and further criticized Sen. Ossoff.
Collins, who President Donald Trump endorsed, has cast himself as a close ally of the president and his MAGA agenda. During his speech tonight, Collins referenced Trump when discussing the expansion of the president’s energy policies.
Collins led the Republican field in polling for much of the year and racked up strong fundraising numbers.
When President Donald Trump’s endorsement was snubbed in Iowa’s Republican gubernatorial primary earlier this month, he quickly pivoted.
Trump declared that Zach Lahn, the anti-establishment farmer who defeated his endorsed candidate Rep. Randy Feenstra, was “much more Trump,” and the misfire was chalked up to bad advice.
Now, in Georgia, Trump may pivot again, as billionaire Rick Jackson is projected to win the runoff for the Republican gubernatorial nomination, despite the president’s endorsement of his rival, Lt. Gov. Burt Jones.
Jackson, meanwhile, has done what he can to demonstrate that he’s “more Trump” than his rival – he donated $1 million to the pro-Trump super PAC MAGA Inc. a little over a month before he launched his governor campaign, even though the president had already endorsed Jones last year.
The efforts may have broken through with some corners of Trump world: Donald Trump Jr. praising Jackson as a patriot “building up MAGA and an America First economy ” in a social media post on Monday.
Former state Sen. Mike Mazzei and Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond will advance to an August 25 runoff for the Republican gubernatorial nomination in Oklahoma, CNN’s Decision Desk projects.
Mazzei received a major boost from an endorsement by President Donald Trump in the closing weeks of the crowded and competitive nominating contest.
A twelve-year veteran of the state Senate and the former budget secretary of outgoing GOP Gov. Kevin Stitt, Mazzei aligned himself closely with Trump’s political network and Oklahoma’s Republican establishment.
The president’s backing, however, was not enough for Mazzei to clear the 50% threshold to avoid a runoff with Drummond, who positioned himself as an ardent critic of the establishment and leveraged statewide name recognition.
Drummond’s fraught relationship with Stitt was another defining feature of the race, animated by years of clashes in and out of court over anti-corruption efforts, tribal sovereignty and state politics.
Former football coach Derek Dooley conceded defeat in the runoff for the Republican US Senate nomination in Georgia on Tuesday night.
Dooley also thanked Gov. Brian Kemp and his wife, Marty, for supporting his campaign, noting that they had traveled the state to stump for him. “We went 90 stops on the road together — 90,” Dooley said. “This is the governor and the First Lady working their asses off to help us get this Senate seat back.”
Addressing supporters at an election night event, Dooley encouraged party unity after the runoff with Rep. Mike Collins, who CNN projects will advance to a high-profile battleground race against Democratic incumbent Sen. Jon Ossoff.
Billionaire businessman Rick Jackson will win the Republican nomination for Georgia governor, CNN’s Decision Desk projects — defeating President Donald Trump’s choice for the job after a bruising primary battle that set spending records in the Peach State.
Jackson, a political newcomer who oversees a healthcare staffing company, plowed more than $100 million of his fortune into the contest to knock off Lt. Gov. Burt Jones, a close Trump ally who had the president’s unwavering support throughout the campaign.
In November, Jackson will face Democrat Keisha Lance Bottoms, the former mayor of Atlanta, in what will be one the marquee gubernatorial matchups of the year. The candidates are vying to succeed the state’s popular Republican Gov. Brian Kemp, who is term limited.
No election results will be available in primaries in Washington, DC, until “all voters in line at 8 pm have cast their ballots,” according to a post on X from the city’s Board of Elections.
More than an hour after the 8 p.m. ET poll close, there were no results in any primaries in the district. Voters in the nation’s capital headed to the polls Tuesday to vote in major primaries for mayor, US House delegate and attorney general.
In November 2024, first votes weren’t reported until around 10:20 p.m, and 82% of the vote was in by 11 p.m.
He’s the only Democratic senator running for reelection in a state President Donald Trump won in 2024.
That fact alone should make Sen. Jon Ossoff of Georgia one of the most endangered incumbents in this year’s midterm elections.
Yet that is getting ahead of things, a point that Ossoff advisers are well aware.
His general election race is now set against Rep. Mike Collins, who was projected Tuesday night to win the Republican runoff race. For any future ambitions to materialize, Ossoff must perform in November in one of the most competitive battleground states in the country.
In short, Ossoff knows his focus must be 2026. A fall defeat would render any 2028 talk moot – something Republicans are mindful of.
He wasted little time Tuesday night by delivering a blistering attack against Collins, calling him “a notorious bigot, antisemite and extremist.” Yet for the next four and a half months, Collins is not only his opponent, but a man who could stand in the way of a political future.
Rep. Kevin Hern will win the Republican primary for US Senate in Oklahoma, CNN’s Decision Desk projects.
Hern jumped into the race after former GOP Sen. Markwayne Mullin resigned in March to serve as homeland security secretary following President Donald Trump’s firing of Kristi Noem.
A four-term congressman representing the Tulsa area, Hern established a reputation as a staunch conservative and Trump supporter, signing onto House Republicans’ efforts to contest the 2020 presidential election. He also mounted a short-lived campaign for House speaker in 2023 following the ouster of Kevin McCarthy.
Hern now advances to the general election as a heavy favorite in reliably Republican Oklahoma.
Two hours after polls closed in Georgia, the Republican runoff for governor has tightened: Billionaire Rick Jackson leads Lt. Gov. Burt Jones with about 54% of the vote, a drop from the 60% of the vote he had earlier in the evening.
The margin has tightened as more Election Day votes, which have favored Jones, have been reported.
However, Jones’ share of those votes has also been narrowing. He’s now winning about 54% of Election Day votes.
Right now, about 40% of the reported votes were cast on Election Day. CNN estimates that number will be around 60% when the counting is finished.
Nearly all of the early and mail votes have been counted, and Jackson is winning about 60% of those votes.
Mike Collins’ victory in the Republican primary runoff for Senate in Georgia is a triumph for President Donald Trump — and a defeat for the state’s governor, Brian Kemp.
Trump gave Collins a last-minute endorsement in a social media post early Sunday morning, after early voting was already over. Kemp, meanwhile, had long backed Collins’ opponent, former college football coach Derek Dooley, seeing him as a more viable contender for the November election.
Trump and Kemp, however, are backing the same candidate in the primary runoff for governor, Lt. Gov. Burt Jones. CNN has not projected a winner in that contest yet.

Pastors for Trump founder Jackson Lahmeyer and state lawmaker Mark Tedford will advance to an August 25 runoff for the Republican nomination to represent Oklahoma’s 1st District, CNN’s Decision Desk projects.
The lead pastor of Sheridan Church in Tulsa, Lahmeyer, brought together a coalition of colleagues to lobby for President Donald Trump’s reelection in 2024. The president rewarded Lahmeyer for his support with an endorsement in May, but it was not enough for him to avoid a runoff.
Lahmeyer has repeatedly promoted the belief that the US was founded as a Christian nation, an idea tied to Christian nationalism. But he disputes that label, calling it a political attack.
Tedford, a conservative lawmaker elected to Oklahoma’s House of Representatives in 2022, campaigned on his record in the legislature and his experience as a businessman.
They advance from a crowded field of Republicans vying to succeed GOP Rep. Kevin Hern, who is running for Senate.
Burt Jones, the Republican candidate for Georgia governor endorsed by President Donald Trump, offered a somber concession Tuesday night after losing a primary runoff for the office.
Jones, the lieutenant governor, told supporters he performed “great” on Election Day but that opponent Rick Jackson’s advantage in early voting was “just a little too much to overcome.” He congratulated Jackson, a billionaire businessman, and suggested he was looking forward to “life after politics.”
Jones is the rare candidate to lose a primary after an endorsement by Trump.
The president got behind Jones early, backing him in August 2025.
Billionaire Rick Jackson built up a more than 55,000 vote lead from mail and early votes in the Georgia Republican runoff for governor, which was too much for Lt. Gov. Burt Jones to overcome, despite Jones’ stronger performance on Election Day.
Early in evening, Jackson was winning around 60% of the vote, and while his share has narrowed consistently as more Jones-friendly Election Day vote has been reported, CNN was able to project that Jackson would win when it became clear that Jones’ performance wouldn’t be enough to make up the gap.
As of about 10:15 p.m. ET, Jones was winning about 53% of the roughly 370,000 Election Day votes counted so far, a margin that was good enough to net him about 20,000 votes on Jackson. But in order to catch him, Jones would need to win about 80% of what CNN currently estimates to be roughly 50,000 Election Day votes left to count, a significantly larger share than he’s won so far.
US Rep. Barry Moore will win the Alabama Republican primary for the seat held by outgoing Sen. Tommy Tuberville, CNN’s Decision Desk projects.
The small business owner and US representative for the state’s 1st Congressional District was endorsed by President Donald Trump to succeed Tuberville, who is running for governor.
He defeated former Navy SEAL Jared Hudson in Tuesday’s runoff election after no candidate secured a majority of the vote in the first round of last month’s primary.
Moore is a member of the far-right House Freedom Caucus and has emphasized his close alignment with the president and his “America First” agenda. Born and raised in Coffee County, Moore also served in the Alabama National Guard and Reserves.
Republicans are heavily favored to retain the seat in deep-red Alabama in November.
Rick Jackson celebrated his victory in the runoff for the Georgia Republican gubernatorial nomination Tuesday night, remarking that “the SEC championship is over — onto the national championship.”
Jackson, a billionaire health care executive, poured more than $100 million from his personal fortune into his outsider bid for the GOP nomination, defying the state political establishment and overcoming President Donald Trump’s endorsement of his runoff rival, Lt. Gov. Burt Jones.
And pivoting into general election mode, Jackson delivered a sharp condemnation of his Democratic opponent, former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms.
“Georgia cannot afford to get this wrong. We face Keisha Lance Bottoms, the former mayor of Atlanta. Keisha Lance Bottoms did such a bad job as mayor, she didn’t even run for reelection. She would be an absolute disaster for Georgia,” Jackson said. “She hopes Georgians forget what happened when she was in charge — I won’t let them.”
Billionaire Rick Jackson jumped into Georgia’s gubernatorial contest in February, and his extraordinary spending quickly and dramatically reshaped the race, forcing Lt. Gov. Burt Jones – a longtime Trump ally – into Tuesday’s runoff.
CNN’s Decision Desk projects Jackson will win the GOP nomination to face Democrat Keisha Lance Bottoms in November.
Although Jones had Trump’s steadfast support, Jackson sought to cultivate ties to the president, donating $1 million to a super PAC aligned with Trump before launching his bid and attending a dinner with president and other major donors at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago private club in Florida.
To Georgia voters, he cast himself as a businessman-turned-politician in the Trump mold and repeatedly pledged to be Trump’s “favorite governor” if elected.
In recent weeks, Jackson picked up support from two of Trump allies on Capitol Hill, Sens. Rick Scott of Florida and Ted Cruz of Texas. He also won some late praise – that stopped short of an endorsement – this week from Donald Trump Jr.
“I know Rick Jackson to be a good man – and that counts for a lot,” the younger Trump wrote on X
After defeating college football coach Derek Dooley in tonight’s runoff election for the Georgia Senate, Rep. Mike Collins is looking ahead to November’s election against Sen. Jon Ossoff, a rising Democratic Party star.
After giving thanks to his wife, mother, his staff and other supporters, he said Republicans now “stand united around one mission” following tonight’s performance in the polls.
Collins went on to thank “the people of Georgia,” touted his past work in the House of Representatives and further criticized Sen. Ossoff.
Collins, who President Donald Trump endorsed, has cast himself as a close ally of the president and his MAGA agenda. During his speech tonight, Collins referenced Trump when discussing the expansion of the president’s energy policies.
Collins led the Republican field in polling for much of the year and racked up strong fundraising numbers.
When President Donald Trump’s endorsement was snubbed in Iowa’s Republican gubernatorial primary earlier this month, he quickly pivoted.
Trump declared that Zach Lahn, the anti-establishment farmer who defeated his endorsed candidate Rep. Randy Feenstra, was “much more Trump,” and the misfire was chalked up to bad advice.
Now, in Georgia, Trump may pivot again, as billionaire Rick Jackson is projected to win the runoff for the Republican gubernatorial nomination, despite the president’s endorsement of his rival, Lt. Gov. Burt Jones.
Jackson, meanwhile, has done what he can to demonstrate that he’s “more Trump” than his rival – he donated $1 million to the pro-Trump super PAC MAGA Inc. a little over a month before he launched his governor campaign, even though the president had already endorsed Jones last year.
The efforts may have broken through with some corners of Trump world: Donald Trump Jr. praising Jackson as a patriot “building up MAGA and an America First economy ” in a social media post on Monday.
Former state Sen. Mike Mazzei and Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond will advance to an August 25 runoff for the Republican gubernatorial nomination in Oklahoma, CNN’s Decision Desk projects.
Mazzei received a major boost from an endorsement by President Donald Trump in the closing weeks of the crowded and competitive nominating contest.
A twelve-year veteran of the state Senate and the former budget secretary of outgoing GOP Gov. Kevin Stitt, Mazzei aligned himself closely with Trump’s political network and Oklahoma’s Republican establishment.
The president’s backing, however, was not enough for Mazzei to clear the 50% threshold to avoid a runoff with Drummond, who positioned himself as an ardent critic of the establishment and leveraged statewide name recognition.
Drummond’s fraught relationship with Stitt was another defining feature of the race, animated by years of clashes in and out of court over anti-corruption efforts, tribal sovereignty and state politics.
Former football coach Derek Dooley conceded defeat in the runoff for the Republican US Senate nomination in Georgia on Tuesday night.
Dooley also thanked Gov. Brian Kemp and his wife, Marty, for supporting his campaign, noting that they had traveled the state to stump for him. “We went 90 stops on the road together — 90,” Dooley said. “This is the governor and the First Lady working their asses off to help us get this Senate seat back.”
Addressing supporters at an election night event, Dooley encouraged party unity after the runoff with Rep. Mike Collins, who CNN projects will advance to a high-profile battleground race against Democratic incumbent Sen. Jon Ossoff.
Billionaire businessman Rick Jackson will win the Republican nomination for Georgia governor, CNN’s Decision Desk projects — defeating President Donald Trump’s choice for the job after a bruising primary battle that set spending records in the Peach State.
Jackson, a political newcomer who oversees a healthcare staffing company, plowed more than $100 million of his fortune into the contest to knock off Lt. Gov. Burt Jones, a close Trump ally who had the president’s unwavering support throughout the campaign.
In November, Jackson will face Democrat Keisha Lance Bottoms, the former mayor of Atlanta, in what will be one the marquee gubernatorial matchups of the year. The candidates are vying to succeed the state’s popular Republican Gov. Brian Kemp, who is term limited.
No election results will be available in primaries in Washington, DC, until “all voters in line at 8 pm have cast their ballots,” according to a post on X from the city’s Board of Elections.
More than an hour after the 8 p.m. ET poll close, there were no results in any primaries in the district. Voters in the nation’s capital headed to the polls Tuesday to vote in major primaries for mayor, US House delegate and attorney general.
In November 2024, first votes weren’t reported until around 10:20 p.m, and 82% of the vote was in by 11 p.m.
He’s the only Democratic senator running for reelection in a state President Donald Trump won in 2024.
That fact alone should make Sen. Jon Ossoff of Georgia one of the most endangered incumbents in this year’s midterm elections.
Yet that is getting ahead of things, a point that Ossoff advisers are well aware.
His general election race is now set against Rep. Mike Collins, who was projected Tuesday night to win the Republican runoff race. For any future ambitions to materialize, Ossoff must perform in November in one of the most competitive battleground states in the country.
In short, Ossoff knows his focus must be 2026. A fall defeat would render any 2028 talk moot – something Republicans are mindful of.
He wasted little time Tuesday night by delivering a blistering attack against Collins, calling him “a notorious bigot, antisemite and extremist.” Yet for the next four and a half months, Collins is not only his opponent, but a man who could stand in the way of a political future.
Rep. Kevin Hern will win the Republican primary for US Senate in Oklahoma, CNN’s Decision Desk projects.
Hern jumped into the race after former GOP Sen. Markwayne Mullin resigned in March to serve as homeland security secretary following President Donald Trump’s firing of Kristi Noem.
A four-term congressman representing the Tulsa area, Hern established a reputation as a staunch conservative and Trump supporter, signing onto House Republicans’ efforts to contest the 2020 presidential election. He also mounted a short-lived campaign for House speaker in 2023 following the ouster of Kevin McCarthy.
Hern now advances to the general election as a heavy favorite in reliably Republican Oklahoma.
Two hours after polls closed in Georgia, the Republican runoff for governor has tightened: Billionaire Rick Jackson leads Lt. Gov. Burt Jones with about 54% of the vote, a drop from the 60% of the vote he had earlier in the evening.
The margin has tightened as more Election Day votes, which have favored Jones, have been reported.
However, Jones’ share of those votes has also been narrowing. He’s now winning about 54% of Election Day votes.
Right now, about 40% of the reported votes were cast on Election Day. CNN estimates that number will be around 60% when the counting is finished.
Nearly all of the early and mail votes have been counted, and Jackson is winning about 60% of those votes.
Mike Collins’ victory in the Republican primary runoff for Senate in Georgia is a triumph for President Donald Trump — and a defeat for the state’s governor, Brian Kemp.
Trump gave Collins a last-minute endorsement in a social media post early Sunday morning, after early voting was already over. Kemp, meanwhile, had long backed Collins’ opponent, former college football coach Derek Dooley, seeing him as a more viable contender for the November election.
Trump and Kemp, however, are backing the same candidate in the primary runoff for governor, Lt. Gov. Burt Jones. CNN has not projected a winner in that contest yet.