President Donald Trump still holds tremendous sway over the Republican Party, as Tuesday night primary elections in Alabama, Georgia, and Kentucky demonstrated. In Republican races, Trump-backed candidates either won their primaries or advanced to run-off elections, in some cases ousting longtime incumbents with a national profile. Here are the top takeaways:

Alabama

Outgoing Senator Tommy Tuberville (R) has some big shoes to fill, but, armed with a Trump endorsement and rewarded with nearly 40% of the vote in a seven-person primary field, U.S. Rep. Barry Moore (R) handily led the way into a run-off election, where he will face former Navy SEAL and tactical business owner Jared Hudson for Tuberville’s Senate seat. Alabama’s incumbent attorney general, Steve Marshall (R), finished a close third at 24.5% to Hudson’s 25.6%. On the Democratic side, candidates Dakarai Larriett, a pet care business owner, and attorney Everett Wess will advance to a run-off.

Although he is bidding farewell to the U.S. Senate, Tuberville has set his sights on the Alabama governor’s mansion, to succeed term-limited incumbent Kay Ivey (R). Endorsed by Trump, the former Auburn University football coach dominated the Republican gubernatorial primary with just about 85% of the vote, besting insurance agent Ken McFeeters and event operations manager Will Santivasci. Tuberville will face off against former U.S. Senator Doug Jones (D), whom he defeated in a 2020 Senate race by what was then the largest margin of defeat for an incumbent Senator in a decade, a more than-20-point difference.

Georgia

In neighboring Georgia, November’s head-to-head contests are expected to be a little more competitive in what is generally seen as a battleground state. While Republicans control Georgia’s legislature and nearly all statewide offices, both of the state’s U.S. Senators are Democrats: Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock. U.S. Rep. Mike Collins (R) came out on top in the primary race to challenge Ossoff with more than 40% of the vote. He and former University of Tennessee football Coach Derek Dooley, who trails Collins by more than 10%, will advance to a run-off election, while U.S. Rep. Earl “Buddy” Carter (R) was eliminated. Trump did not make an endorsement in the race.

Georgia voters will also decide on a new governor in November to succeed term-limited Brian Kemp (R). The Democratic gubernatorial nomination easily went to former Atlanta mayor and former head of the White House Office of Public Engagement under Joe Biden, Keisha Lance Bottoms, while the Republican nomination will be decided in a run-off election. Health care businessman Rick Jackson will face incumbent Lieutenant Governor Burt Jones. While Jones, who won nearly 40% of the GOP vote, has been endorsed by Trump, Turning Point Action, and country star Jason Aldean, Jackson, who won nearly one-third (32.5%) of the vote, has relied on an endorsement from former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich. Incumbent Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensberger, who has publicly clashed with Trump over charges of fraud in the 2020 presidential election, was eliminated in the primary.

Kentucky

One of the most closely-watched races on Tuesday was the GOP primary in Kentucky’s Fourth Congressional District, which has quickly become the most expensive congressional primary race in U.S. history. A nearly 15-year congressional veteran, U.S. Rep. Thomas Massie lost a high-profile primary against Trump-backed Captain Ed Gallrein, a former Navy SEAL and three-time recipient of the Bronze Star. Over the course of Trump’s second term, Massie has distinguished himself as a staunch and frequent critic of the president’s agenda, notably alleging that Trump was affiliated with notorious child sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein and actively shielding Epstein’s friends and clients, in addition to voting against critical immigration legislation supported by Trump. Massie was one of the only Republicans to vote to block funding for crucial Department of Homeland Security (DHS) components, inspiring the president’s aggressive primary challenge. Following a primary campaign characterized by mixed messaging, podcast appearances with libertarian and left-wing media figures, and a rhetorical focus on Israel, Massie lost to Gallrein by a 10-point margin.

In Kentucky’s race for a U.S. Senate seat, Trump’s nomination once again won the day. Trump-backed U.S. Rep. Andy Barr (R) won the primary election with over 60% of the vote, nearly double what the next closest contender in the 11-person field, former Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron, won. The Democratic nomination went to Charles Booker, a former one-term state legislator who has lost two former Senate races.

Texas

While it was determined weeks ago that the Republican primary for a Senate seat representing Texas will advance to a run-off, Trump has tipped the scales in favor of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who has identified himself as an “America First” candidate aligned with the president’s agenda, particularly stressing his support for the SAVE America Act currently suffocating in the Senate. Paxton is challenging incumbent Senator John Cornyn (R). “I know Ken well, have seen him tested at the highest and most difficult levels, and he is a WINNER!” Trump said in a Truth Social post Tuesday. “Now we have the ‘HOTTEST’ Country anywhere in the World — And I want to keep it that way. Ken Paxton will help me do that, MAKING AMERICA BIGGER, BETTER, AND STRONGER THAN EVER BEFORE!” he added. “Ken is a true MAGA Warrior who has ALWAYS delivered for Texas, and will continue to do so in the United States Senate.”

The president also took a swipe at Cornyn, whom he said has been hesitant to support the Trump administration’s “Make America Great Again” agenda. “John Cornyn is a good man, and I worked well with him, but he was not supportive of me when times were tough,” the president wrote. Noting the successes of his first term, Trump observed that Cornyn did not initially support him in the 2024 Republican primaries. “John was very late in backing me in what turned out to be a Historic Run for the Republican Nomination, and then, the Presidency, itself, both of which were Landslide Victories and, more importantly, gave us the Country that we have today…”

According to multiple reports, the Senate Republican establishment was blindsided and unpleasantly surprised by the endorsement. Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) threw up his hands in exasperation, according to one report, and responded to the endorsement, “It’s his [Trump’s] decision.”

Cornyn, who has attempted to cast himself as a Trump ally, said in response to the endorsement, “I have worked closely with President Trump through both of his Presidential terms and voted with him more than 99% of the time. He has consistently called me a friend in this race.” He charged that Paxton would struggle to defeat Democratic Senate nominee James Talarico and would negatively impact Republican candidates down-ballot. “I believe that, in terms of our success in November, that Ken Paxton would be an albatross around the neck of our candidates and would likely lose to James Talarico,” the senator said in an interview. “I think we’ve come too far and worked too hard to risk that.”