Grand Old Primary- The Class of 2024

All the Republicans who will (probably) be in Congress come January

GRAND OLD PRIMARY: The Class of 2024

INTRO:

Hello everyone and welcome to another exciting edition of Grand Old Primary! If you’re new here, Grand Old Primary is a series where I cover all the most important Republican primaries going on throughout the country. From Congress to the State Legislature to even a few county races, they’re all here folks. We won’t be doing that today, as every single state has already held their primaries (Louisiana doesn’t count, though they will count starting in 2026!). Instead, I want to focus on something else. 

For the past few months, I’ve been covering Republican primaries throughout the country and trying to shine a light on some of the candidates running for office. Well, I figured I’d shine a light on the brightest ones in this edition, as we’re going over the Class of 2024 for Republicans in Congress! Now, what does this mean? Well, we’re going to go over every single Republican who won an open primary in a safe Republican state/district. Their beliefs, who backed them, how they won, etc. Hopefully you’ll learn a few things about the people who are almost certain to be in Washington D.C. starting in January. So, without further ado, let’s get into it starting with the US Senate!

INDIANA US SENATE:

NEW SENATOR: JIM BANKS

Banks has been a Congressman for Indiana’s 3rd Congressional district for the last eight years. He’s been a pretty high-profile Representative in that time, especially following the 2020 election. He was a leading proponent in trying to overturn the 2020 Presidential Election results and was initially selected to be on the January 6th Committee, but then-House Speaker Pelosi vetoed his selection. He also became a darling of right-wing media, appearing numerous times on Fox News to attack the Biden Administration and defend former President Trump. 

After the 2022 elections where the Republicans won a majority in the US House, Banks ran for Majority Whip but lost to Tom Emmer. A year later, Banks announced his run for US Senate to replace retiring Senator Mike Braun (who was running for Governor). Banks quickly locked down the Trump endorsement and (after a potential challenge from former Governor Mitch Daniels fell through) won the Republican primary uncontested. He is the heavy favorite in November against Democratic nominee/psychologist Valerie McCray.

On his campaign website, Banks touts his “Proven Conservative Leadership” and promises to secure the border, defend the “sanctity of life,” and oppose “wokeness” in schools and sports. He’s definitely going to be one of the more right-wing Senators in the Republican caucus.

UTAH US SENATE:

NEW SENATOR: JOHN CURTIS

When Senator Mitt Romney announced his retirement back in September 2023, there were plenty of fears that he’d be replaced by someone way further to the right of him. Luckily for the moderates in the Republican Party, that’s not going to be the case. Curtis is one of the more moderate Republican Congressmen in the caucus right now. Having served since 2017, Curtis has voted for the Respect for Marriage Act (which codified same-sex and interracial marriage into law), the establishment of a commission to investigate January 6th, and voted to certify the 2020 Presidential Election. Hell, he didn’t even endorse former President Trump until a few months ago (and even then said that he’ll stand up to him if he goes against “Utah’s values.” Curtis’s win was reassuring for the moderates, but his primary win did show a bit of weakness.

While Curtis did win by 16 points, a significant amount of the vote went to Riverton Mayor Trent Staggs, a right-wing candidate endorsed by former President Trump. Curtis is going to have to be careful with his votes over the next six years lest he go the way of Mitt Romney.

As for his campaign promises, Curtis wants to protect public lands, stand up to China, and secure the border. Weirdly enough, his most detailed proposals have to do with cryptocurrency. Anyway, he’ll probably be a more right-wing version of Romney, still breaking with the rest of his party on some votes, but not as much as Mitt did.

ARIZONA’s 8th CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT:

NEW CONGRESSMAN: ABE HAMADEH

Hamadeh started his political career by running for Attorney General of Arizona in 2022. After a campaign that mostly focused on fighting non-existent voter fraud and trying to prove that Trump won the state in 2020, Hamadeh lost by just 280 votes to Democrat Kris Mayes. We could relitigate this election until the end of time, arguing about nonexistent voter fraud or the fact that this was one of the few elections where enough Republicans died of COVID to actually make a difference (my friends over at Split Ticket had a great article about that: https://split-ticket.org/2023/02/05/did-refusing-the-covid-19-vaccine-cost-the-gop-any-elections/), the fact of the matter is Hamadeh lost and soon set his sights on Congress.

That’s when things became really cursed. You see, Hamadeh launched his campaign for Arizona’s 8th Congressional District, a Republican-leaning district in the western suburbs of Phoenix, shortly after Republican Congresswoman Debbie Lesko announced her retirement. While Lesko backed State House Speaker Ben Toma, Hamadeh quickly racked up the endorsements of fellow 2022 loser Kari Lake and former President Donald Trump. However, things became messy when another 2022 loser/Thiel Group toady Blake Masters jumped in the race. Masters and Hamadeh were pretty much campaigning for the same votes, though Hamadeh was the slightly more moderate option. This was seen clearly when Masters began attacking Hamadeh for having connections to Islam. The Islamophobic attacks were almost certainly because of Hamadeh’s ethnicity (He’s part-Syrian) and his last name and were designed to try to scare the heavily white, older electorate in AZ-08. Did it work?

No. Despite a last minute co-endorsement for Masters from former President Trump, Hamadeh ended up winning by four points over him. Toma came in third with 21%, former Congressman Trent Franks (who had his own nasty set of baggage) came in fourth with 16%, State Senator Anthony Kern (who was a fake elector for Trump in 2020) came in fifth with 5%, and Pat Brody (who was the only candidate without any cursed-ness) came in last with 2%.

On his campaign website, Hamadeh calls himself an “America First Warrior” and promises to secure the border, fight for “election integrity,” and support the 2nd Amendment. He’ll probably be a standard right-winger in Congress. Though he seems like someone who wouldn’t break with the party on any major votes, he also doesn’t seem like the bomb-thrower type to join the Freedom Caucus.

COLORADO’s 5th CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT:

NEW CONGRESSMAN: JEFF CRANK

When Republican Congressman Doug Lamborn announced his retirement, it was honestly a bit surprising to see Crank throw his name in the race to succeed him. Crank had run for this seat in 2006 and narrowly lost to Lamborn and then again in 2008, losing to Lamborn once again. By the time 2024 came along, Crank had established a career in conservative talk radio and figured that now was the best time to get back in the political sphere.

One problem, his opponent. He had to face the Trump-endorsed Chairman of the Colorado Republican Party Dave Williams. Williams is a controversial figure to say the least. He ran against Lamborn in 2022 and lost by 14 points. He was rewarded with his failure by becoming the Chairman of the Colorado GOP following their disastrous 2022 election cycle. His election denying antics and just general mismanagement of the Colorado GOP left the party divided going into his primary against Crank. Williams was backed by Trump, CO-03 Congresswoman Lauren Boebert, and the House Freedom Caucus, while Crank was backed by US House Speaker Mike Johnson and retiring Congressman Lamborn. 

And in the end, it wasn’t even close. Crank destroyed Williams by over 30 points despite Williams having the Trump endorsement. 

As for what type of Congressman Crank will be, expect him to be a traditional conservative. His website touts his priorities: securing the border, fixing the economy, supporting the 2nd Amendment and generally avoiding the culture war stuff that we’ll be seeing more of later on.

FLORIDA’s 8th CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT:

NEW CONGRESSMAN: MIKE HARIDOPOLOS

This one is a bit messy. Haridopolos was the State Senate President in Florida from 2010-2012, but his political career seemed to be over after he passed on running for US Senate against Bill Nelson in 2012. He became a lobbyist/consultant after that and it seemed like he’d just be one of many former Republican rising stars who fell from the sky.

That was until Congressman Bill Posey suddenly announced his retirement on the last day of candidate filing this year. Haridopolos quickly swooped in to run and was immediately endorsed by Posey and former President Trump. It quickly became clear what happened, Posey wanted Haridopolos as his successor and decided to wait until the last minute to retire to give Haridopolos the seat. That froze out any potential major challengers, giving Haridopolos the easy win against two heavily under-funded opponents:

In Congress, Haridopolos is expected to be your standard conservative Republican. On his website, he promises to fight illegal immigration, fix the economy, and focus on local issues like the Indian River Lagoon and funding for NASA (which is partly in the district thanks to Cape Canaveral). 

GEORGIA’s 3rd CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT:

NEW CONGRESSMAN: BRIAN JACK

We’ll see this a few more times in this edition of Grand Old Primary, but Trump has the power to lift little known politicians over established ones in Republican primaries. Take Jack for example, who was the White House Director of Political Affairs in the final years of the Trump Presidency. After the Trump Presidency ended, Jack stuck around for Trump’s 2024 campaign as his Congressional liaison, securing endorsements from members of Congress. He held that role until Republican Congressman Drew Ferguson announced his retirement in December 2023. Jack quickly jumped into the race and got the backing of Trump & the right-wing Club for Growth. He would win the primary with 47% of the vote, but was forced into a runoff with State Senator Mike Dugan.

In the runoff, Jack easily defeated Dugan, who only really won around his home of Carroll County. Jack won by 25 points and is poised to become the next Congressman in this Trump+30 district. 

He’ll probably be your standard conservative Republican, as his website touts his promises to secure the border, cut taxes, and stop the “weaponization of justice” because his former boss was finally facing criminal charges for the crimes he committed.

INDIANA’s 3rd CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT:

NEW CONGRESSMAN: MARLIN STUTZMAN

Ok, this isn’t technically a “new Congressman,” more like “new old Congressman.” Stutzman served in Congress from 2010-2016, representing this district. He was a right-wing Conservative in that time, voting to defund Obamacare on numerous occasions and was the Co-Chairman of the right-wing Congressional Constitution Caucus. He would retire in 2016 in order to run for US Senate, but lost in the primary to fellow Congressman Todd Young.

Eight years later, Stutzman made his return to the political scene after his successor, Jim Banks, vacated the district to run for US Senate. Stutzman didn’t just have the field to himself though, he had to face seven other Republicans in order to win back his district. He did have some advantages though, most notably the backing of the House Freedom Caucus and the right-wing Club for Growth. Did that help him?

Yes, absolutely. Stutzman didn’t win the main population center of the district (Fort Wayne), but his wins in the more rural north were enough to give him the win. Nonprofit executive Tim Smith came in a close second despite winning Fort Wayne, while judge Wendy Davis came in third, State Senator Andy Zay came in fourth, and businessman Grant Bucher came in fifth.

Stutzman will probably be a lot like his old self in Congress come next year, a firebrand right-wing member of the Freedom Caucus. On his website, Stutzman promises to secure the border, support “parental rights” in education, and protect families against the “Radical Liberal Agenda.” 

INDIANA’s 6th CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT:

NEW CONGRESSMAN: JEFFERSON SHREVE

Shreve was an Indianapolis City Councilman for a few years in the mid-2010s, but became really well known to central Indiana voters during the 2023 Indianapolis Mayoral Election. There, Shreve was the Republican nominee and used his millions of dollars to try to unseat Democratic incumbent Joe Hogsett. Shreve ended up losing by nearly 20 points, but it did get his name out there. 

That was important, because Shreve quickly jumped into this race after Republican incumbent Greg Pence announced his retirement in January 2024. In fact, from losing the Indianapolis Mayoral Election to entering this race, it was only about a three month turnaround. Much like he did in the Indianapolis Mayoral Election, Shreve used his vast amount of wealth to try to win, spending almost $4 million of his own money. He also earned the backing of the US and Indiana Chambers of Commerce.

Unlike the 2023 Indianapolis Mayoral Election, Shreve’s spending worked in this election. He was able to win with 28% of the vote, while State Representative Mike Speedy came in second with 22% and businessman Jameson Carrier came in third with 20%. Shreve will probably be a more traditional Republican Congressman. Shreve oddly doesn’t have a campaign website, though his campaign Facebook page seems to be mostly focused on his campaign efforts and not what he stands for. From what I can tell, he seems mostly focused on the economy, lowering taxes, regulations, etc.

INDIANA’s 8th CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT:

NEW CONGRESSMAN: MARK MESSMER

Messmer has served in the Indiana State Senate for the last 10 years, including serving as the Majority Leader from 2018-2022. He announced his campaign pretty much immediately after Republican incumbent Larry Bucshon announced his retirement in January 2024 and quickly garnered support from several conservative groups. Though his biggest backer was probably AIPAC, for a real interesting reason.

That’s because one of Messmer’s opponents in the primary was former IN-08 Congressman John Hostettler. Hostettler served as Congressman for this district (back when it was one of the most competitive in the country) from 1994-2006. During that time, he amassed a right-wing voting record, except for one issue, Israel. Hostettler voted against authorizing the War in Iraq in 2003 and later said that the war was waged to benefit Israel. He also voted against authorizing aid for Israel numerous times and voted against a 2000 House Resolution that expressed support for Israel and condemned Palestinian leaders. 

It paid off too, as Messmer easily won the primary over Hostettler, who came in a distant second. Doctor Richard Moss came in third with 14%, while businessman Dominick Kavanaugh came in fourth with 12%. As for Messmer, he’ll probably be a standard conservative in Congress. His campaign website touts his support for Israel, cryptocurrency, and pro-life policies.

KANSAS’s 2nd CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT:

NEW CONGRESSMAN: DEREK SCHMIDT

Schmidt was the Attorney General of Kansas from 2010-2022, amassing a pretty conservative record in office. He sued the Obama & Biden Administrations numerous times, fought against the legalization of same-sex marriage, and fought to overturn the results of the 2020 Presidential Election. He would try to parlay that conservative success into a run for Governor in 2022, but lost to Democratic Governor Laura Kelly. Schmidt would stay in the political spotlight though and quickly announced a run for Congress after Republican incumbent Jake LaTurner announced his retirement in April 2024.

Schmidt easily defeated farmer Shawn Tiffany and political aide Jeff Kahrs to secure the Republican nomination. He’ll have to face former Democratic Congresswoman Nancy Boyda in November, but this district backed Trump by 16 in 2020, so he should be fine. He’ll probably be a standard Republican, judging by his record in office.

MISSOURI’s 3rd CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT:

NEW CONGRESSMAN: BOB ONDER

Onder served in the State Senate from 2014-2022, amassing a far-right voting record. He sponsored a bill that heavily regulated abortion clinics, sponsored a bill that protects businesses from serving LGBTQ+ customers, and voted to make Missouri a right-to-work state. He was term-limited in 2022, but didn’t stay out of the spotlight for long as he announced his run for Congress about a month after Republican incumbent Blaine Luetkemeyer announced his retirement.

Onder, who ran for Congress before in 2008 but narrowly lost to Luetkemeyer, was not alone in this primary, as he faced one major opponent in former State Senator Kurt Schaefer, who was backed by Luetkemeyer.

(Credit to @Missouri_Mapper on Twitter for this map!)

Onder ended up defeating Schaefer by 10 points, owing to a huge win out of exurban St. Louis. He’s the heavy favorite in November and I wouldn’t be surprised if he ended up joining the Freedom Caucus once he gets to Congress. Just on his campaign website, Onder promises to stop illegal immigration, defend life, and fight the “woke agenda".” Definitely a far-right Congressman if I’ve ever seen one.

MONTANA’s 2nd CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT:

NEW CONGRESSMAN: TROY DOWNING

Downing was elected Montana State Auditor in 2020. He’s been pretty low-profile in the job, but he does have higher aspirations as he did run for US Senate in 2018 and lost in the primary. So when Republican incumbent Matt Rosendale announced his retirement in March 2024, it wasn’t that much of a surprise that Downing decided to run to replace him.

Downing didn’t have the field to himself though (despite also having the backing of former President Trump), as former Congressman Denny Rehberg, retired DEA Agent Stacy Zinn, State Superintendent Elsie Arntzen, State Senate President pro tempore Kenneth Bogner, former State Senator Ric Holden, former State Representative Joel Krautter, and pharmacist Kyle Austin all ran alongside him.

Those candidates mostly didn’t end up mattering, as Downing won by nearly 20 points over Rehberg. He won pretty much everywhere, save for the eastern part of the district and several Native American-heavy areas. He’s expected to be a standard Republican in office.

NORTH CAROLINA’s 6th CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT:

NEW CONGRESSMAN: ADDISON McDOWELL

Remember when I said that Trump has the power to elevate little-known politicians over well-established ones? Well, Addison McDowell is a prime representation of that. Before 2024, McDowell was a little-known healthcare lobbyist who worked for US Senator Ted Budd (R, NC) as a staffer. He was up against several major Republicans in the primary: former Congressman Mark Walker, 2022 nominee Christian Castelli, attorney/2022 NC-13 nominee Bo Hines, and High Point Mayor Jay Wagner chief among them. All had their own backers and most had a wide financial advantage over McDowell.

But in the end, it was the Trump endorsement that pushed McDowell over the edge. He came in first with 26%, with Walker in second with 24%, Castelli in third with 21%, Hines in fourth with 14%, and Wagner in fifth with 9%. Walker was entitled to a runoff with McDowell, but he declined it, seeing the writing on the wall. 

McDowell will probably be a standard right-winger in Congress. His campaign website touts his promises to secure the border, supporting Trump’s “America First Agenda,” and standing with cryptocurrency. 

NORTH CAROLINA’s 8th CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT:

NEW CONGRESSMAN: MARK HARRIS

Now, if you were around for the 2018 election cycle, you definitely know the name Mark Harris. Harris, a pastor, unseated a Republican incumbent (Robert Pittenger) and went on to face Democrat Dan McCready in one of the nation’s most hotly-contested races that year. Harris initially won it by just under 1,000 votes, but his win was thrown out over ballot irregularities in Bladen County. It was later revealed that Harris hired a campaign operative to conduct illegal ballot harvesting, which threw Harris’s win out and landed the campaign operative in court. 

Six years later, Harris decided to run for Congress yet again, this time in a much more Republican district. He had the backing of conservative favorite/Lieutenant Governor Mark Robinson, but he had to face some strong opponents, most notably former Union County Commissioner Allen Baucom and State Representative John Bradford.

In the end, Harris barely defeated Baucom, winning by three points. Bradford came in a distant third with 18% and attorney/author Don Brown came in fourth with 10%. Judging by this campaign, his 2018 campaign, and his failed 2014 US Senate campaign, Harris is probably going to be a pretty right-wing member of Congress. On his campaign website, Harris touts his opposition to abortion, support for securing the border, and support for school choice.

NORTH CAROLINA’s 10th CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT:

NEW CONGRESSMAN: PAT HARRIGAN

Harrigan, a gun manufacturer, ran for Congress in 2022 and lost to Jeff Jackson in NC-14. Thanks to redistricting, Harrigan was moved to a solidly Republican district which now featured a retiring Republican incumbent in Patrick McHenry. 

Harrigan faced a tough opponent though in State Representative Grey Mills. While Harrigan was backed by Lieutenant Governor Mark Robinson and the Koch-aligned Americans for Prosperity group, Mills was backed by powerful State House Speaker Tim Moore (more on him later) and had a financial advantage over Harrigan. 

Despite all of that, Harrigan managed to pull out a win by two points over Mills. Harrigan’s big wins in places like Winston-Salem and Hickory were just enough to eke out a win over the State Representative. As for what type of Congressman he’d be, Harrigan seems like he’d be a pretty standard Republican. His campaign website touts his plans for economic relief, support for all forms of energy production, and his support for “election integrity” and “cultural integrity.”

NORTH CAROLINA’s 13th CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT:

NEW CONGRESSMAN: BRAD KNOTT

Knott was an attorney before launching a bid for this horribly-gerrymandered district. He wasn’t the only one to do so though, as 13(!) more Republicans launched bids, most notably: attorney Kelly Daughtry, businessman Fred Von Canon, and businessman DeVan Barbour.

When election night came, it was a predictably messy result. Daughtry came in first with 27%, Knott in second with 19%, Von Cannon in third with 17%, and Barbour in fourth with 15%. This meant that Daughtry and Knott were going to a runoff, but that all changed when Knott was able to secure the backing of former President Trump before the runoff. That caused Daughtry to withdraw from the runoff and for Knott to likely become the next Congressman for NC-13. He’s expected to be a generic Republican, as his website touts his support for securing the border, standing with Israel, and opposing abortion.

NORTH CAROLINA’s 14th CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT:

NEW CONGRESSMAN: TIM MOORE

Pretty much any Democrat in North Carolina can tell you all about Tim Moore. He’s served as State House Speaker for the last decade and has been the main force behind pretty much every piece of conservative legislation that the state has passed in that time frame. The infamous Bathroom Bill? He was a main sponsor. The numerous gerrymander attempts? Yep, he’s got his fingerprints all over them. Abortion restrictions? You can thank Tim Moore for that. 

He’s also been itching to get out of state politics for a bit though. He tried drawing a district for himself in North Carolina’s initial redistrict attempt in 2021, but those plans changed when Madison Cawthorn decided to run for the district Moore was going to run in. That didn’t matter too as that map was struck down by the State Supreme Court. But after the North Carolina Republicans flipped the State Supreme Court in 2022 and struck down the court-drawn map, Moore was able to draw himself a district and finally run for Congress.

Moore easily defeated two random candidates en route to a 62-point win. He’s the heavy favorite in November. He’s probably going to be a standard conservative, as his website mostly just touts his conservative success in the State Legislature. I do have to say though, it is going to be pretty weird for someone to go from such a high position of power in state government to being a Congressman. Especially so if the Republicans fail to hold the House in November.

NORTH DAKOTA-AT LARGE:

NEW CONGRESSWOMAN: JULIE FEDORCHAK

Our first woman graduate of the Class of 2024, Fedorchak served as a member of the North Dakota Public Service Commission (which regulates the state's utilities) for over a decade before launching a run for Congress to replace Republican incumbent Kelly Armstrong (who is running for Governor). Fedorchak wasn’t the only one to run though, as former State Representative Rick Becker, former Miss America/2022 Independent candidate Cara Mund, farmer Alex Balazs, and conservative activist Sharlet Mohr all ran. Fedorchak did have several key endorsements though, most notably former President Trump and Governor Doug Burgum. Becker did have the backing of several far-right Congresspeople and the House Freedom Fund, setting up an interesting fight between the traditional conservatives and the far-right.

In the end, the traditionalists won that battle as Fedorchak defeated Becker by about 16 points. Mund, who was running as a pro-choice candidate, won 19%, while Balasz and Mohr combined for five percent. Fedorchak will probably be a normal conservative, with her campaign website touting her support for securing the border, fixing the economy, and defending unborn life.

OHIO’s 2nd CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT:

NEW CONGRESSMAN: DAVE TAYLOR

Taylor, a construction company owner, was just one of 11(!) Republicans that ran for this solidly Republican district after Republican incumbent Brad Wenstrup announced his retirement in November 2023. No candidate had a major financial or polling lead and the usual heavy-hitters in the endorsement game stayed out. Taylor managed to stand out from the rest of the pack though, mostly thanks to spending nearly $2 million of his own money. He wasn’t the only one to do that though, as fellow businessmen Larry Kidd and Tim O’Hara heavily self-funded. So with such a wide open field and no clear favorite, who won?

Taylor. Dave Taylor won the Republican primary here with just 25% of the vote. This was almost entirely thanks to his big win in suburban/exurban Cincinnati (Clermont County), because the rest of the field split the vote everywhere else. Taylor is expected to be a pretty right-wing Congressman, as he has already committed to join the House Freedom Caucus.

SOUTH CAROLINA’s 3rd CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT:

NEW CONGRESSWOMAN: SHERRI BIGGS

Biggs, a nurse practitioner, was one of the few Republicans running this year to defeat a Trump-endorsed candidate in a primary. In the initial primary to replace retiring Republican Congressman Jeff Duncan, Biggs came in second to Trump-endorsed pastor Mark Burns, who has a whole litany of controversies to his name. He was Trump’s top pastor during the 2016 Presidential campaign and helped support the efforts to overturn the 2020 Presidential Election results. During his 2022 campaign for the neighboring SC-04, Burns called for the execution of parents of transgender kids and LGBTQ+ teachers. So when Burns came in first in the initial primary, there was some real fear that he’d be elected. 

For the sake of decency, that didn’t end up being the case. Biggs, who was backed by Governor Henry McMaster, defeated Burns by two points. She’s expected to be a pretty standard Republican in office, as her campaign website touts her support for securing the border, defending unborn life, and “draining the swamp.”

TEXAS’s 12th CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT:

NEW CONGRESSMAN: CRAIG GOLDMAN

Goldman has been a pretty key figure in Texas politics over the last few years, mostly thanks to his position as Majority Leader in the Texas State House. So when longtime Republican incumbent Kay Granger announced her retirement in November 2023, Goldman was the obvious pick to replace her. That didn’t mean that Goldman won easily though, as he was forced into a runoff by conservative businessman John O’Shea, who was backed by conservative hero/Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.

Nevertheless, Goldman ended up winning by nearly 26 points over O’Shea in the runoff. Goldman is expected to be a standard right-winger in Congress, as his website touts his support for securing the border, the 2nd Amendment, and fighting the “woke, liberal agenda.””

TEXAS’s 26th CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT:

NEW CONGRESSMAN: BRANDON GILL

Gill is the perfect example of the fact that if you know the right people, you can do anything. Gill is the son-in-law of conservative media personality Dinesh D’Souza and is the founder of a conservative news media website. All of that earned him the backing of former President Trump, Senator Ted Cruz, and the House Freedom Caucus in the race to replace retiring Republican Congressman Michael Burgess. Where did this leave his opponents? Not in a good place that’s for sure. He faced some heavy hitters, most notably former Denton County Judge Scott Armey and Southlake Mayor John Huffman, but they weren’t doing much against a candidate that consolidated the right-wing vote like Gill did.

Gill easily won everywhere in the district, from suburban Denton County to rural Wise/Cooke Counties. He’s probably going to be a far-right Congressman, judging by his endorsers and his campaign website, which touts his support for ending “the invasion of our homeland” by illegal immigrants, cutting spending, and “fighting cultural marxism.” This is the most terminally online future Congressman.

UTAH’s 3rd CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT:

NEW CONGRESSMAN: MIKE KENNEDY

Kennedy’s got an interesting history of trying to move from the Utah State Legislature to Congress. He tried to get to the US Senate in 2018, even defeating future winner Mitt Romney at the State Republican Convention. However, he lost the primary to Romney by over 40 points. After a few more years in the State Senate, Kennedy decided to run to replace the guy running to replace Romney in the Senate, Congressman John Curtis.

He wasn’t alone though, as Kennedy was joined by businessman Case Lawrence, Roosevelt Mayor Rod Bird, former Utah Republican Party Chairman Stewart Peay (who is Mitt Romney’s nephew-in-law), and Utah State Auditor John “Frugal” Dougall. Despite winning the Utah GOP endorsement, Kennedy was heavily outspent by Lawrence and Bird, but was it enough to matter?

No, it didn’t end up mattering. Kennedy ended up winning by 16 points over Lawrence. Bird came in third with 15%, Peay in fourth with 14%, and Dougall in last with 10%. Kennedy will probably be a relatively standard Republican Congressman, given that his campaign website touts his support for lowering inflation, securing the border, fighting housing shortages, and achieving energy independence.

VIRGINIA’s 5th CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT:

NEW CONGRESSMAN: JOHN McGUIRE

McGuire got a promotion from the State House to the State Senate in 2023, but launched his campaign for Congress against Republican incumbent Bob Good before he was even sworn into the State Senate. So why did Good attract such a high-profile primary challenge? Well, for one he voted to remove Kevin McCarthy as US House Speaker and two, he endorsed Ron DeSantis for President over Donald Trump. That angered both men, who united behind McGuire. Good still had his supporters though, most notably the House Freedom Caucus and former Trump advisor Steve Bannon.

In the end, McGuire ended up unseating Good by a little under 400 votes. Good claimed voter fraud occurred in Lynchburg (even though Good won the city), but nothing ever amounted to it. McGuire will probably be a standard right-winger in Congress, with his website claiming that he is “Pro-Life. Pro-Gun. Pro-Trump.” He was also a major proponent of the “Stop The Steal” movement that sought to overturn the 2020 Presidential Election, so yeah I feel pretty confident in saying he’ll be a right-winger.

WASHINGTON’s 5th CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT:

NEW CONGRESSMAN: MICHAEL BAUMGARTNER

Baumgartner has had a long career in Washington politics, despite only being 48 years-old. He served in the State Senate from 2010-2018, ran for US Senate in 2012 (and lost), and became Spokane County Treasurer in 2018. Now, 12 years after trying to get to Congress via the Senate, he’s trying to get into Congress via the US House and replacing Republican Congresswoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers in the process.

He wasn’t the only one running to replace Rodgers though, as (thanks to Washington’s all-party primary system), he was joined by 10 other candidates. Most notably, he faced off against former Spokane County Democratic Party Chairwoman Carmela Conroy, Republican State Representative Jacquelin Maycumber, Democratic doctor Bernadine Bank, and Republican Ferry County Commissioner Brian Dansel.

In the end, it was Baumgartner and Conroy that advanced to November. Considering that this is a district that backed President Trump by 10 in 2020, Baumgartner is the favorite to win. He’ll probably be a traditional Republican in Congress, as his website touts his support for securing the border, cutting spending, and supporting local ranchers/farmers.

WEST VIRGINIA’s 2nd CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT:

NEW CONGRESSMAN: RILEY MOORE

Moore, who has served as West Virginia State Treasurer for the last four years, is part of the Moore political family in West Virginia. His grandfather is former Governor Arch Moore and his aunt is US Senator Shelley Moore Capito. The family name and state government experience immediately made him the favorite to replace retiring Republican Congressman Alex Mooney, but he did have to first fend off cybersecurity consultant Joseph Earley, US Air Force veteran Chris Walker, IT Consultant Nate Cain, and businessman Alexander Gaaserud in the primary.

And he did just that, winning the primary with 45% of the vote. He’s probably going to be a standard right-winger in Congress, with his website touting his support of the 2nd Amendment, support for coal mining, and opposition to “woke corporations.”

WISCONSIN’s 8th CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT:

NEW CONGRESSMAN: TONY WIED

Our final example of Trump lifting up little known people and carrying them to victories over established politicians comes from businessman Tony Wied. Wied, who owned a chain of gas stations, entered the race to replace Republican Congressman Mike Gallagher with the backing of former President Trump. That didn’t dissuade two State Legislators from challenging Wied though, as State Senator Andre Jacque and former State Senator Roger Roth squared off against Wied in the primary.

(Credit to @wisconsinmapper on Twitter for map!)

In the end, Wied ended up winning by eight points over Roth, with Jacque coming in a distant third. Wied will probably end up being a solid right-winger in Congress, with his website touting his support for securing the border, cutting spending, and supporting former President Trump.

And that’s all for this special edition of Grand Old Primary! I’d like to thank all of you for reading my ramblings on Republican primaries throughout the country. Without any of you reading this, I wouldn’t be doing this and for that, I thank you. I’ll be back next year to cover the Republican primaries in New Jersey and Virginia and after that, the 2026 election cycle begins. Until then, I’ve been Uncrewed/Chris, you can follow me on Twitter @Uncrewed, and don’t forget to stay awesome!