4 Takeaways From Primaries in Georgia, Alabama, Oklahoma

President Trump's endorsement record had a mixed night on Tuesday. Four takeaways from primaries in Georgia, Alabama, and Oklahoma:

• Trump's enduring strength: Writing for the New York Times, Patricia Mazzei reports Trump was three for three with his Senate picks (Representative Mike Collins in Georgia, Rep. Barry Moore in Alabama, and Rep. Kevin Hern in Oklahoma). "Those victories showed Mr. Trump's enduring strength with Republican primary voters in conservative states, even as the president's overall popularity with Democrats and independents has fallen."
• Georgia is a weak spot: Trump saw his second miss in June on the gubernatorial front, with Georgia pick Lt. Gov. Burt Jones losing to Rick Jackson; Trump's chosen candidate in Iowa, Randy Feenstra, previously lost. Mazzei sees it as a continuation of Trump's bumpy history in the state, which dates to 2020, "when Gov. Brian Kemp and Brad Raffensperger, the secretary of state, defended Georgia's presidential election results. And in early 2021, Mr. Trump's picks for both of Georgia's Senate seats lost their runoff elections."

• Money talked: Politico flags a "$100 million asterisk"—which is how much Jackson ponied up—in the Jackson-Jones race. "Jackson's flood of ads helped drown out Lt. Gov. Burt Jones and other Republicans up and down the ballot, as the billionaire tried to convince voters that he didn't need Trump's explicit endorsement to be a true MAGA warrior. In the end, his pitch worked, through persuasion or sheer force."
• Crypto was a factor in Alabama: Moore's win over Jared Hudson was powered both by Trump's endorsement and a big-money assist from the cryptocurrency industry. A group linked to Fairshake, a major crypto super PAC, poured close to $10 million into ads backing Moore, who owns digital assets and has supported crypto-related legislation. The Hill reports the race underscores how crypto interests, already big spenders in 2024, are accelerating their political investments ahead of the midterms.