Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, walks out with his family in the background to declare victory to supporters during a Utah Republican primary-night party Tuesday, June 28, 2022, in South Jordan, Utah. Lee defeated two challengers in the primary. (AP Photo/George Frey)
OAN NEWSROOM
UPDATED 6:16 AM PT – Wednesday, June 229, 2022
The Trump endorsement has reaped substantial wins for Republican candidates across the country. This comes as general election match ups solidified in Utah, Colorado, Oklahoma, New York and Illinois.
In Utah, Sen. Mike Lee declared Republican voters had chosen freedom after he decimated his primary opponents after securing more than 60 percent of the vote. In November, the two-term senator is favored the win in his race against independent and 2016 presidential hopeful Evan McCullin who has been endorsed by a number of Utah Democrats .
Meanwhile in neighboring Colorado, conservative firebrand Lauren Boebert thrashed her moderate challenger, state Sen. Don Coram, by nearly 30-points. She will take on former Aspen City Councilman Adam Frisch in November.
“You don’t mess with God-fearing women who put their country first, who stand up for what’s right, will not bend over backwards to the establishment and let their people get run over,” Boebert exclaimed amid her primary victory speech. “Those days are over!”
Additionally, 2020 election skeptic Joe O’Dea will attempt to end incumbent Colorado Sen. Michael Bennett’s aspirations of attaining a third term.
Meanwhile, Oklahoma saw no-nonsense conservative Sen. James Lankford take another step towards re-election, while Rep. Markwayne Mullin emerged from a special election primary to replace retiring Republican Sen. Jim Inhofe’s’ seat. Also, despite the controversy surrounding his pro-life governance, Governor Kevin Stitt has asserted his constituents are pleased with the current path of the sooner state.
“I’m looking forward to seeing who my opponent is in the general and then having a great conversation with Oklahomans about the direction they want our state to go,” Stitt stated. “And I’m confident Oklahomans love the direction that we’re going.”
Democrat New York Governor Kathy Hochul easily warded off challenges from NYC public advocate Jumaane Williams and Rep. Tom Suozzi. On the right side of the aisle, Rep. Lee Zeldin managed to defeat Andrew Giuliani with 43 percent of the vote for the Empire State’s GOP gubernatorial nomination.
FILE — Lee Zeldin appears during New York’s Republican gubernatorial debate, at the studios of Spectrum News NY, June 20, 2022, in New York. (Brittainy Newman/Pool via AP, File)
The biggest upset of the night came from Illinois, where state Sen. Darren Bailey won the state’s Republican governor primary despite the GOP establishment donating millions to his opponent’s campaign. Bailey’s toughest opponent, Richard Irvin, received $50 million from GOP donor and Citadel founder Ken Griffin. The dark horse candidate is looking to unseat Democrat Governor J.B. Pritzker, who he has been called the worst governor in America.
“We were outspent my tens-of-millions of dollars in the primary and look what happened,” said Bailey. “This is how it’s done…here’s tip and some advice for J.B. Pritzker: start packing, friend.”
Twelve Trump-endorsed candidates from Tuesday’s primaries will appear on general election ballots. His current primary election endorsement track record stands at a 93 percent success rate.