Trump-Backed Candidate Loses In Shocking Primary Race
A Trump-backed congressional candidate in Michigan appears to have lost a Republican primary to a man who had already stopped campaigning.
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Amir Hassan, a Flint native and former federal law enforcement officer endorsed by President Donald Trump, trailed Thomas J. Smith in the GOP primary for Michigan’s 8th Congressional District after Tuesday’s vote.
With 99% of ballots counted, Smith led the three-way race with 50.4% of the vote, while Hassan had 33.2% and Al Lemmo had 16.4%, according to Associated Press estimates reported by local media.
Smith’s lead stood at more than 10,600 votes, larger than the estimated number of ballots still left to count.
Decision Desk HQ projected Smith as the winner late Tuesday night.
The result marked a stunning setback for Hassan, who had Trump’s endorsement and support from the National Republican Congressional Committee as the GOP targets the Democratic-held seat in November.
The outcome was even stranger because Smith effectively ended his campaign less than three weeks before Election Day.
On July 17, Smith announced he was suspending his bid and endorsed Lemmo, urging Republicans to unite behind him instead.
In a statement shared by Lemmo’s campaign, Smith gave Lemmo his “complete and total endorsement” and called on his supporters to back him in the primary.
Lemmo responded by saying he was “honored to receive Tom Smith’s endorsement and grateful for his dedication to our district and shared conservative principles.”
But Smith remained on the ballot.
And voters still chose him.
After the projected result, Smith said he was “humbled and honored that Republicans have chosen me to take the fight to Kristen McDonald Rivet.”
“I look forward to working with Speaker Johnson and the entire Republican team to expand our House majority and advance President Trump’s America First agenda to lower costs for working families and make America affordable again,” Smith said, according to The Detroit News.
Newsweek contacted the campaigns of Smith, Hassan and Lemmo for comment by email.
Michigan’s 8th District is one of the GOP’s top House pickup opportunities this cycle.
The seat is held by Democratic Rep. Kristen McDonald Rivet, who won in 2024 even as Donald Trump carried the district in the presidential race.
McDonald Rivet was unopposed in Tuesday’s Democratic primary and will enter the general election with a large financial advantage.
She had raised more than $5.6 million and reported roughly $4.25 million cash on hand through mid-July.
Hassan, by comparison, had raised about $727,000 and had just over $104,000 left in his campaign account.
Hassan served in the Navy and later worked as a federal law enforcement officer with the Department of Defense, Department of Homeland Security and Department of Transportation before launching his congressional campaign.
The district covers parts of central Michigan, including Flint, Saginaw, Bay City and surrounding communities.
On his campaign website, Hassan pointed to his two daughters, ages 18 and 5, and said “restoring the promise and opportunity of the Saginaw Valley is personal.”
Lemmo, an anti-abortion activist and retired mechanical engineer who worked at the U.S. Army’s Tank Automotive Research, Development and Engineering Center in Warren, had questioned Hassan’s conservative credentials during the campaign, The Detroit News reported.
The messy primary now leaves Republicans with an unusual situation in a battleground district they badly want to flip.
BREAKING: Dolly Parton’s Cause Of Death Revealed: ‘Brief Battle’
Dolly Parton’s death came after a brief battle with cancer, her representatives revealed Tuesday.
The country music legend died Aug. 25 at Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center in Nashville. She was 80.
Parton had been admitted to the cancer center Friday, four days before her death. Her representatives confirmed the cancer diagnosis in a statement to PEOPLE but did not disclose what type she had.
“Our beloved Dolly Parton spent her life and career bringing joy, laughter, hope and integrity into everything she touched. Her unmatched generosity reached the lives of countless people whom she would never meet, yet she was always there to offer a helping hand,” the statement read.
“Whether it be the hundreds of millions of books donated through her invaluable Imagination Library or funding research that helped create a lifesaving vaccine used around the world, Dolly’s unconditional love for all people was the guiding force for her lasting impact. After bravely facing a brief battle with cancer, Dolly departed her Earthly life today at the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center surrounded by loved ones,” the statement concluded.
The “Jolene” singer had also been dealing with kidney and autoimmune issues before her death, PEOPLE previously reported.
Just days earlier, Dolly Parton opened up about her declining health and acknowledged that she had put off addressing some medical issues while caring for her husband, Carl.
“As I’ve shared in video messages throughout the past year, I am dealing with some health issues that I just didn’t pay attention to when I was watching over [my husband] Carl. You know, this isn’t the first time I’ve had to manage something like this. Back in the early ’80s, I was down for several months with female issues, and I was struggling with my weight at the time too, so it’s not like I haven’t been through hard times with my health,” Parton told PEOPLE.
Her nephew, Bryan Seaver, announced her death in an Instagram video Tuesday on behalf of the Parton and Owens family.
“My name is Bryan Seaver, son of Cassie Parton, and I’m representing the Parton and Owens family today announcing the passing of my aunt, Dolly Rebecca Parton Dean, Sister, Sis and Granny to one generation and Gigi to the next,” he says in the video.
Seaver, who served as Parton’s head of security for more than two decades, said she had asked him years earlier to deliver the announcement.
“This video announcement is something Dolly asked of me years ago, before I fully absorbed it as a future reality,” he continued. “As her head of security for more than two decades, a role my father Larry held before me, I have imagined the heaviness of this moment but haven’t truly felt it until now.”
Seaver said the moment brought immense pride and heartbreak, but he took comfort in his faith that Parton had been reunited with Carl and other loved ones.
Seaver added: “It is an honor, an honor that is mixed with absolute pride and great sadness. But sadness lies with us, not with Dolly. Dolly has lived in the light and is in the arms of Jesus, surely met by Carl, her parents and countless othe
