President Donald Trump\u2019s endorsement machine delivered a sharply divided verdict Tuesday night.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
His favored candidates scored decisive victories in Wisconsin and Alabama. His pick in South Carolina advanced but failed to put away a crowded Republican field. And in Minnesota, one of Trump\u2019s most recognizable allies suffered a clear defeat\u2014then refused to concede.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The result was neither a full rejection nor an unqualified show of strength. It was a reminder that Trump\u2019s endorsement remains powerful when it reinforces an already-strong candidate, but it cannot always overcome local concerns about electability, organization and political baggage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Minnesota House Speaker Lisa Demuth defeated MyPillow founder Mike Lindell in the Republican primary for governor despite Trump\u2019s full endorsement and a last-minute appeal urging supporters to vote for Lindell.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
With all 4,105 precincts reporting, unofficial results from the Minnesota secretary of state<\/a> showed Demuth winning 43.44% of the vote to Lindell\u2019s 32.47%. Demuth\u2019s margin was 45,348 votes. State GOP-endorsed businessman Kendall Qualls finished third with 21.37%.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Lindell did not concede Tuesday night. During the count, he argued that a large pool of Election Day votes remained outstanding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI\u2019m down by 20,000 votes with 277,000 votes left to count,\u201d Lindell said in a video cited by The Daily Beast<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n KSTP-TV reporter Kirsten Swanson later reported that Lindell was claiming \u201canomalies in the numbers\u201d and that his team planned to review them overnight. As of this writing, Lindell had not publicly conceded.<\/p>\n\n\n\n