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Trump’s endorsement power faces crucial tests in closely watched Georgia and Alabama GOP runoff elections

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While he isn’t on the ballot, President Donald Trump’s immense clout over the GOP faces more key tests on Tuesday in high-stakes Republican runoffs in Georgia and Alabama.
Trump-endorsed candidates are fighting in competitive showdowns against Republican rivals for the GOP gubernatorial and Senate nominations in battleground Georgia and for the Senate in solidly red Alabama.
Tuesday’s contests in Georgia and Alabama come as Oklahoma and the District of Columbia hold primary elections, and voters in California’s 14th Congressional District will vote in a special election to narrow the field of nearly a dozen candidates hoping to fill the seat left vacant when scandal-plagued Democratic Rep. Eric Swalwell resigned.
But the biggest spotlight is on Georgia, where Trump made an 11th-hour endorsement this past weekend in the Senate race in Georgia, which is one of a handful of midterm election contests across the country that will decide if the GOP holds its slim majority in the chamber.
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Derek Dooley, Republican US Senate candidate for Georgia, from left, his wife Allison Jeffers Dooley, Marty Kemp, Georgia’s first lady, and Gov. Brian Kemp during an election night event at Park Bench Battery in Atlanta, Georgia, on Tuesday, May 19, 2026. (Ben Hendren/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Trump endorsed Republican Rep. Mike Collins, a MAGA champion and strong supporter of the president, who is facing off against former college football coach Derek Dooley, who has the support of popular conservative Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp.
«It’s an honor to have that endorsement. It just shows that he has confidence that we know how to win this race, we know we’re in the lead in this thing,» Collins told Fox News Digital on Sunday, hours after landing Trump’s endorsement.
Asked if Trump’s endorsement in Georgia came too late to make a difference, Collins said, «I don’t think President Trump ever is too late. He has this impeccable ability of putting his thumb right on the scale at the right time with whatever he wants to do.»
Dooley, who’s running as an outsider, said in a Fox News Digital interview on the eve of the runoff that the president’s backing of his rival «doesn’t change how I feel.»
THESE MIDTERM RACES WILL DETERMINE WHETHER REPUBLICANS HOLD THEIR SENATE MAJORITY
«I’m honored to have Governor Kemp’s endorsement. I certainly would have been honored to have the President’s endorsement. But the most important endorsement that I’m fighting for is the people of Georgia,» he emphasized.
Collins, who represents Georgia’s 10th Congressional District, which is located between Atlanta and Augusta, is the son of the late Rep. Mac Collins, and is the founder and co-owner, along with his wife, of a trucking company.
Dooley, a lawyer, a former University of Tennessee football coach and the son of legendary University of Georgia head football coach Vince Dooley, is strongly backed by Kemp, who is a lifelong friend. The governor and his wife, Georgia First Lady Marty Kemp, have regularly appeared with Dooley on the campaign trail, and the governor’s top political advisor is a senior consultant for Dooley’s Senate bid.
Collins and Dooley were the top two finishers in a crowded field of candidates in last month’s primary that also included Rep. Buddy Carter. Since no one topped 50%, Collins and Dooley advanced to Tuesday’s runoff election.
The winner of the GOP Senate nomination in Georgia will face off in the midterms against Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff. Republicans view Ossoff as the most vulnerable Senate Democrat seeking re-election and are heavily targeting the first-term senator. But while Republicans have been battling for their party’s nomination over the past year, Ossoff’s built a powerful war chest that will give him a major fundraising advantage as the general election gets underway.

Term-limited GOP Gov. Brian Kemp of Georgia, right, endorses Lt.. Gov. Burt Jones in the Republican gubernatorial runoff, in Atlanta, Georgia on June 15, 2026. (Paul Steinhauser/Fox News)
The power of a Trump endorsement is also facing a key test in Georgia’s gubernatorial nomination runoff, where Trump last year backed Lt. Gov. Burt Jones in the race to succeed the term-limited Kemp. Jones is battling billionaire businessman Rick Jackson, who has dished out over $100 million of his own money on his campaign, in the runoff.
The winner will take on former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, who served in the Biden administration, in this autumn’s general election. Bottoms avoided a runoff by winning a majority of the vote as she topped six other candidates in last month’s Democratic gubernatorial primary.
Jones and Jackson were the top two finishers in last month’s crowded and competitive GOP gubernatorial primary, which also included state Attorney General Chris Carr and Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger. Because no candidate topped 50%, Jones and Jackson advanced to the runoff.
Pointing to a tele-rally Trump headline for him last week, Jones told Fox News Digital «The president’s endorsement carries a lot of weight here in Georgia.
Kemp made a last-minute endorsement on Sunday, backing Jones. And at an event Monday morning, Kemp explained that his mission is «to make sure that we have the best folks at the top of the ticket that can win in November and you know that’s why I’m supporting Burt Jones for governor.»
«When you think about the direction of the state the great things that we’ve been able to do, I think he’s best suited to move the state forward,» Kemp said. And he warned of the «consequences of not winning, like we’ll be going the way of Virginia, New York, California, we just cannot afford to do that.»
Jones, a former captain of the University of Georgia football team, an oil executive and heir to the Jones Petroleum Company, served as a state senator before winning election in 2022 as lieutenant governor.
Jackson was unknown to Georgia voters before launching his gubernatorial campaign in February, but thanks to an avalanche of ads, his story of building a business empire despite growing up in foster care and not being able to afford college became well known in the Peach State.
And he’s repeatedly highlighted that, like Trump, he’s an outsider and businessman. «I’m going to be Trump’s favorite governor because we’re just alike on the way that we handle business and handle problems, and I want to do exactly in Georgia what he’s doing at the federal government,» he reiterated in a Fox News Digital interview Sunday.
And on the eve of the runoff, he predicted, «I think people are ready for an outsider. That’s what they want, and that’s what they’re going to vote for. And that’s why we’re going to win tomorrow.»
Jackson also landed a last-minute endorsement, as conservative firebrand Sen. Ted Cruz backed Jackson on Friday and joined him on the campaign trail for a runoff eve rally.
«Rick has an extraordinary record, an extraordinary life story. And I also think he’s positioned to win. And the stakes are too high. This election is a battleground all across the country. We can’t afford to lose Georgia,» Cruz told Fox News.
When Cruz endorsed Jackson on Friday, he also supported South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson, who is facing off in a week against Trump-backed Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette.
Asked if he’s trying to put some daylight between himself and the president on the campaign trail, Cruz quickly responded, «No. Not remotely….The president and I agree on the vast majority of races. What I try to do in every race is endorse the strongest conservative who can win. And typically I get in races late in the race at a time where where my support might be able to make a difference and be helpful.»
Jones, on the eve of the Cruz visit, took aim at Jackson.
«He keeps on bringing in these out-of-state senators, and I would much rather have the president’s endorsement,» he said. «He’s having to go out of state to get his support. We’re keeping all our stuff in state.»
In neighboring Alabama, Trump is supporting Rep. Barry Moore, who is facing off with former Navy SEAL sniper Jared Hudson in the GOP Senate runoff, in the race to succeed Republican Sen. Tommy Tuberville, who is running for governor this year rather than seeking re-election.
Moore, who founded a waste hauling company and later served as a state lawmaker before first winning election to the U.S. House in 2020, and was one of the first politicians to endorse Trump in 2015 when the president first ran for the White House, is also endorsed by Vice President JD Vance and Senate Majority Leader Sen. John Thune.

Rep. Barry Moore, seen on the final night of the 2024 Republican National Convention, is running for the Senate in Alabama this year. (Tom Williams)
Moore, who represents Alabama’s 1st Congressional District, in the southern portion of the state, is a member of the ultra-conservative House Freedom Caucus.
Hudson, running as an outsider, edged out state Attorney General Steve Marshall to advance to the runoff with Moore.
Besides being a combat veteran, Hudson has served as a sheriff’s deputy, firefighter, small business owner and current head of a nonprofit that trains law enforcement in taking out human traffickers.
Hudson was endorsed by then-Sen. Markwayne Mullin, who is now Trump’s Department of Homeland Security secretary, as well as Sen. Tim Sheehy, the National Association for Gun Rights PAC, and conservative activist and media star Riley Gaines.

Former Navy SEAL Jared Hudson is running for U.S. Senate. (Jared Hudson)
Moore or Hudson will be considered the clear front-runner in November against the winner of the Democratic runoff between small business owner Dakarai Larriett and attorney and former judge Everett Wess.
In Oklahoma, Trump is backing Mike Mazzei, a former state senator and Oklahoma budget secretary, in the GOP gubernatorial primary in the race to succeed term-limited GOP Gov. Kevin Stitt.
The president is also supporting minister Jackson Lahmeyer, who founded the group Pastors for Trump, in the Republican primary in the state’s 1st Congressional District, in the race to succeed Rep. Kevin Hern, who is running for the Senate.
And in deep blue Washington D.C., the Democratic primary between seven candidates trying to succeed outgoing Mayor Muriel Bowser will effectively decide her successor in the District of Columbia.
The brute force of the president’s endorsement power has been on display in GOP primaries over the past month, and a half, with his candidates ousting incumbents he targeted in showdowns in Indiana, Louisiana, Kentucky and Texas that grabbed plenty of national attention.
But Trump’s endorsement streak in statewide and congressional Republican primaries was snapped two weeks ago when his 11th-hour endorsement of Republican Rep. Randy Feenstra of Iowa in the race to succeed retiring GOP Gov. Kim Reynolds wasn’t enough to propel the three-term congressman to victory.
Feenstra was narrowly edged by Zach Lahn, a businessman, farmer and former political strategist who was backed by the political wings of MAHA — the acronym for the Make America Healthy Again movement aligned with Trump Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. — and Turning Point USA, the powerful conservative organization co-founded by the late Charlie Kirk.
Trump rebounded last week, as the candidate he endorsed in the South Carolina GOP gubernatorial primary, Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette, finished first in a crowded field and clinched one of the two tickets in the race for the nomination.
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Meanwhile, longtime Trump ally Sen. Lindsey Graham did win a majority of the vote in the Republican Senate primary, and avoided a runoff.
Graham, who was endorsed by Trump, was facing primary challenges from five candidates, including conservative businessman Mark Lynch, who took aim at the senator over his support for the war in Iran. Lynch was backed by some MAGA leaders who have been critical of the president.
midterm elections, brian kemp, donald trump, ted cruz, republicans elections, georgia, alabama
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Iglesia católica salvadoreña convoca a la novena caminata por San Óscar Romero entre San Salvador y Ciudad Barrios

La Iglesia católica salvadoreña y la Fundación Monseñor Romero convocaron este miércoles a la novena caminata en honor al natalicio de San Óscar Arnulfo Romero y Galdámez. La peregrinación se realizará el 1 y 2 de agosto entre San Salvador y Ciudad Barrios, con oraciones por los migrantes, el medio ambiente, la dignidad humana y la paz.
La actividad partirá a las 5:00 desde la Catedral Metropolitana, después de una misa de envío, y concluirá al día siguiente en la ciudad natal del santo salvadoreño, en San Miguel. La inscripción costará USD 2 y ese fondo se destinará a la logística de transporte y alimentación.
El anuncio fue hecho en una conferencia de prensa junto al cardenal Rosa Chávez, el sacerdote Santos Belisario, una congregada y un representante de la Cruz Roja Salvadoreña. La convocatoria también incluye a las familias y parroquias que deseen sumarse de forma parcial, por tramos o durante toda la peregrinación.

El padre Santos Belisario Hernández, miembro del equipo coordinador, explicó que la invitación está abierta a distintas formas de participación: “Invitar a las familias a que puedan acompañarnos yo diría de tres formas, una de poder hacer varios kilómetros, nosotros siempre informamos cuántos kilómetros vamos a caminar. Una familia podría decir: yo voy a caminar desde la catedral de San Salvador hasta Soyapango, por ejemplo. Por eso la peregrinación le llamamos que es como un río, porque pueda ser que el caudal del río disminuye y después vuelve a crecer”.
La caminata lleva por nombre “San Óscar Romero vive y camina con su pueblo”. Sus tres intenciones están inspiradas en la encíclica del papa León XIV, Magnifica Humanitas, y se centran en la oración por los migrantes, el cuidado del medio ambiente, la dignidad de las personas y la búsqueda de la paz.
Tras la salida desde la catedral, los peregrinos llegarán a Ilopango, donde abordarán transporte hacia El Triunfo, en Usulután, para almorzar. Luego avanzarán hasta Moncagua y desde ese punto caminarán 13 kilómetros hasta Chapeltique, en San Miguel, donde pasarán la noche.
El domingo 2 de agosto retomarán la marcha desde Chapeltique a las 7:00 con destino a Ciudad Barrios. La jornada terminará con una misa a las 14:00 en la cuna de Romero, donde se espera la presencia de la Conferencia Episcopal.

La inscripción comenzará el 13 de julio en la Fundación Romero y en la parroquia San Francisco, en San Salvador. En la fundación el registro estará disponible de lunes a sábado, de 8:30 a 17:00, y en la parroquia de lunes a viernes, de 8:30 a 12:00.
Quienes necesiten más información podrán comunicarse al 7352-0511 o consultar la página de Facebook Camino de Monseñor Romero. Los inscritos recibirán un carné para colocar sus datos personales.
Hernández informó además que habrá tres opciones de kit del peregrino. El primero costará USD 7 e incluirá un gymbag, una pañoleta, 10 postales, una capa y un farol; el segundo tendrá un valor de USD 11 y añadirá una camiseta; el tercero costará USD 16 e incorporará, además de esos artículos, una gorra o sombrero.
También se ofrecerán paquetes con transporte: inscripción más transporte por USD 14; inscripción, transporte y kit uno por USD 21; inscripción, transporte y kit dos por USD 25; e inscripción, transporte y kit tres por USD 30. La camiseta de esta edición tendrá un costo de USD 7.
Las caminatas hacia la cuna del “profeta”, como se le menciona en la actividad, comenzaron hace nueve años antes de la conmemoración del natalicio de San Óscar Romero, el 15 de agosto. La conferencia fue transmitida en vivo por el portal oficial de Camino de Monseñor Romero, desde donde también se recordó que durante el recorrido se reflexiona sobre temas espirituales y sociales inspirados en las vivencias del santo salvadoreño.
corresponsal:Desde San Salvador, El Salvador
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Pardoned House Dem back in the spotlight as brother faces up to 10 years in prison if convicted

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The efforts of Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Texas, to move past his indictment and subsequent pardon by President Donald Trump are clashing with his brother’s legal troubles.
Martin Cuellar, sheriff of Webb County, Texas, faces a court hearing on Thursday over accusations of having misappropriated county funds. The case, coupled with the closeness of the Cuellar family, is complicating Henry Cuellar’s political outlook as he wages a campaign to continue his congressional career in one of the country’s most competitive districts.
It’s been over half a year since Trump pardoned Cuellar from an indictment on charges of bribery, conspiracy and money laundering.
«This pardon gives us a clean slate. The noise is gone. The work remains,» Cuellar said in a post to X, announcing that very same day that he would pursue reelection.
FORMER INDIANA REP STEPHEN BUYER RECEIVES FULL PARDON FROM TRUMP FOR 2023 INSIDER TRADING CONVICTION
Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Texas, was accused of taking more than half a million dollars in bribes from an Azerbaijan-owned energy company and a Mexican bank. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
Cuellar was accused of accepting nearly $600,000 in bribes from an oil and gas company controlled by the government of Azerbaijan and a Mexican bank.
Although those charges are gone, Cuellar’s case is still very much in the public eye as his brother fends off accusations of siphoning funds.
Martin Cuellar faces 10 years behind bars as well as a possible $250,000 maximum fine for allegedly using county employees and resources to run his own disinfecting business, Disinfect Pro Master.
Martin allegedly took home about $175,000 in illegal proceeds between 2020 and 2022, according to the Department of Justice.
«They allegedly opened Disinfect Pro Master in April 2020 and entered into service agreements with local businesses and restaurants despite having no employees or supplies of their own,» the U.S. attorney’s office wrote.
SWALWELL FRIEND GALLEGO DEFENDS CAMPAIGN-FUNDED SUPER BOWL, MIAMI TRIPS: ‘GO WHERE THE MONEY IS’

UNITED STATES – JUNE 27: Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Texas, talks with reporters in the Capitol after a meeting of House Democrats on Thursday, June 27, 2019. (Photo By Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call) (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call via Getty Images)
«The indictment alleges WCSO employees handled the company’s day-to-day operations from the sheriff’s office where they picked up schedules and equipment to conduct disinfecting services both on and off the clock with the county.»
Connections between Cuellar and his siblings are further strengthened by their closeness. In the past, Cuellar has used his campaign fundraising apparatus to bolster his family’s chances in their own official pursuits, records show.
According to FEC filings, Cuellar’s campaign and his leadership PAC have paid $11,000 to his sister Rosie Cuellar for doing work for the campaign in 2022 and then donated $1,200 to her bid to become a judge. He has similarly donated $8,400 to his brother, Martin Cuellar, and his campaign to become sheriff in 2008 and 2020.
To at least one onlooker, the family’s woes look interconnected.
«The latest legal trouble surrounding Henry Cuellar’s family proves one thing: the scandals didn’t end with Henry. They simply moved down the family tree,» Christian Martinez, the national Hispanic press secretary for the National Republican Congressional Committee, said in a statement.
«The Cuellar family’s culture of corruption has turned South Texas into a case study of what happens when one self-serving family holds power for too long,» he added.
SWALWELL PAL ACCUSED OF USING CAMPAIGN CASH TO BANKROLL ‘LUXURY LIFESTYLE’ — INCLUDING SUPER BOWL TICKETS

House Appropriations Homeland Security Subcommittee member Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Texas, questions U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin during a hearing on Jun. 25, 2026 in Washington, D.C. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
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Cuellar’s campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital.
Having cleared the Texas primary in March, Cuellar now heads to the general election on Nov. 3. Cuellar last won reelection in a 52.8% to 47.2% victory over Republican challenger Jay Furman in 2024.
corruption, house of representatives, politics, justice department
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Cumbre de la OTAN en Turquía: Donald Trump insiste con sus reclamos, pero Europa le pone un freno

La cumbre de dos días de la OTAN en Ankara fue otra puesta en escena del choque entre Europa y su primo hermano político Estados Unidos. Los puentes están rotos aunque los dirigentes europeos conserven la calma de cara al público y los documentos oficiales sean un dechado de buenas palabras.
Los europeos y Canadá rechazaron ayer en Ankara todas las exigencias de Trump y además consiguieron que el presidente estadounidense no lanzara la amenaza de sacar a su país de la Alianza Atlántica. El comunicado final habla de unidad y de una OTAN cada vez más fuerte.
Puertas adentro la película fue otra. Trump había lanzado el martes otro ataque contra Dinamarca, exigiendo de nuevo que Estados Unidos tome el control de la isla danesa de Groenlandia y asegurando (es falso) que la isla está rodeada de buques militares chinos y rusos. La primera ministra danesa Mette Frederiksen no pudo ser más clara: “Defenderemos cada centímetro de nuestro territorio”.
A primera hora del miércoles dijo que cortaba todas las relaciones comerciales con España por la negativa del Gobierno de Pedro Sánchez de gastar en defensa más del 2,0% del PBI cuando Estados Unidos exige que todos los miembros del club gasten al menos el 5,0%. También tuvo palabras duras y desprecios para países como Alemania, Italia o el Reino Unido.
Puertas adentro, sin micrófonos, fue otro Trump. Dos fuentes diplomáticas confesaron a Clarín que Trump se pasó todo su discurso en la reunión quejándose por la falta de apoyo de los demás países de la OTAN a su aventura bélica contra Irán. Trump les dijo que ya no está interesado en cambiar el régimen iraní y que los países europeos le habían dejado abandonado.
Las normas de la OTAN no contemplan de ninguna manera la obligación de los demás países a ayudar a uno de ellos cuando se aventura en guerras fuera del espacio noratlántico.
Los europeos han dicho ya en varias ocasiones que están dispuestos a ayudar a Estados Unidos en Irán, con una misión naval, si hay primero un alto el fuego y si la misión europea recibe el visto bueno de Washington, Teherán y Tel-Aviv. Repiten que no se van a dejar arrastrar a un conflicto bélico que creen innecesario.
Trump se dedicó también a criticar a Europa por su política migratoria (le parece demasiado blanda, debe ser porque en Europa todavía no se dispara a migrantes en las calles). Cuando los europeos quisieron cambiar de tema para hablar de Ucrania, mostró poco interés y volvió al asunto iraní.
Estados Unidos dejó de apoyar financieramente y con armas a Ucrania desde que Trump volvió a la Casa Blanca hace año y medio. Desde entonces todo el apoyo financiero es europeo y las armas son o directamente europeas o estadounidenses pero compradas por los gobiernos europeos para entregarlas a Kiev. Trump les dijo que seguirá vendiéndoles armas con ese fin, aunque la industria estadounidense tuvo que suspender entregas en los últimos meses porque la guerra en Irán está consumiendo los arsenales.
Las fuentes también aseguran que el tono de Trump en la interna fue mucho menos crítico y beligerante que en público. Y que no trató algunos asuntos que había tratado durante la mañana y el martes. No habló de Groenlandia y no habló de España (se sientan por el orden alfabético del nombre de sus países en inglés y ‘Spain’ está muy cerca de ‘United States’), a la que había amenazado pocas horas antes.
Y, sobre todo, en la interna Trump no habló de su exigencia de que todos los países de la organización lleguen al 5,0% de gasto en defensa en relación al PBI. La OTAN publicó la semana pasada los últimos datos actualizados, que dejan comparar cuánto sube el gasto militar en 2026 con respecto a 2025. Pocos de los primeros países del bloque están siguiente las indicaciones de Washington.
La media de aumento de todos los miembros de la OTAN en un año, sin contar a Estados Unidos, es del 10,98%. Pero ese porcentaje esconde grandes diferencias. El gasto alemán sube este año un 22,29%, el polaco un 13,39%, el británico un 11,37%, el francés un 9,07%, el canadiense un 5,95%, el español un 2,19% y el italiano un 1,01%. Alemania, Reino Unido, Francia, Italia y España están todavía por debajo del 3,0%.
El rechazo de los europeos y de Canadá a prácticamente todas las exigencias de Trump hacía temer que en la conferencia de prensa que cerraba la cumbre el mandatario estadounidense rompiera la vajilla. Al contrario, ante la sorpresa de varios diplomáticos, Trump habló de “tremenda unidad” y del éxito que había conseguido en Ankara.
Al presidente estadounidense siempre le queda el aplauso del secretario general de la OTAN, Mark Rutte. El ex primer ministro holandés aplaude y defiende a Trump haga lo que haga hasta límites que provocan sonrojo. Un periodista danés le preguntó en la conferencia de prensa si no tenía amor propio. Rutte se muestra impasible ante esas críticas.
Los europeos dan muestra de cansancio con Trump y de haberle perdido el miedo. El aumento del gasto en Defensa, que empezó en 2014 cuando Rusia atacó Crimea y se aceleró en 2022 con el ataque masivo sobre Ucrania, es anterior a la llegada de Trump a la Casa Blanca.
















