OnPolitics: Trump-backed candidates see mixed results in primaries

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Primary elections in several states Tuesday resulted in a big incumbent defeat, a controversial win and a race with results still pending.

After a rash of ethics complaints, shocking statements and embarrassing videos, Rep. Madison Cawthorn, R-N.C., lost his primary race to state Sen. Chuck Edwards. A critic of Cawthorn's rhetoric after the Jan. 6, 2021 insurrection at the Capitol, Edwards had the backing of several prominent Republicans who disliked the North Carolina congressman.

Doug Mastriano, who backed former President Donald Trump in protesting the results of the 2020 presidential election, won the Republican nomination for governor of Pennsylvania. Yet Republicans within the state and nationwide caution that Mastriano is too extreme to defeat Democratic nominee Josh Shapiro.

Former surgeon and TV host Dr. Mehmet Oz received Trump's backing in his primary race for a U.S. Senate seat in Pennsylvania. Oz took a slight lead over former hedge fund CEO David McCormick Tuesday, but the primary seems headed for a recount. Oz led McCormick by 31.3% to 31.1%, and mail-in ballots have yet to be counted.

Establishment-backed Morgan McGarvey – the top Democrat in the Kentucky Senate – defeated state Rep. Attica Scott, a former Louisville council member for Kentucky’s only Democrat-held U.S. House seat. And LGBTQ activist and ordained minister Jasmine Beach-Ferrara beat five other candidates for the Democratic House primary for North Carolina's 11th Congressional District. She will run against Edwards for the seat in November.

Booker's historic nomination in Kentucky: Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., and Democratic former state Rep. Charles Booker handily won their primary races Tuesday. Booker made history as the first Black person nominated by the Democratic party for any statewide office in Kentucky.

It's Amy and Chelsey with today's top stories out of Washington.

Trump-backed candidates see mixed results

Candidates openly supportive of Trump achieved some wins Tuesday, but an endorsement from the former president was far from a sure thing for some of his most ardent backers.

Mastriano, the Republican hopeful who was spotted near the U.S. Capitol during the pro-Trump insurrection of Jan. 6, 2021 – though he said he never entered the building – won despite advocating for the "Big Lie" parroted by Trump and his allies that President Joe Biden did not win the 2020 presidential election.

Another Trump backer, Republican Rep. Ted Budd, won North Carolina’s Senate primary Tuesday almost a year after securing the former president's endorsement.

But while Trump urged support for Cawthorn in recent days, saying he made "foolish mistakes" but that voters should "give Madison a second chance!" the 26-year-old once considered a rising star in the GOP lost to Edwards.

Trump's pick, Lt. Gov. Janice McGeachin, also lost to Idaho Gov. Brad Little in the state's GOP gubernatorial primary. Little is predicted to win in the fall.

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How the Secret Service under Biden compares to Trump

The Secret Service is providing protective details to 33 members of President Joe Biden’s administration and family, a marked drop from the record number shadowed during the Trump administration, according to agency records.

Under Donald Trump, 42 people, including 18 family members, were assigned protection, requiring agents to shuttle among the former president's various properties and accompany the family's adult children on frequent foreign and domestic travel.

The unyielding pace regularly caused hundreds of agents to reach annual pay caps, prompting Congress to temporarily raise maximum compensation levels by more than $25,000 per year to help cover shortfalls.

During the Biden administration, officials said, the tempo of operations has relented somewhat with fewer protectees to cover while COVID-19 restrictions have limited some early travel. The 33 protected during the Biden administration is closer to the 31 covered under President Barack Obama.

An agency under fire: The Secret Service was thrust into the spotlight yet again last month when 4 members were duped by 2 men accused of posing as federal officers offering thousands of dollars in free housing and gifts.

The agency has struggled to meet recommendations to enhance training following a string of security breaches and episodes of agent misconduct in recent years.

An equal playing field: U.S. Soccer and its women’s and men’s national teams announced landmark new contracts Wednesday that will pay the squads equally. -- Amy and Chelsey

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Mixed primary election results for candidates backed by Trump