Utah Senate candidate Trent Staggs carries a "Utah For Trump flag" during a rally on June 14, 2024, in Orem, Utah. Rick Bowmer/AP Photo

Former President Donald Trump hates losers, but he backed one in the Utah Senate race this year. Despite a much-promoted endorsement from Trump, Riverton Mayor Trent Staggs lost the GOP primary to Rep. John Curtis by 20 points on Tuesday. The primary victory all but ensures that Curtis will be the state’s next US Senator in a state that hasn’t sent a Democrat to the Senate since 1970.

Staggs was the first Republican candidate to officially challenge Sen. Mitt Romney last year, months before the one-term senator announced his retirement. He assiduously worked right-wing media to call attention to his candidacy, and he sought out endorsements from a host of MAGA celebrities. As I explained in April:

He’s been endorsed by a string of national right-wing luminaries, including podcaster and former Trump Treasury official Monica Crowley,........

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