Well, that was one heckuva primary night. In Wisconsin, the Democratic establishment coalesced to block Francesca Hong, the far-left socialist state legislator, from winning the nomination for governor. In Minnesota, Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan crushed Rep. Angie Craig by double digits. But while most election watchers focused on the Democratic side, the Republican side of the aisle showed the latest indicator of an ongoing trend: President Donald Trump’s endorsement is no longer a rubber stamp in primaries.On Tuesday evening, South Carolina held its primary to replace the late Lindsey Graham as the Republican nominee for Senate. Trump had initially called for Gov. Henry McMaster to tap Graham’s sister, Darline Graham, to replace him for the remainder of her brother’s term — before he endorsed her to run for a full term. In previous years, a Trump endorsement would clear a Republican field. That proved not to be the case this time. Rep. Ralph Norman (R-S.C.), a member of the hardline House Freedom Caucus, jumped in the race. He quickly earned endorsements from Turning Point USA and Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.), who ran against Norman in the primary for governor. Mace had a simple explanation why she endorsed Norman: “I don't believe in nepotism.” President Donald Trump’s endorsement of ‘My Pillow’ businessman Mike Lindell failed to earn him the nomination for governor of Minnesota. (AFP via Getty Images)Come primary night, it looks like many Palmetto State voters don’t either. Graham placed first in the primary, winning about a third of the vote, meaning she will go into a runoff. But that potentially means about two-thirds of South Carolina Republican voters opposed her. Norman won a little less than a quarter of the vote to notch second place. But Rep. Russell Fry won 19.6 percent of the vote and even Mark Sanford, the infamous disgraced former governor — who went missing in 2009 to meet with his mistress in Argentina — won about 15 percent of the vote.This is the second time this year Trump threw a meatball in South Carolina. During the primary for governor, he endorsed Norman and Mace to back Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette. She too would make it to the runoff, but to save face, Trump would double-endorse her and Attorney General Alan Wilson, who received the backing of many local Republican officials. Wilson would ultimately win. It was not the only place where Trump whiffed. In Minnesota, Trump went all-in supporting My Pillow CEO Mike Lindell, one of Trump’s most vociferous backers who regularly repeats Trump’s lies about the 2020 presidential election being stolen. But Minnesota Republicans criticized Trump for intervening in the primary process last month.“When the going got tough under Tim Walz, Mike Lindell left Minnesota for Texas,” Alex Plechash, the Minnesota GOP chairman, said at the time. “Now he wants Minnesota Republicans to overlook his serious financial baggage, public records showing tens of thousands of dollars in delinquent property taxes, significant electability concerns, and unanswered questions surrounding his running mate.” President Donald Trump endorsed Sen. Darline Graham (R-SC), and she cleared a primary runoff. But a majority of Republicans voted against her. (AP)That is about as stinging of a rebuke against the sitting president of one’s own party as any state leader could issue. And Lindell would lose on Tuesday by double digits to Minnesota state house Speaker Lisa Demuth. Minnesota is a Democratic-leaning state and Sen. Amy Klobuchar is likely to win in November. But a state party repudiating the incumbent president is a surprise nonetheless. And Trump’s flops were not contained to this week. Last week, Rep. Andy Ogles, the Trump-backed right-winger, lost his primary to a mainstream Republican. In a Congress full of xenophobes who make inflammatory statements, Ogles stands out. During Pride Month, he said “homosexuality has no place in America,” then blamed a staffer. He called for the deportation of New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and said “Muslims don't belong in American society.” But Ogles would fall to a more mainstream Republican in Charlie Hatcher. Part of this came as a result of Tennessee redrawing its new congressional map. Ogles’ losing shows that simply parading a Trump endorsement cannot be the only chit for a Republican. None of this is to say Trump is irrelevant. He is still the president and the leader of the Republican Party. But it’s a sign that Trump can’t negate skepticism of a candidate who is either too much of a liability or if they are seen as insufficiently devoted to the MAGA agenda. And as Trump prepares for the final stage of his time in the White House, his endorsement will take on a different connotation.