Voters cast primary ballots in six stage to determine who’ll be on November’s ballot

WASHINGTON (NBC, KYMA) - Voters cast primary ballots in six states Tuesday, setting the stage for November's critical midterm elections.

It was also a chance for President Donald Trump to demonstrate his influence, Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) losing his GOP primary after the president threw his weight behind Rep. Massie's opponent, and is now weighing in on a hotly-contested GOP Senate runoff in texas.

President Trump notched another victory in his scorecard of Republican foes ousted from Congress with his hand-picked challenger, Ed Gallrein, projected to topple seven-term Massie who defended the times he bucked his party.

"I want to thank President Trump for his support," Gallrein expressed.

"If the legislative branch always votes with the president, we do have a king," Massie remarked.

Clashes with Massie over the budget, the war with Iran and the Epstein files angered Trump.

"Thomas Massie is a terrible congressman," the president remarked.

The president now setting his sights on a Texas Republican Senate runoff, pitting longtime incumbent Sen. John Cornyn against Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton who just picked up Trump's endorsement.

"He thinks I'm the best candidate and that I will actually help him get some of these things done," Attorney General Paxton shared.

The president on Truth Social called Sen. Cornyn a good man he'd worked well with, but said, "He was not supportive of me when times were tough."

Cornyn responded to the Paxton endorsement saying, "I think that will certainly have an impact, but we're not, we're not giving up the fight."

The power of the president's backing on full display, even as his approval ratings are falling, with control of the House and Senate on the line.

In another race critical to the power battle, Rep. Mike Collins (R-Ga.) and former football coach Derek Dooley projected to be headed for a senate runoff to take on incumbent Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.) in a battleground state key to deciding the fate of the president's agenda in Congress.

Also in Georgia, former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms defeated a crowded Democratic field for governor, set to take on the winner of a republican runoff between Lt. Gov. Burt Jones and billionaire healthcare executive Rick Jackson.

While an increasingly swing state, Georgia hasn't elected a Democratic governor in nearly 30 years.