Donald Trump suffered an embarrassing defeat in Michigan on Tuesday night as his preferred candidate in a competitive House race lost to his opponent, who had stopped campaigning a month ago.

Amir Hassan, whom Trump endorsed this week on Truth Social, lost in the Republican primary for Michigan’s 8th Congressional District to Thomas J. Smith, who suspended his campaign and endorsed another candidate last month. It is unclear why he ended his campaign.

With 99 percent of the votes in, The Associated Press projects that Smith won the primary with 50.4 percent of the vote, compared with Hassan’s 33.2 percent.

Although Smith dropped out of the race, ballots had already been printed, so he remained an option for voters. He endorsed his rival, Republican Al Lemmo, who received 16.4% of the vote in the primary.

Smith is set to face incumbent Democratic Rep. Kristen McDonald Rivet in November. Michigan’s 8th District is viewed as a competitive House battleground. Trump won the district in the 2024 election, but McDonald Rivet took the House seat.

In a statement on Wednesday, Smith said he was “humbled and honored that Republicans have chosen me to take the fight to Kristen McDonald Rivet.”

“I look forward to working with Speaker Johnson and the entire Republican team to expand our House majority and advance President Trump’s America First agenda to lower costs for working families and make America affordable again,” Smith said.