Thomas Smith had stopped campaigning before the District 8 primary election.
Posted by The Charlie Kirk Show, Checked
- Sources
- 7 support3 context
- Said
- 1 time·
- Confidence
- 95%
The Charlie Kirk ShowAug 5, 2026
Multiple independent outlets report that Thomas Smith suspended his campaign on July 16, 2026, before the August 4 Michigan 8th District Republican primary, and that he remained on the ballot. The claim matches the passage's description of a candidate who dropped out and stopped campaigning in the Flint-area district.
What was said
… That's going to appeal to people. Well, I want to ask a speculative question, Mark, which is, there was also, there weren't super competitive Republican races, so their turnout was lower, but they had a primary for District 8, that's ah, the Flint area, and there was a candidate who dropped out, had stopped campaigning, Thomas Smith, and he actually defeated pretty easily, like 17 points, here, Amir Hassan, who was the endorsed candidate by President Trump. …
The Charlie Kirk Show · · from the transcriptPost →What we found
Supports. CBS News reports Smith had suspended his campaign in mid-July, and CNN states he suspended it on July 16, before Election Day.[2][3]
Supports. NBC News and Michigan Public report that Smith suspended his campaign in mid-July, and Michigan Advance notes he suspended it on July 16 and endorsed Al Lemmo.[4][5][6]
Supports. Detroit-area and Midland outlets, including Free Press and the Midland opinion column, confirm the July 16 suspension, and the Free Press reports Smith's campaign was last active on Facebook on July 15.[7][8]
Context. Smith's name stayed on the ballot because the withdrawal deadline had passed, which is why he won the primary despite having stopped campaigning.[6][9]
Context. The PolitiFact and Full Fact pages in the sources show no specific fact-check of this claim, so the verdict rests on news reporting.[1][10]
Sources
10 sources: 1 fact-checker, 3 tier 2, 6 not rated
- 1Electionspolitifact.com · fact-checker · cited for: context
- 2Thomas Smith dropped his Michigan House bid last month, but ...cbsnews.com · tier 2 · cited for: supports
- 3Michigan GOP candidate deleted posts implying Trump ... - CNNcnn.com · tier 2 · cited for: supports
- 4Candidate who dropped out beats Trump's pick in a battleground ...nbcnews.com · tier 2 · cited for: supports
- 5Republican Congressional candidate wins 8th district primary even ...michiganpublic.org · not rated · cited for: supports
- 6GOP voters select candidate in 8th Congressional District who suspended his campaign last month • Michigan Advancemichiganadvance.com · not rated · cited for: supports, context
- 7Thomas Smith wins Michigan 8th District primary after dropping outfreep.com · not rated · cited for: supports
- 8DAVE CLARK: Republican Tom Smith discovers the winning power of quittingourmidland.com · not rated · cited for: supports
- 9Trump-Backed House Candidate Loses High-Stakes ...people.com · not rated · cited for: context
- 10Misinformation Toolkit – Full Factdev.fullfact.org · not rated · cited for: context
Where this claim was made
Said in 1 published post