GOP Candidate Wins MI-8 Primary Despite Dropping Out Of The Race

(Source: MIRS.news, Published 08/04/2026) Thomas Smith, a Flint Republican who ended his 8th Congressional District campaign and endorsed another candidate, nevertheless won the primary overwhelmingly Tuesday, taking 50.3% of the vote in a three-way contest.

Smith, who helps his son sell a salsa he developed while serving in the military, wrote July 20 that he wanted Republicans to unite behind Al Lemmo “to ensure we defeat” Amir Haneef Hassan, who Smith described as a “possible Trojan horse candidate and lifelong Democrat.” The message came after ballots were printed, however, so Smith stayed on the ballots.

President Donald Trump endorsed Hassan earlier in the campaign.

District voters had other ideas. Smith won every county in the district — Bay, Genesee, Midland, Saginaw and Tuscola — and received a combined 31,152 votes. Republicans nationally had backed Hassan, who had provided security for presidential Cabinet secretaries.

The thinking was that Hassan, an alumnus of Flint’s Northwestern Edison High School, could attract urban voters. Instead, he turned off Republican voters, opening the door for Smith.

Lemmo, who lives outside the district in Dearborn, mocked the press in a July 16 media release. He wrote on Facebook, “Here is a copy of the release we sent to every member of the ‘press’ that we could find in the region. I bet you can’t find it printed anywhere. Why? Because we no longer have a free press in this country. I’ll do my best to keep you informed as the campaign moves forward.”

Lemmo had yet to respond to the results. He finished third with 16.3% of the vote, behind Hassan’s 33%.