OMAHA, Neb. —

Jim Pillen, a hog farm owner and veterinarian, won Nebraska’s crowded Republican primary for governor on Tuesday over a candidate endorsed by Donald Trump, dealing the former president his first loss of the midterm election season.

Pillen defeated eight challengers, including Charles Herbster, a Trump-backed businessman accused late in the campaign of groping young women, and Brett Lindstrom, a state senator and Omaha financial adviser who was generally viewed as a more moderate choice.

The results were a setback for Trump after a decisive win in last week’s Ohio Republican Senate primary for his candidate, JD Vance. The former president has released hundreds of endorsements in races across the country, all in an effort to reshape the GOP and lift his loyalists into office. Herbster’s loss raises the stakes on other high-profile races this month in Pennsylvania and Georgia, where Trump has also intervened in campaigns.

Pillen will be a strong favorite in November’s general election against his Democratic opponent, state Sen. Carol Blood, in the Republican-majority state. Nebraska hasn’t elected a Democrat as governor since 1994.

Pillen was endorsed by many top GOP leaders in the state, including Gov. Pete Ricketts, former Gov. Kay Orr, and renowned former University of Nebraska football coach and congressman Tom Osborne. Ricketts, the incumbent, was prevented by term limit laws from running again.

In Nebraska, the allegations against Herbster, a longtime supporter of Trump’s, didn’t stop the former president from holding a rally with him earlier this month.

“I really think he’s going to do just a fantastic job, and if I didn’t feel that, I wouldn’t be here,” Trump said at the rally at a racetrack outside Omaha.

In a story last month, the Nebraska Examiner interviewed six women who claimed Herbster had groped their buttocks, outside of their clothes, during political events or beauty pageants. A seventh woman said Herbster once cornered her privately and kissed her forcibly.

One of the accusers, Republican state Sen. Julie Slama, said Herbster reached up her skirt and touched her inappropriately at the Douglas County Republican Party’s annual Elephant Remembers dinner in 2019. The Associated Press does not typically identify people who say they are victims of sexual assault unless they choose to come forward publicly, as Slama has done.

Herbster filed a defamation lawsuit against Slama, saying she falsely accused him in an effort to derail his campaign. Slama responded with a countersuit against Herbster, alleging sexual battery.

Herbster has suggested in television ads that Pillen and Ricketts conspired with Slama to falsely accuse him of sexual assault — allegations the three deny.

Some voters said the allegations didn’t dissuade them from backing Herbster.

As she voted at an elementary school in northwest Omaha on Tuesday, Joann Kotan said she was “upset by the stories, but I don’t know if I believe them.” Ultimately, the 74-year-old said she voted for Herbster “because President Trump recommended him.”

Lindstrom has faced a barrage of attacks as well, with third-party television ads funded by Ricketts that portray him as too liberal for the conservative state. One digitally altered ad shows Lindstrom standing in front of a rainbow flag with a coronavirus mask superimposed over his face. A mail ad notes that Lindstrom was endorsed by U.S. Rep. Brad Ashford, a moderate Republican-turned-Democrat who died last month of brain cancer.

But Devon Leesley said he backed the 41-year-old Lindstrom because “it’s time to hand over the politics to the next generation.” Pillen and Herbster are both in their 60s.

The 45-year-old Leesley, who lives in Omaha, said he didn’t pay much attention to the various endorsements in the race.

“I don’t trust any politician talking about any other politician. It’s all dirt,” he said. “We would never vote for anybody if we listened to their opponent.”

Carol Bruning, 59, of Omaha, said she went into Election Day debating between Pillen and Lindstrom, but went with Pillen because of his age and experience. She said she liked that Ricketts and former football coach and congressman Tom Osborne endorsed Pillen. The fact that Trump endorsed Herbster may have even been a little bit of a turn off at this point even though Bruning said she voted for Trump.

The allegations against Herbster weren’t much of a factor.

“You don’t know what to believe. That’s the hard part,” Bruning said.

Nebraska Secretary of State Bob Evnen, a Republican, predicted that 35% of registered voters will cast ballots in the primary, the highest percentage since 2006, based on what he’s seen so far.

Nebraska Republicans and Democrats also picked their candidates for the seat previously held by Republican U.S. Rep. Jeff Fortenberry, who resigned from office and ended his reelection bid in March after he was convicted of federal corruption charges.

State Sen. Mike Flood, a former speaker of the Nebraska Legislature, won the Republican nomination, while state Sen. Patty Pansing Brooks won the Democratic nod. Flood will enter the race as a strong favorite in the Republican-heavy 1st Congressional District, which includes Lincoln, small towns and a large swath of eastern Nebraska farmland.

Despite Trump’s loss in the Nebraska governor’s race, his influence proved decisive in West Virginia, which also held primary elections Tuesday. In a race pitting two Republican incumbents against each other, Trump’s candidate, Rep. Alex Mooney, defeated Rep. David McKinley, who had angered Trump by voting for President Joe Biden’s bipartisan infrastructure package and the creation of the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.

Due to their fossil fuel policies, West Virginia State Treasurer Riley Moore said his office will prohibit the state from conducting new business with five financial institutions.

Moore listed BlackRock Inc., Goldman Sachs Group Inc., JPMorgan Chase & Co., Morgan Stanley and Wells Fargo & Co. as companies prohibited from signing new contracts with the state.

“As Treasurer, I have a duty to act in the best interests of the State’s Treasury and our people when choosing financial services for West Virginia,” Moore said. “Any institution with policies aimed at weakening our energy industries, tax base and job market has a clear conflict of interest in handling taxpayer dollars.”

Several companies listed have publicly said they are limiting their backing of coal clients.

“JPMorgan Chase will not provide lending, capital markets or advisory services to clients deriving the majority of their revenues from the extraction of coal,” JPMorgan Chase said in October 2021. “By the end of 2024, we will also phase out our remaining credit exposure to such clients.”

Coal jobs have seen a dramatic decrease in recent years. In 1985, the federal government estimated there were over 175,000 coal-related jobs in the US. By June 2022, that figure dropped to below 40,000.

Federal data shows the number of coal jobs in West Virginia declined by over 50% in the last decade. In 2011, there were 23,000 workers employed in the coal industry in West Virginia, making up 3% of the state’s workforce.

The coal industry now employs just over 1% of the state's workforce.

The US has largely moved from coal to natural gas and other power-generating methods. Until 2003, more than half of the United States’ electricity was generated by coal, according to federal data.

Moore’s announcement comes as the state’s Democratic Senator, Joe Manchin, said he would back some Biden administration proposals to invest in green energy, which could further reduce US dependence on coal.

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♪ SOLEDAD: I’M SOLEDAD’O'BRIEN. WELCOME TO "MATTER OF FA."CT THE COVID VARIANT OMICROISN TRIGGERING FEAR AND RAISING CONCERNS ABOUT HOW IT SPREADS AND WHETHER VACCINES AND TREATMENTS WILL BE EFFECVETI AGAINST IT. WHEN COVID-19 VACCINESIRST F ROLLED OUT, WEST VIRGINIA LED THE WAY WITH ITS SPEEDY DISTRIBUTION. ABOUT 95% OF WEST VIRGINIANS 65 AND OLDER HAVE RECEIVED AT LSTEA ONE DOSE. BUT NOW, RATES AMONG YOUERNG GROUPS DRAMATICALLY TRAIL THE REST OF THE COUNTRY. ONLY FOUR OUT OF 10 ADULTS AGED 18 TO 64 ARE FULLY VACCINATED. SO, HOW DID WEST VIRGINIA GO FROM BEING NUMBER ONE TO NEAR THE BOTTOM OF THE PA?CK OUR CORRESPONDENT JULIA NSU TRAVELED ACROSS WEST VIRGINITOA LEARN MORE. JULIA: THE AIR IS CRISP ON THIS MID-NOVEMBER D IAYN THE MOUNTAIN STATE. FALL HAS TAKEN UP RESIDENCE HERE WITH IT, A KIND OF PANDEMIC FATIGUE I DISCOVER ABOUT 20 MILES NORTHWEST OF CHARLESNTO WHEN I STOP TO TALK WITH SEVERAL PEOPLE WAITING FOR THEIR RAPID TEST RESULTS IN A PARKING LOT. CAN I ASK IF YOU’VE BEEN VACCINATED? >> WE HAVE NOT BEEN VACCINED.AT JULIA: YOU HAVE NOT BEEN VACCINATED. WHAT’S THE ONE REASON YOU’RE NOT VACCINAT?ED LIKE, WHAT CONCERNS U?YO I’M CONCERNED THAT THE VACNECI WAS NOT WORKED ON LONG ENOUGH. JULIA: CONCERNS THAT THE VACNECI HASN’T BEEN WORKED ON LONG ENOUGH AND MIGHT NOT BE SA IFES A COMMON REFRAIN HERE. WEST VIRGINIA’S COVID CZAR DR. CLAY MARSH HAS HEARD IT L.AL DR. MARSH: FOR THE PEOPLE ATTH ARE WORRIED ABOUT THE SPEED OF THE MESSENR GERNA VACCINES, THESE ARE AMONG THE SAFEST AND BY FAR THE MOST EFFECTIVE VACCINES THAT HAVE EVER BEEN PRODUCED. JULIA: ABOUT 10 MONTHS AGO, MARSH’S HOME STATE WAS LEADING THE NATION IN GETTING SHOTINS ARMS, DRIVEN BY THE URGENCTOY PROTECT THE STATE’S AGING POPULATI.ON WITH ONE IN FIVE RESIDENTS OVER 64, MARSH GAVE ALL PHARMACIES , BIG AND SMALL, THE GREENLIGHT TO GIVE SHOTASS SOON THEAS VACCINES WERE AVAILABLE. LYNNE FRUTH: I KWNO THAT IT IS MAKING A DIFFERENCE IN THIS COMMUNITY. JULIA: PHARMACY OWNER LYNNE FRUTH SAYS THAT DREOV VACCINATION RATES UP AT FIRST. LY NNE FRUTH: I LIKE TO SAY WE’RE FIRST TO WORST AS FAR AS THE VACCINE. THE STATE DID A PHENOMENAL JOB ROLLING OUT THE INITIAL VACCINE. JULIA: WHICH MONTH DID YOU SEE A VISIBLE DOWNTICK? LYNNE FRUTH: IN MAY, IT JUST DROPPED OFF A CLF.IF JULIA: THE RUSH ENDED WHEN EVERY WILLING TAKER HAD ENBE VACCINATED. NOW, THE FOCUS IS ON THE BOOSTER SHOTS. >> YOU JUST GOT YOUR BOOSTER, HOW DO YOU FEEL? FRANK BAIRD: OH, I FEEL FINE. LIKE I SAID, I’VE LIVED THROUGH TWO YEARS OF THIS, AND IT AIN’T GOING TO KILL YMEET. JULIA: FOR FRANK BAIRD AND HIS WIFE, WHO HAVE BEEN MARRIED FOR 59 YEARS, THE TRIP TO THE PHARMACY FOR A SHOT IS JUST ETH SMART THING TO DO. FRANK BAIRD: EVERYBODY IN OUR FAMILY HAS BEEN INOCULAT.ED JULIA: BUT THE BAIRD FAMY ISIL THE EXCEPTION, NOT THE RULE. ACROSS WEST VIRGINIA, ONLY 41% OF RESIDENTS ARE FLYUL VACCINEDAT JIM HOYER HEADS UP WEST VIRGINIA’S PANDEMIC RESNSEPO TASK FOR.CE HIS HIGHEST PRIORITIES, TO SUPPORT HOSPITALS WITH HIGH PATIENT LOADS, DISTRIBUTE BOOSTER SHOTS TO COMMUNITIES, AND TO COMBAT THE MISINFORTIMA ONLINE, THAT HE SAYS HAS FUELED VACCINSKE EPTICISM, ALONG WITH RESIDENTS’ NEARLY INGRAINED APPREHENSION OF AUTHITOR JIM HOYER: WITH THIS NATURAL NDTEENCY TO HAVE HESITANCY AND TRUSTING THE GOVERNMENT THAT WE IN THE APPALACHIAN REGIOHAN HAD SINCE -- I GO BACK TO THE MINE WARS. JULIA: IN TIGHTLY-ITKN COMMUNITIES, FACE-TO-FACE CONVERSATIONS SEEM THE MOST EFFECTIVE. LYNNE FRUTH: AN ELDERLY LADY CAME THROUGH A COUPLE OF WEEKS AGO, TESTED POSITIVE. I NOTICED THAT SHE WAS UNVACCINATED, AND I WALKEDUT O TO HER CAR. IT WAS SOMEBODY THAT I HAD MET IN THE COMMUNITY, AND I JUST SAID, I’M SO WORRIED ABOUT YOU. JULIA: WHAT DO YOU SAY TO PEOPLE WHO THINK, OH, YOU’RE JUST SOMEBODY ON THE INTERN?ET LYNNE FRUTH: WELL, I’M FROM HERE. WE AT FRUTH PHARMACY HAVE GIVEN 30,000 TO 40,000 SHOTS, AND WE’VE NOT HAD ANY SIOUSER ADVERSE REACONS.TI JULIA: PHARMACT ISDREW MASSEY HAS GIVEN 25,000 SHOTS IN E WESTERN REGION OF THE STATE. HE REGULARLY GOES TO TESTING SITES AND SCHOOLS TO SPEAKO T THE UNVACCINATED, ESPECIALLY THE YOUNGER ON.ES DREW MASSEY: YOU KNOW, THEY FEEL LIKE THEY’RE BULLETPROOF. D ANSOMETIMES IT TAKES SOMEONE CLOSE TO YOU BEING DRASTICALLY AFFECTED OR BEING HOSPITALIZED BEFORE IT REALLY BRINGS IT HE.OM DR. MARSH: IT’S BEEN SAID THAT A SINGLE DEATH IS A STORY AND A MILLION DEATHS ARE A STATIST.IC COVID IS MADE TO INFECPEONT AFTER PERSON, AND IT'S’NOT UP TO US TO EXPECT COVID TO GET LESS FIT, B IUTT’S UP TO US TO GET MORE FIT, TO BE ABLE TO BECOME FIREWALLS. JULIA: AN UPHILL CLIMB IN THE MOUNTAIN STATE, WHERE CASES ARE RISING, AND WHERE MIXED ATTITUDES THREENAT PROGRESS AGAINST THE PANDEMIC. FOR "MATTER OF FACT,

Related video above: How West Virginia went from first to the worst in vaccination ratesWest Virginia Gov. Jim Justice said he was feeling better on Thursday, two days after a COVID-19 diagnosis, according to a statement from the governor's office."Thankfully, I am feeling much better today," Justice said. "I desperately want to get out of this house and back to serving our state. I am not one to lay around."The governor continues to experience mild symptoms and his monoclonal antibody treatment was received well, the statement said."Without question, the fact that I chose to get vaccinated and boosted saved my life, that's all there is to it. So, now more than ever, I strongly encourage all West Virginians to protect themselves and their families by getting vaccinated," Justice added.The 70-year-old woke Tuesday morning with congestion and a cough, eventually developing a headache and fever, according to a statement Tuesday. By late afternoon, his blood pressure and heart rate were elevated and he had a high fever.Results from a rapid test in the morning came back negative but a PCR test came back positive, said Justice, who was forced to postpone a State of the State address to the West Virginia legislature.Justice described feeling "extremely unwell" on Tuesday, and chief of staff Brian Abraham told the West Virginia Gazette Mail in an interview Wednesday that his symptoms were apparent.Justice, a Republican re-elected in 2020, has been a fervent advocate for vaccinations and booster doses throughout the pandemic, often using direct language when speaking to constituents about the benefits of inoculation."If you're out there in West Virginia, and you're not vaccinated today, what's the downside?" Justice said in July. "If all of us were vaccinated, do you not believe that less people would die? If you're not vaccinated, you're part of the problem rather than part of the solution."

Related video above: How West Virginia went from first to the worst in vaccination rates

West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice said he was feeling better on Thursday, two days after a COVID-19 diagnosis, according to a statement from the governor's office.

"Thankfully, I am feeling much better today," Justice said. "I desperately want to get out of this house and back to serving our state. I am not one to lay around."

The governor continues to experience mild symptoms and his monoclonal antibody treatment was received well, the statement said.

"Without question, the fact that I chose to get vaccinated and boosted saved my life, that's all there is to it. So, now more than ever, I strongly encourage all West Virginians to protect themselves and their families by getting vaccinated," Justice added.

The 70-year-old woke Tuesday morning with congestion and a cough, eventually developing a headache and fever, according to a statement Tuesday. By late afternoon, his blood pressure and heart rate were elevated and he had a high fever.

Results from a rapid test in the morning came back negative but a PCR test came back positive, said Justice, who was forced to postpone a State of the State address to the West Virginia legislature.

Justice described feeling "extremely unwell" on Tuesday, and chief of staff Brian Abraham told the West Virginia Gazette Mail in an interview Wednesday that his symptoms were apparent.

Justice, a Republican re-elected in 2020, has been a fervent advocate for vaccinations and booster doses throughout the pandemic, often using direct language when speaking to constituents about the benefits of inoculation.

"If you're out there in West Virginia, and you're not vaccinated today, what's the downside?" Justice said in July. "If all of us were vaccinated, do you not believe that less people would die? If you're not vaccinated, you're part of the problem rather than part of the solution."