Thomas Smith dropped his Michigan House bid last month, but won the GOP primary anyway, beating Trump-backed opponent

Thomas Smith won Michigan's 8th District GOP primary with just over 50% of the vote Tuesday, CBS News projected — even though he had suspended his campaign in mid-July.

Perhaps even more surprisingly: Smith defeated Amir Hassan, who had received President Trump's endorsement.

Trump even appeared at a campaign rally with Hassan and other Republican candidates in Milford, Michigan, a few days ago.

Smith, who says on his campaign website that he's a salsa entrepreneur and retired General Motors engineer, struggled with fundraising.

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