The executive committee of the Mississippi Republican Party voted to make its primary be winner-take all for the first time and McPhail stated the change was not in response to Duke's campaign. Secretary of the Commonwealth Michael J. Connolly and Leon Lombardi, the chair of the Massachusetts Republican Party, attempted to prevent Duke from appearing on the ballot in Massachusetts, but Connolly allowed him to appear on the ballot after a lawsuit was threatened. The list of candidates to appear on the primary ballot submitted by the Republican Party of Florida excluded Duke and every Republican member of the Florida Senate signed a petition criticizing Duke's "divisive positions".
