Minnesota Report
Sounds like a sequel to 1990, where Jon Grundseth (R-MN) won the Republican Party Primary, but withdrew after he was known to have been swimming naked in the pool in Minnetonka with his teenage daughter and her friends. He subsequently withdrew, and this resulted in Arne Carlson (R-MN) being elevated to challenge incumbent Governor Rudy Perpich (DFL-MN) and winning.
Now, the Perpich campaign was lambasted by the Grundseth campaign, which at the time included members of the Eagan Mafia, future Governor Tim Pawlenty, and State Auditor Pat (Anderson) Awada. But the real skullduggery was that it was actually a black ops operation from Sven Carlson, who was a CIA operative or a spook.
This means if Donald J Trump-endorsed candidate Mike “MyPillow Guy” Lindell (R-MN) remains on the ballot until after August 11th, and wins, the 2nd place person would likely be elevated, and the Republican Party has complete and total discretion to select their nominee.