2025/26/27/28 Primaries & General Elections

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Democrats see a path to the Senate through Alaska

Democrats believe former Alaska Rep. Mary Peltola could bring them one step closer to controlling the Senate in 2027. On Tuesday, Peltola advanced to November’s general election, where CNN’s Decision Desk projects she will face Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan. Peltola, a former congresswoman, has centered her campaign on protecting Alaska’s fisheries and seafood economy. She had considered running for governor but was urged by national Democrats to enter the Senate race as the party works to gain four seats and retake the chamber. Alaska last elected a Democrat to the Senate in 2008, but the state has long had an independent streak, leaving the door open for a competitive race.

+ Read more: Key takeaways from Tuesday’s primaries in Florida, Alaska and Wyoming

+ Video highlights: MAGA has mixed record in Trump’s home state + Democratic socialists see another victory

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Takeaways from Tuesday’s primaries Democratic voters elevated Angie Nixon, a progressive Senate candidate in Florida, while President Donald Trump’s chosen candidate in his adopted home state, Republican Rep. Byron Donalds, won the nomination as he vies to be the state’s first Black governor. Read more.

Why this matters: It was a mixed bag for incumbents in Florida, where Republican-led redistricting efforts scrambled congressional maps. Meanwhile, longtime U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz won a diverse, redistricted Florida seat. Voters in Alaska, Wyoming and California were also choosing their nominees.

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RELATED COVERAGE ➤ Full results Sen. Sullivan, former congresswoman Peltola will face off for Alaska US Senate seat in November Sen. Darline Graham in debate: ‘I’m not that informed on national security’ AP Interview: Ralph Norman questions Trump’s endorsement of Darline Graham in South Carolina runoff Fake polling from mysterious company highlights danger of unvetted election surveys Governors’ races are being increasingly buffeted by the toxic politics of data centers Senator presses Hegseth, Caine for commitment to keep US military out of the midterm elections

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Donalds, Jolly emerge from primaries   Donalds took 48% of the vote in a crowded primary that included nine other Republicans, Christine Sexton reports. Jolly easily defeated five opponents in the Democratic primary, earning 61% of the vote. Jolly is a former GOP U.S. House member and Trump dissident who switched to the Democratic Party last year and appeared on the path to his own competitive primary against Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings. But Demings dropped out of the race after being diagnosed with cancer. Related: Despite being outspent 10-to-1, Jolly likes his chances of becoming governor

Nixon advances to face Moody in U.S. Senate race with decisive win over Vindman   Her victory concluded a primary that had some wondering whether progressive Democrats’ wins around the nation would carry into Florida. Nixon, carrying endorsements of several of Florida’s progressive Democratic legislators, enjoyed a significantly smaller campaign account compared to competitor Alex Vindman. Nixon is best known for her in-your-face progressivism — for example, staging a sit-in in the governor’s office to protest his congressional gerrymander.

Wasserman Schultz, Moskowitz advance in their congressional primary races   In one of the most watched congressional primaries this year, longtime Florida Democratic Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz won in a Broward County-based seat held by a Black representative since the early 1990s. Meanwhile, two-term U.S. Rep. Jared Moskowitz crushed his Democratic Socialists of America-backed opponent, Oliver Larkin, 63%-37%. Republican Cory Mills, facing allegations of dating violence and campaign finance law violations, lost his primary in CD 7, in Seminole and Volusia counties. Democratic Florida House Minority Leader Fentrice Driskell held off fellow Democratic Rep. Michele Rayner in state Senate District 16 in the Tampa Bay area, 60%-40%.

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Arizona AG declines to charge Gov. Katie Hobbs over pay-to-play allegations

PHOENIX (AP) — State prosecutors declined to file criminal charges against Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs over allegations that she took part in a pay-to-play scheme with a group home company that received a rate increase from the state after contributing $100,000 to her inaugural celebration, Attorney General Kris Mayes announced Friday.

https://apnews.com/article/katie-hobbs-sunshine-pay-to-play-kris-mayes-6bb26a982bbdf2775da83484f175bf1f?

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The "everything's in play" election

Illustration: Brendan Lynch/Axios. Stock: Getty Images

Ten weeks (72 days) from Election Day, the Senate battlefield is sprawling — and stretching deep into Trump country. Why it matters: In a normal year, Republicans wouldn't think twice about Alaska, Kansas, Iowa, Mississippi, Nebraska or Texas. This isn't a normal year, Axios' Hans Nichols and Stef W. Kight report. Republicans expect all six states to revert to their MAGA mean. But the party isn't betting on it. Democrats have more openings to attack, leaving Republicans with more states to defend. 👂 Here's what we're hearing: Democrats are within striking distance in Iowa, Alaska and Texas. They're longer shots in Mississippi and Kansas. An independent candidate in Nebraska refuses to go away. Democrats' clearest path to 51 starts with holding Michigan and picking up North Carolina and Ohio. Maine is probably next on their list. Then they need just one more. Driving the news: On Thursday afternoon, the Texas and Iowa Senate races were moved to "toss-up" by Cook Political Report. They were "lean Republican." That makes six GOP seats rated toss-ups or lean Democratic. 👀 The bottom line: At the start of the cycle, Cook Political Report called Democrats' path to a Senate majority "herculean." Last week, Cook's Jessica Taylor declared the battle for the Senate a "toss-up, but one in which Republicans may still hold the slimmest of advantages — especially given Democrats' headache in Michigan." More on each close race.

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AP Decision Notes: What to expect in South Carolina’s special U.S. Senate primary runoff

South Carolina Republicans will return to the polls Tuesday for the fourth time since June to replace the late U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham on the fall general election ballot. Read More.   AP Decision Notes: What to expect in Georgia’s special congressional runoff Residents of Georgia’s 13th Congressional District outside of Atlanta will get a new representative to Congress after a special election runoff Tuesday to replace the late Democratic U.S. Rep. David Scott, who died April 22. Read More.   AP Decision Notes: What to expect in Oklahoma’s state primary runoff Oklahoma Republicans will return to the polls Tuesday to settle an expensive nomination fight for governor, while Democrats will pick a nominee for U.S. Senate. Voters will also decide two statewide ballot measures, including one that would add a voter identification requirement to the state constitution. Read More.   MAGA Inc. spends $827,000 to back Darline Graham on final day of South Carolina GOP Senate runoff The final day of South Carolina's Republican U.S. Senate runoff campaign on Monday came with a major cash infusion for Sen. Darline Graham from MAGA Inc., the super PAC that supports President Donald Trump and aligned Republicans but has spent little thus far on the president's midterm candidate picks. Read More.

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Two elections to watch

Georgia voters will cast their ballots today in a special election that will further narrow Republicans’ already slim majority in the House. Democrats Marcye Scott and Everton Blair are vying to serve out the term of Scott’s father, the late Rep. David Scott, who died in April. Separately, Republican voters in South Carolina will decide a closely watched Senate runoff between Sen. Darline Graham and Rep. Ralph Norman. Graham was appointed to fill the seat of her brother, Sen. Lindsey Graham, who died in July, and she has President Trump’s endorsement. The winner will face Democrat Annie Andrews in November.

+ Read more: Darline Graham’s race in South Carolina is a test of Trump’s chutzpah

+ Video: Trump to GOP: ‘Pretend, please, that I’m on the ballot’

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Darline Graham wins South Carolina GOP nomination to replace her late brother in US Senate

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — U.S. Sen. Darline Graham won the Republican nomination to replace her late brother on South Carolina’s general election ballot, notching another win for President Donald Trump after he threw his support behind the political novice.

https://apnews.com/article/south-carolina-election-lindsey-graham-03899983c3702842039e99d62e16ddad?

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As midterm elections approach, Republican candidates weigh how closely to align with Trump

“AIR FORCE VETERAN. SMALL BUSINESSMAN. TRUMP CONSERVATIVE.” Read More.