Primary day in Arkansas, Georgia, and Kentucky

Voters in Arkansas, Georgia, and Kentucky head to the polls Tuesday to have their say in hotly contested primary elections, while voters in Texas cast ballots in several important runoff races. In Georgia, five Republicans are vying to replace GOP Gov. Nathan Deal, who cannot run again due to term limits. Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle is expected to win the most votes, but the four other contenders hope to keep him from securing a majority, forcing a runoff. Republicans have held the governor’s mansion for two decades, and that doesn’t appear likely to change this year, but the two Democrats vying for their party’s gubernatorial nomination, both women, represent the divergent approach Democrats took after the 2016 presidential election. Stacey Abrams, who could become the first African-American governor elected in the nation, has adopted an unabashed liberal message in an attempt to win younger, more progressive voters, while Stacey Evans peddles a more moderate message, hoping to woo voters away from the Repbulican Party in this conservative state. In a closely watched congressional race, four first-time Democratic candidates are vying to challenge Republican Rep. Karen Handel, who survived the most expensive House race of all time in last year’s special election. Republicans have controlled the district since 1978, but Handel only won by 53 percent. In Texas, Sen. Ted Cruz hopes to see his former chief of staff win a GOP runoff in what was the most contested race in the state. Eighteen Republicans initially filed bids for the House seat left vacant by Rep. Lamar Smith’s retirement. Smith has held the 21st District since 1987, and analysts don’t consider it one of the seats likely to fall into Democrats’ hands in November. The most closely watched House runoff races in Texas involve three districts where Hillary Clinton bested Donald Trump in 2016. Democrats hope the winners of those three runoffs will be able to flip the seats in November, helping to secure a U.S. House majority. In Arkansas, Republican Gov. Asa Hutchinson faces conservative challenger Jan Morgan, a gun range owner who drew national attention in 2014 by declaring her business a “Muslim-free zone.” During the campaign, Morgan touted her outsider status and blasted Hutchinson as a member of the “big-government, tax-and-spend” establishment.