Primaries yield mixed results for Trump-backed candidates in Florida, Wyoming

Update:
Tuesday, Aug. 18, 11:30 p.m.:

Florida and Wyoming closed their polls for Tuesday's primaries with the West Coast states tagging just a few hours behind.

In the Sunshine State, candidates endorsed by President Donald Trump scored nominations for the Republican party. Among the winners was U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds with the GOP gubernatorial nomination, and Sen. Ashley Moody, who is looking to officially fill the seat vacated by Secretary of State Marco Rubio. The Republican-turned-independent-turned-Democrat, former Rep. David Jolly, secured the Democratic nomination for governor with over 750,000 votes, just around 50,000 less than Donalds.

Wyoming voters selected their nominees to replace retiring Sen. Cynthia Lummis. The Associated Press declared Trump-backed Rep. Harriet Hageman the Republican nominee for Senate with just 26% of the votes counted. Rep. James Byrd secured the Democratic Senate nomination, according to the Associated Press.

In the race to replace Wyoming Republican Gov. Mark Gordon, Trump-endorsed state Superintendent of Public Instruction Megan Degenfelder did not fare as well—losing the nomination to state Sen. Eric Barlow early into the count, according to the Associated Press. Kenneth R. Casner is the uncontested Democratic nominee for governor.

For more up-to-date primary results, click here.

Original story:

Three Republican-majority states will hold their primaries Tuesday for an array of U.S. House, Senate, and gubernatorial races—some of which the Democratic Party is paying especially close attention to. Also on Tuesday, the ideological battle within the Democratic Party will take another at-bat in the special election to replace U.S. Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., who resigned from Congress in April following sexual misconduct allegations.

Alaska
In Alaska, Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan is seeking a third term, but his seat has become a target for Democratic former Rep. Mary Peltola, whose campaign has reportedly raised $18.5 million, in comparison to Sullivan’s $11.7 million. Sixteen candidates total are running for Sullivan’s seat, but the only other candidate to report raising funds is another candidate named Dan Sullivan, an ex-teacher from an Alaskan island community of about 3,000 people. Sen. Sullivan will appear on the ballot with his middle initial and as an “Incumbent” and “Registered Republican” while the challenger Sullivan, a Republican, will be listed without party affiliation as “Daniel J. Sullivan Jr.”

Former Bristol Bay Borough School Superintendent Bill Hill, an independent, has emerged as the primary challenger for incumbent Rep. Nick Begich, in Alaska’s at-large congressional district.

Alaska voters will also select nominees to replace term-limited Gov. Mike Dunleavy out of a crowded field of 17.

Alaska’s primary is nonpartisan, meaning that the top four candidates who receive the most votes of any party for each race will advance to the general election where the winner will be decided through ranked-choice voting.

Wyoming
For the first time in 32 years, Wyoming will look to fill open seats for governor, U.S. Senate, and U.S. House at the same time.

Four GOP candidates, including Trump-endorsed state Superintendent of Public Instruction Megan Degenfelder, will race for the nomination to replace outgoing ​​Republican Gov. Mark Gordon. The Republican nominee will challenge uncontested Democratic candidate Kenneth Casner.

For the Senate race, Trump-endorsed Rep. Harriet Hageman has raised nearly 10 times her closest competitor for the Republican nomination to replace retiring GOP Sen. Cynthia Lummis, Wyoming’s first female senator. Democratic state Rep. James Byrd is the front-runner in his party’s two-person primary field.

With Hageman running for Senate, nine Republican candidates and two Democrats are vying for the nomination to fill her at-large House seat. Trump has not made any endorsements for the primary.

Florida
In the Sunshine State, Gov. Ron DeSantis has hit the two-term limit and a crowded field of 11 Republicans and six Democrats are vying for the nomination to replace him. President Donald Trump–endorsed GOP Rep. Byron Donalds is the likely Republican pick, with former Republican Rep. David Jolly, who has since switched parties, taking the fundraising lead for the Democratic nomination.

Republican U.S. Sen. Ashley Moody, the former state attorney general appointed to complete Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s unexpired U.S. Senate term, faces minimal opposition for the GOP nomination. Rep. Angie Nixon and retired Army Lt. Col. Alex Vindman are the top candidates for the Democratic Senate nomination.

Florida’s House races will give the state’s Republican-favoring redistricted map its first go. In the four former districts currently or most recently represented by Democrats, incumbents will vie for nomination in their new Republican-friendly districts.

What about California’s special election? California’s 14th Congressional District has been without a representative since Democratic Rep. Swalwell resigned amid allegations of sexual misconduct. Now, a party establishment candidate and a progressive Democratic state senator will vie for his vacant seat. State Sen. Aisha Wahab, widely viewed as a progressive Democrat, is challenging Bay Area Rapid Transit board member Melissa Hernandez, a moderate Democrat. Hernandez, who has been polling below Wahab, has a better chance in the race after receiving support from Super PACs with ties to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee.

Dig deeper: Read Liz Lykins’ report on Rep. Swalwell’s decision to drop out.