Voters head to the polls for primaries, runoffs in several states

Update, 10:50 p.m.:

Rep. Mike Collins won Georgia’s GOP Senate primary runoff Tuesday following an 11th-hour endorsement from President Donald Trump and will now face Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff for a key battleground race in November. Trump’s other Georgia pick, Lt. Gov. Burt Jones lost to healthcare CEO and billionaire Rick Jackson, setting up a fall showdown with Democratic nominee and former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms.

In Alabama, Trump-endorsed Rep. Barry Moore secured the Republican nomination in the Senate runoff election.

Rep. Kevin Hern earned the Republican nomination in the race for Oklahoma’s Senate seat. Republican Attorney General Gentner Drummond and Trump-endorsed Mike Mazzei will face off in a runoff election for the Republican bid for governor in August. A measure to raise the minimum wage to $15 will likely fail, with unofficial results showing 56% of voters against it.

The polls are closed in Washington, D.C., but election officials say that the first-time use of ranked choice voting could delay results for days. In California, results were still rolling in Tuesday night for the special primary election to fill Democratic Rep. Eric Swalwell’s vacant congressional seat. 

For the latest on election results, click here.

Original story:

Voters in Georgia, Alabama, Oklahoma, the District of Columbia, and California are heading to the polls Tuesday for a round of primaries, runoffs and one special election. Two days before Georgia’s primary runoff, President Donald Trump endorsed U.S. Senate candidate Rep. Mike Collins, R-Ga., the challenger to Republican Derek Dooley, a lawyer and former NFL coach, who received Gov. Brian Kemp’s backing early in his campaign. In Washington, D.C., the president’s sway will be tested in another race as front-runner and democratic socialist Janeese George, who Trump told a reporter last week he “wouldn’t like” to win, leads in polls to fill the shoes of Mayor Muriel Bowser, who has held the office for nearly 12 years.

What about the other races?

• Ten candidates are vying for an open U.S. Senate seat in Oklahoma after Trump picked former Sen. Markwayne Mullin to be Department of Homeland Security secretary earlier this year. Rep. Kevin Hern, R-Okla., is vacating his House seat to run, and has Trump’s support. Eleven Republicans seek to fill Hern’s empty House seat, with no Democrats in the race. Nine Republicans and three Democrats are running for governor, including Republican Attorney General Gentner Drummond and Trump-endorsed Mike Mazzei. The state has had a Republican governor since 2011. Oklahomans will also vote on a ballot measure that, if approved, would gradually raise the minimum wage from $7.25 to $15 by 2029.

• A runoff Tuesday night will also decide nominees for Alabama’s open U.S. Senate seat. Rep. Barry Moore, R-Ala., and Trump-endorsed former Navy SEAL Jared Hudson seek the Republican nomination, while entrepreneur Dakarai Larriett and lawyer Everett Wess seek to be the Democratic pick. In last month’s primary, voters chose current Sen. Tommy Tuberville as the Republican nominee for governor.

• In Georgia, voters will make their pick for governor, U.S. senator, secretary of state, and other local leadership roles. Gubernatorial hopeful Lt. Gov. Burt Jones received the endorsement of both Trump and Gov. Kemp in the close race against healthcare CEO Rick Jackson. Whoever wins will go up against Democratic nominee and former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms.

• A special election for California’s 14th Congressional District today will determine which of 11 candidates fills the vacancy left by Democratic Rep. Eric Swalwell, a seven-term congressman who resigned in April following allegations of sexual misconduct. If no one wins a majority, the top two candidates will face off in an Aug. 18 runoff.

• In a first, D.C. residents will use ranked-choice voting Tuesday to cast their ballots in several races, including those for mayor, attorney general, and City Council members, as well as to replace another long-term lawmaker. After 35 years in Congress, Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton is retiring, opening up her spot to two Democratic front-runners, council members Brooke Pinto and Robert White.