\n It\u2019s led to a vacuum that has left space for the emergence of James Fishback, a race-baiting 31-year-old who has called Donalds, who is Black, a \u201cslave to his donors\u201d and a \u201cDEI Republican\u201d who would \u201cturn Florida into a Section 8 ghetto.\u201d\n <\/p>\n
\n Tuesday\u2019s contests also mark the first time voters will head to the polls under a new congressional map, designed by DeSantis to help Republicans net an additional four seats, that set off a scramble in down-ballot races.\n <\/p>\n
\n As Democrats settle a series of their own primaries in the redrawn districts, the races will also test whether democratic socialists can continue to make gains and where voters stand on issues related to Israel. Republican voters also have tough choices ahead of them, with several contentious House primaries featuring controversial candidates.\n <\/p>\n
\n Florida is the headliner on a day of primaries that also includes Alaska and Wyoming. Voters in California, meanwhile, will fill a House vacancy in a special election runoff.\n <\/p>\n
\n Here\u2019s what to watch in Tuesday\u2019s contests:\n <\/p>\n
\n Despite DeSantis\u2019 apparent concerns with Donalds, Republicans have won every governor\u2019s race in Florida in the last 30 years. Whoever wins on Tuesday \u2014 likely Donalds \u2014 will emerge Wednesday morning as the clear favorite to win in November.\n <\/p>\n
\n However, Democrats came close to winning the governor\u2019s office in 2018 \u2014 the last time midterms were held with Trump in office. A relatively weak showing by Donalds on Tuesday could indicate Democrats could have an opening to make the governor\u2019s race competitive.\n <\/p>\n
\n In addition to Fishback, other candidates in the GOP primary are Lt. Gov. Jay Collins, who has framed his campaign around a pledge to protect the DeSantis legacy even though the governor has not endorsed his own No. 2, and former state House Speaker Paul Renner.\n <\/p>\n
\n Democrats are expected to nominate party-switching former Rep. David Jolly in the race for governor. Jolly, a prominent critic of Trump, left the GOP in 2018 and last year officially became a Democrat.\n <\/p>\n
\n When Trump posted a list of Florida Republicans with his endorsement on social media earlier this month ahead of the primary, there was a notable omission: 7th District Rep. Cory Mills \u2013 whom the president endorsed in February. And when DeSantis was asked whether he supports Mills last week, the governor said no.\n <\/p>\n
\n The two-term congressman is being investigated by the House Ethics Committee for potential campaign finance violations, an accusation of a revenge porn threat and an assault allegation. Mills has repeatedly denied wrongdoing. He faces a primary challenge from former news anchor Ryan Elijah and two other candidates. Two other members of Florida\u2019s House Republican delegation, Reps. Anna Paulina Luna and Mike Haridopolos, endorsed Elijah.\n <\/p>\n
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\n Mills is not the only Republican facing a challenge on Tuesday. 6th District Rep. Randy Fine, a strident supporter of Israel who has drawn criticism for his anti-Muslim rhetoric, faces social media personality Dan Bilzerian, who has called Fine a \u201cfat disgusting Jew\u201d and run an openly antisemitic campaign.\n <\/p>\n
\n Meanwhile, the 19th District race to replace Donalds is among the wildest Florida primaries, with two former members of Congress from other states \u2014 North Carolina\u2019s Madison Cawthorn and New York\u2019s Chris Collins \u2014 both in the running, as well as a former Illinois state senator, Jim Oberweis. Trump has endorsed Catalina Lauf, a 33-year-old former Commerce Department staffer, in the race.\n <\/p>\n
\n The governor\u2019s race and a Senate contest this fall will give down-and-out Florida Democrats, who have watched their state\u2019s former battleground status erode as it has shifted rapidly rightward over the last decade, a chance to show they can still compete in statewide races.\n <\/p>\n
\n The primary to take on Republican Sen. Ashley Moody pits retired Army Lt. Col. Alex Vindman, a key witness in Trump\u2019s first impeachment inquiry, against state Rep. Angie Nixon, a democratic socialist who has called for the United States to end its military support for Israel.\n <\/p>\n
\n That nominee, as well as the winner of the gubernatorial primary, will attempt to reverse a rapid rightward shift in Florida. Among the factors contributing to that change: GOP gains with Hispanic voters, an influx of new conservative residents and a state Democratic Party that has been in disarray.\n <\/p>\n
\n Early this century, Florida was perhaps the nation\u2019s most critical swing state \u2014 decisive in the 2000 presidential election and a battleground through 2016. But Trump won the state on his way to losing the election in 2020, and then he cruised to a 13-point win there in 2024. Likewise, DeSantis, who won the governor\u2019s office by less than half a percentage point in 2018, demolished his Democratic foe in 2022, winning by nearly 20 points.\n <\/p>\n
\n Democrats are also settling intra-party squabbles in House primaries taking place in newly redrawn districts.\n <\/p>\n
\n Among those races is the 25th District on South Florida\u2019s east coast, where democratic socialists are looking to pick off another Democratic incumbent in Rep. Jared Moskowitz, who is backed by pro-Israel and artificial intelligence forces. Their candidate is Oliver Larkin, a 34-year-old activist and union organizer.\n <\/p>\n
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