{"id":375259,"date":"2026-08-19T03:52:13","date_gmt":"2026-08-19T03:52:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/375259\/"},"modified":"2026-08-19T03:52:13","modified_gmt":"2026-08-19T03:52:13","slug":"key-takeaways-from-tuesdays-primaries-in-florida-alaska-and-wyoming","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/375259\/","title":{"rendered":"Key takeaways from Tuesday\u2019s primaries in Florida, Alaska and Wyoming"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n As Florida voters prepare to replace term-limited Gov. Ron DeSantis<\/a>, Republicans on Tuesday chose a close ally of President Donald Trump, while Democrats nominated a party-switcher who left the GOP because of the president.\n <\/p>\n

\n Meanwhile, democratic socialists once again demonstrated their growing influence with state Rep. Angie Nixon\u2019s victory in Democrats\u2019 Senate primary in Florida. But two of the party\u2019s House incumbents, running for the first time in newly redrawn districts, survived challenges from the left.\n <\/p>\n

\n Another incumbent \u2014 Rep. Cory Mills, an embattled House Republican facing an ethics probe on several fronts \u2014 lost his seat Tuesday to a former news anchor backed by two GOP members of the state\u2019s congressional delegation.\n <\/p>\n

\n Here are takeaways from Tuesday\u2019s primaries<\/a> in Florida, Alaska, and Wyoming \u2013 on a day where voters in California were also choosing between two Democrats to fill a vacancy in the House.\n <\/p>\n

\n The outcomes in both parties\u2019 primaries in the Florida governor\u2019s race were no surprise. CNN\u2019s Decision Desk projected that Republicans chose Rep. Byron Donalds, who was endorsed by Trump, while Democrats nominated former Rep. David Jolly, who left the Republican Party in 2018 and officially became a Democrat last year.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cThere is a new coalition emerging in American politics tonight, and it\u2019s starting right here in the state of Florida,\u201d Jolly said at his victory party.\n <\/p>\n

\"Florida<\/p>\n

\n Florida isn\u2019t the swing state it once was, and Donalds enters the general election with huge advantages on the fundraising front (he raised more than $100 million during the primary) and in in the electorate overall, with 1.5 million more registered Republicans than Democrats in the Sunshine State.\n <\/p>\n

\n Donalds focused his campaign on property tax reforms, data center regulations, and a close embrace of the Trump administration. He praised DeSantis and former governor-turned-US Sen. Rick Scott for building what he called \u201ca strong foundation\u201d in the state.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cWe put aside our differences tonight,\u201d he said. \u201cWe are one united Republican Party.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n Still, Donalds\u2019 win wasn\u2019t particularly inspiring. He was on track to finish below the 50% threshold despite campaigning for more than a year with Trump\u2019s endorsement and the backing of much of the state GOP establishment.\n <\/p>\n

\n So why didn\u2019t he eclipse the 50% mark? It\u2019s something his campaign needs to study, one Republican fundraiser told CNN.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cWe were all a bit surprised he didn\u2019t get there,\u201d the fundraiser said. \u201cIs there an actual vulnerability there? Is it Trump\u2019s approval rating hurt him? They have to figure that out.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n Just a few weeks ago, Rep. Andy Biggs, another Trump-backed MAGA stalwart, sailed to the GOP nomination for Arizona governor<\/a> with about 74% of the vote. Few had expected Donalds to match that total Tuesday in the four-way race. Still, the final result made for a primary night that gave Donalds supporters little to sweat about but nevertheless made some people uneasy.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cIt\u2019s going to be more of a race, at least at the start, then most people wanted to believe a few months ago,\u201d another longtime GOP operative in the state said not longer after the confetti fell at Donalds\u2019 election watch party.\n <\/p>\n

\n Another possible factor: While DeSantis declined to endorse any candidate in the race, including his own Lt. Gov. Jay Collins, he raised questions throughout the primary about Donalds\u2019 candidacy.\n <\/p>\n

\n The results Tuesday in Florida were also the latest indication that Trump\u2019s endorsement \u2014 the most coveted asset in Republican campaigns \u2014 is no guarantee of victory.\n <\/p>\n

\n Candidates the president has endorsed in governor\u2019s races in Iowa, Minnesota, Georgia and South Carolina have lost. And on Tuesday, CNN projected that his preferred candidate in Florida\u2019s 19th District race to replace Donalds, former Commerce Department official Catalina Lauf, lost to Jim Schwartzel, a native of Southwest Florida who is the president of Sun Broadcasting and a political newcomer.\n <\/p>\n

\n Trump\u2019s pick also faltered in the Wyoming Republican primary for governor.\n <\/p>\n

\n Voters there chose state Sen. Eric Barlow over the Trump-endorsed state Superintendent of Public Instruction Megan Degenfelder as their nominee to replace term-limited Gov. Mark Gordon, CNN projected.\n <\/p>\n

\n However, a staunch Trump ally is now positioned to join the Senate. Sen. Cynthia Lummis is retiring, and Rep. Harriet Hageman, who won her seat by ousting former Rep. Liz Cheney in 2022 and was backed by Trump on Tuesday, easily won the GOP Senate primary.\n <\/p>\n

\n Two of the most controversial Republicans on the ballot Tuesday in Florida fell far short in their races.\n <\/p>\n

\n Mills<\/a>, who was endorsed by Trump in February but conspicuously absent when Trump posted a list of Florida Republicans he\u2019d endorsed on social media earlier this month, will lose to former news anchor Ryan Elijah, CNN\u2019s Decision Desk projected.\n <\/p>\n

\"Rep.<\/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. But two of his GOP colleagues in the Florida delegation, Reps. Anna Paulina Luna and Mike Haridopolos, endorsed Elijah, and DeSantis last week told reporters that he did not support Mills.\n <\/p>\n

\n Meanwhile, in the GOP primary for governor, conservative influencer James Fishback was on course to finish a distant third with about one-tenth of the vote. Fishback is 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 Democratic socialists pulled off another stunner in Florida, as CNN projected Nixon will defeat retired Army Lt. Col. Alex Vindman in the Democratic Senate primary.\n <\/p>\n

\n Vindman vastly outraised and outspent Nixon ahead of Tuesday\u2019s contest to take on Republican Sen. Ashley Moody. He\u2019s a Democratic resistance hero \u2014 a key witness in Trump\u2019s first impeachment inquiry. According to the most recent available fundraising reports, Vindman out=raised Nixon by $16 million to about $1 million, and had more than $7 million in the bank for the final weeks of the primary campaign compared to just $265,000 for Nixon.\n <\/p>\n

\n But the race was the latest reminder of the Democratic electorate\u2019s growing frustration with Israel\u2019s war in Gaza after Hamas\u2019 October 7, 2023, attack. Nixon has made the struggles of Palestinians a focal point of her campaign and has called for the United States to end its military support for Israel. She also highlighted her fierce opposition to DeSantis\u2019 redrawing of congressional lines<\/a> \u2014 including being arrested in May after staging a sit-in at the governor\u2019s office.\n <\/p>\n

\n Nixon told CNN\u2019s Laura Coates before the election that she recently joined the Democratic Socialists of America because the group aligns with \u201cmy beliefs that people \u2014 hardworking, everyday people \u2014 should get to shape what their communities look like and what their economies look like.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cWe can talk about labels all day long, people\u2019s labels,\u201d she said. \u201cI am concerned about the needs of people.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n Nixon ran on her record in the legislature, where she pushed to expand access to early childhood education and target price gouging from large corporations. Her platform calls for Medicare for All, free childcare and a national rent freeze and moratorium on evictions.\n <\/p>\n

\"Florida<\/p>\n

\n Still, Nixon\u2019s win is a surprise. She wasn\u2019t endorsed by leading progressive figures, though she did have the support of a few House members, including Michigan Rep. Rashida Tlaib and Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar. Last week\u2019s primary for governor in Wisconsin <\/a>seemed to show that democratic socialists could run into more resistance in purple states than they have during a successful march through House contests this primary season.\n <\/p>\n

\n Moody, though, is the clear favorite in November in a state that\u2019s shifted far to the right in recent years.\n <\/p>\n

\n Nixon\u2019s positions could alienate a general electorate that has voted for Trump in all three of his presidential campaigns. And with Democrats needing to funnel resources into a handful of red states, including Alaska, Iowa, Ohio and Texas, to find a path to the net gain of four seats they need to win a Senate majority, it\u2019s unlikely that Florida will become a top target for the party.\n <\/p>\n

\n The progressive insurgency fell short in two other closely watched races, as CNN projected that Democratic Reps. Jared Moskowitz and Debbie Wasserman Schultz will win primaries in new districts.\n <\/p>\n

\n Moskowitz, who is backed by pro-Israel and artificial intelligence forces, defeated Oliver Larkin, a 34-year-old activist and union organizer, in the 25th District on South Florida\u2019s east coast.\n <\/p>\n

\n In an interview with CNN\u2019s Dana Bash on Tuesday night, Moskowitz lambasted democratic socialists, saying that the American people \u201cwant change, but they don\u2019t want this sort of extremism.\u201d He noted that his new district is about one-fourth Jewish and one-fifth Hispanic.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cPeople have escaped socialism,\u201d Moskowitz said. \u201cAnd when they hear folks in the DSA go on television and talk about, you know, how they want to abolish the Senate \u2026 and they want to get rid of prisons, and, you know, there\u2019s no borders \u2014 most Americans hear that stuff and they say, \u2018What is going on.\u2019\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n He added: \u201cThis is a pro-Israel district. And stuff that might work in New York or might work other places in the country is not going to work in South Florida.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\"Rep.<\/p>\n

\n Wasserman Schultz, meanwhile, won despite opting to run in the Black plurality 20th District in Broward County, rather than her previous 25th District. Her win likely means the district will not be represented by a Black lawmaker in Congress next year \u2013 marking the first instance in more than 30 years.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cThis is such a difficult and fraught time in our country. There is so much at stake in this moment. And I want people to know that representation matters. It matters and I will fight to make sure that representation counts again,\u201d she told supporters Tuesday night.\n <\/p>\n

\n Former lawmakers who were eyeing Florida\u2019s 19th District, vacated by Donalds, as a possible path back to power fell short on Tuesday.\n <\/p>\n

\n The 19th District GOP House race featured two former Republican members of Congress who had represented different states: former New York Rep. Chris Collins<\/a> and former North Carolina Rep. Madison Cawthorn<\/a>. Neither cracked double digits, nor did former Illinois state lawmaker Jim Oberweis.\n <\/p>\n

\n Two former Democratic members of Congress also failed in their comeback bids.\n <\/p>\n

\n Wasserman Schultz defeated former Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick<\/a>, who resigned from her seat in April to prevent an Ethics Committee vote that could have led to her being forced out of Congress. The panel previously found her guilty of a slew of ethics violations, amid accusations that she stole millions in pandemic relief funds and used it to bolster her 2021 campaign. Cherfilus-McCormick also faces separate criminal charges and has pleaded not guilty.\n <\/p>\n

\n Progressive former Rep. Alan Grayson also fell short in his latest in a decade of failed attempts to return to office. He finished a distant third in the 7th District House Democratic primary.\n <\/p>\n

\n Both parties will be watching Alaska\u2019s Senate primary results in the early Wednesday morning hours, as voters pick four candidates to advance to a ranked-choice general election.\n <\/p>\n

\n Two are virtual locks: the incumbent Republican, Sen. Dan Sullivan, and Democratic former Rep. Mary Peltola, who has adopted the slogan of \u201cfish, family, freedom\u201d as she seeks to court independent and right-leaning voters in what\u2019s typically a reliably red state.\n <\/p>\n

\n The bigger question might be whether another Dan Sullivan<\/a> makes the cut.\n <\/p>\n

\"Daniel<\/p>\n

\n Republicans failed in their efforts to get a second Sullivan \u2014 a former teacher who shares the incumbent\u2019s first and last name \u2014 booted from the ballot.\n <\/p>\n

\n The senator appears on ballots as Dan S. Sullivan and is listed as a Republican and the incumbent. The other Sullivan is identified as Daniel J. Sullivan Jr., and he is not listed with a party affiliation, even though he filed to run as a Republican.\n <\/p>\n

\n It\u2019s a quirk that isn\u2019t expected to seriously threaten the incumbent, at least not in Tuesday\u2019s primary, but could make a difference in a razor-tight general election if even a small number of voters are confused.\n <\/p>\n

\n Trump weighed in on Tuesday morning, urging voters to pick the \u201creal\u201d Dan Sullivan in the election and criticizing the rival candidate as an \u201cimposter,\u201d though he has said his campaign is legitimate.\n <\/p>\n

\"Mary<\/p>\n

\n Democrats, meanwhile, hope Peltola \u2014 who has focused her campaign around the theme of protecting Alaska\u2019s wild fisheries and seafood economy \u2014 can make the Alaska race competitive as they look for paths to the net gain of four Senate seats they\u2019d need to win a majority in November.\n <\/p>\n

\n Peltola was the first Alaska Native elected to Congress when she won a special election for the state\u2019s at-large House seat in 2022. She won reelection to a full term later that fall before losing in 2024 to Republican Rep. Nick Begich III.\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"As Florida voters prepare to replace term-limited Gov. Ron DeSantis, Republicans on Tuesday chose a close ally of…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":375260,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[28,30,29],"class_list":["post-375259","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-florida","tag-florida","tag-florida-headlines","tag-florida-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/375259","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=375259"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/375259\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/375260"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=375259"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=375259"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=375259"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}