Democrats face key races in Florida, New York
Primary to determine who will run against Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis, who is seeking a second term.
WASHINGTON — Tuesday’s primary elections feature two Florida Democrats squaring off for the chance to face Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis, who is considered a top alternative to Donald Trump in the 2024 GOP presidential contest.
In New York, redistricting has left two longtime House Democratic colleagues competing for the same seat, and the head of the party’s campaign arm in the chamber is running in new territory and faces a challenge from the left.
Oklahoma Republicans will choose between two Trump loyalists competing in a runoff to be their party’s nominee to finish the term of retiring GOP Sen. James M. Inhofe.
What to watch:
Florida
Once the nation’s largest swing state, Florida has trended more Republican in recent years. Trump won it twice, and the GOP’s domination of the Legislature has given DeSantis a national platform to carry out a brand of culture-war politics that’s delighted Republican donors and sparked speculation he’ll run for president.
State Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried and U.S. Rep. Charlie Crist, who was once governor as a Republican, are vying for the Democratic nomination to compete against DeSantis in November.
Fried, the only statewide-elected Democrat, has sought to portray Crist as a Democrat in name only. She has highlighted his past antiabortion stance and his appointment of conservative state Supreme Court justices. Crist has dismissed Fried’s criticisms as lastditch efforts to counter his fundraising and high-profile endorsements.
In the U.S. Senate race, the primary is expected to cement a general election matchup between incumbent Republican Marco Rubio and Democratic U.S. Rep. Val Demings.
One of the House’s most controversial members, Republican Matt Gaetz, is facing a strong primary challenge from Mark Lombardo, a former Marine and former FedEx executive who has run a series of ads attacking Gaetz for being under federal investigation in a sextrafficking case.
Running for the Democratic nomination for Gaetz’s seat is Rebekah Jones, a former Florida Department of Health employee who received national attention after she questioned the state’s COVID-19 online dashboard and claimed it wasn’t reporting accurate numbers. Jones is facing Peggy Schiller, a Democratic Party activist.
New York
New York is holding its second round of primary elections after voting in June for statewide races. Tuesday’s balloting, which will cover the state’s 26 U.S. House seats, was delayed after a judge ordered a redrawing of political maps.
The new congressional districts have caused Democratic consternation, especially over a new Manhattanarea seat that has turned two incumbents into rivals. Rep. Carolyn B. Maloney, who has represented the Upper East Side for three decades, is facing Rep. Jerrold Nadler, who has represented the Upper West Side for just as long.
Maloney, 76, and Nadler, 75, each chair powerful committees. Running in the same primary is Suraj Patel, a 38-year-old attorney who says it’s time for a new generation of leaders.
Nadler has been endorsed by the New York Times and Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer of New York. But turnout could be low since many district residents have left for summer vacations, especially wealthy voters who have second homes elsewhere, making predicting the winner difficult.
Unpredictable turnout could also decide a primary in an ultra-liberal district in southern Manhattan and Brooklyn. Competing there is progressive Rep. Mondaire Jones, who currently represents a Hudson Valley seat but is running farther south to avoid another incumbent-on-incumbent challenge.
Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney, who heads the House Democratic campaign organization, is running in a new suburban district. He swapped districts without consulting Jones, who currently represents most of the area. The move rankled the left and led state Sen. Alessandra Biaggi to challenge him for the seat.
Oklahoma
Two Trump supporters are competing in the Republican primary runoff for the remainder of Inhofe’s term, which expires in January 2027.
Rep. Markwayne Mullin, a plumbing company owner who won his eastern Oklahoma House seat in 2012, finished atop a 13-candidate GOP field in June but came up short of the 50% threshold needed to clinch the primary outright.
Mullin faces former Oklahoma House Speaker T.W. Shannon, a bank executive who ran unsuccessfully for an open U.S. Senate seat in 2014. The winner will be heavily favored in November against former Democratic Rep. Kendra Horn.
In a state where nearly 10% of the population identifies as Native American, both Mullin and Shannon are members of Native American tribes.
In Oklahoma’s other Senate race, Jason Bollinger, an attorney, and Madison Horn, a cybersecurity expert, are competing in the Democratic primary runoff to face incumbent Republican Sen. James Lankford in November.