Primary recap: Charlie Crist to challenge Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, Jerry Nadler wins NY Democratic primary
will go head-to-head with the state’s Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis this fall after fending off Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried in the state’s Democratic primary for governor.
Democrats are hoping Crist, a long-time politician who previously served as Florida’s Republican governor before switching his allegiance to the Democratic party, to snuff out DeSantis’ 2024 presidential aspirations early on — or at least deflate them a bit.
Florida Rep. Val Demings will face Sen. Marco Rubio in November, as well, after a landslide Democratic primary victory.
2024 preview:New Florida laws for primary could make it harder to cast ballots
New York Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney narrowly prevailed against state Sen. Alessandra Biaggi in the Democratic primary for U.S. House.
Plus, in selecting Democrat Maxwell Frost as the Democratic nominee for Florida’s 10th U.S. congressional district, Sunshine State voters laid the groundwork for Frost to become the first Gen Z member of Congress.
Oklahoma state legislator who wished for gay stoning loses
Republican Scott Esk, the Oklahoma state legislator who previously made violent remarks against gay people, lost his primary against Gloria Banister for a state House seat.
old Facebook comments he made in which he wrote that gay people are “worthy of death” and “we would be totally in the right” to stone them. He has defended the comments that he made in 2013, which surfaced when he unsuccessfully ran for a different House seat in 2014.
—Ella Lee
Mullin wins US Senate GOP runoff
U.S. Rep. Markwayne Mullin won Tuesday’s GOP primary runoff for one of Oklahoma’s U.S. Senate seats, making him a likely favorite to win the seat U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe is leaving early after nearly 30 years in office.
Mullin, a citizen of the Cherokee Nation, defeated former Speaker of the Oklahoma House and banking executive T.W. Shannon after the two advanced from a 13-candidate Republican primary field in June. Because Inhofe is retiring early, Mullin will serve the remaining four years left on Inhofe’s term.
“Thank you for giving our family this opportunity,” Mullin, 45, said at a watch party in Tulsa, surrounded by his wife and six children. “It’s not just me you’re electing. It’s a family affair.”
Mullin, who topped the primary field with nearly 44% of the vote, earned former President Donald Trump’s endorsement shortly after the primary.
— The Associated Press
New York Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney narrowly prevailed against state Sen. Alessandra Biaggi in the Democratic primary for U.S. House.
Maloney had received about two-thirds of the vote when the race was called by the Associated Press, leading Biaggi 66.7%-33.3% with just under half the votes counted.
The race was mired in intraparty controversy from the start. When New York’s congressional districts were redrawn, Maloney’s district was split between the 17th and 18th districts, and his home was drawn into the 17th. He chose to run in the new map’s 17th congressional district, which pushed out that district’s incumbent, rising progressive star Rep. Mondaire Jones.
Jones moved to another part of New York City and is running in a newly drawn district. But the shuffle drew frustration from progressives, who put up a primary opponent for Maloney.
Biaggi had the backing of Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who said that Biaggi “knows what it takes to go up against powerful opponents.” Maloney, who is also chair of the Democratic party’s fundraising committee, acknowledged last month that he could have “handled it a lot better,” according to Daily News.
—Ella Lee
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Nadler prevails against Maloney in heated battle after redistricting
New York voters chose Rep. Jerry Nadler over Rep. Carolyn Maloney in a dramatic New York primary between the high-profile Democrats, who were forced to face off after a state court combined their two congressional districts.
Nadler easily outpaced Maloney, earning 56% of the vote to her 24.7% with just under half the votes counted.
Nadler received a surprise endorsement from Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer last week, who broke with the rest of the New York delegation that had remained largely silent about the intraparty fight.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., praised Maloney for being a “deeply respected leader” and “champion for integrity” while also congratulating Nadler on his win following the election results.
Maloney’s “longtime public service will be profoundly missed in the Congress and by her constituents and the country,” Pelosi said in a statment.
Nadler has represented Manhattan’s Upper West Side, and Maloney the Upper East Side, for 30 years. Both candidates chair House committees — Nadler the House Judiciary Committee, and Maloney the House Oversight Committee — and have staunchly liberal voting records.
—Ella Lee
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GOP Rep. Webster narrowly beats Laura Loomer in Florida
Incumbent Florida Republican Rep. Dan Webster narrowly defeated Laura Loomer, a far-right provocateur in Florida who’s been banned on some social media networks because of anti-Muslim and other remarks.
The race was unexpectedly tight; Webster received 50.7% of the vote to Loomer’s 44.5%, with just over 95% of votes counted.
Loomer, a nationally known activist who sought to align herself with former President Donald Trump unsuccessfully ran for the House in 2020 for a Palm Beach-area seat that includes Trump’s Mar-A-Lago resort. She received endorsements this cycle from former Trump adviser Roger Stone and Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla.
—Ella Lee, Associated Press
Gen Z Florida Democrat will advance to November U.S. House election
Florida voters chose Maxwell Frost as the Democratic nominee for Florida’s 10th U.S. congressional district, setting him up to be the first Gen Z member of Congress.
The 25-year-old candidate won 34% of votes, with just under 80% of votes counted.
Frost, a former March for Our Lives organizer, beat out 10 other Democrats running to replace U.S. Rep. Val Demings, who is running for U.S. Senate.
—Ella Lee
Polls close in New York
Polls closed in New York at 9 p.m. ET, in the final primary races of the night.
The redrawing of the state’s congressional district map pits two House committee chairs with 30 years of experience against each other, plus a rising star in the Democratic Party’s progressive wing against the chair of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, which fundraises for House candidates.
— Ella Lee
Crist blasts DeSantis as ‘wannabe dictator’ in victory speech
Rep. Charlie Crist, the Democratic nominee for Florida governor, slammed current Gov. Ron DeSantis as an “extremist” and “wannabe dictator” in his victory speech Tuesday night.
“Gov. DeSantis only cares about the White House,” Crist said. “He doesn’t care about your house.”
DeSantis is thought to be mounting a 2024 presidential campaign, raising the stakes of Florida’s gubernatorial race this fall for Democrats who hope to snuff out his aspirations early on.
Crist previously served as Florida’s Republican governor more than a decade ago before switching his allegiance to the Democratic Party in 2012.
—Ella Lee
Florida voters pick Democratic Rep. Charlie Crist to face off against Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis
Crist, 66, previously served as the Sunshine State’s Republican governor more than a decade ago before switching his allegiance to the Democratic Party in 2012. His primary challenger was 44-year-old Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried.
Backed by the Democratic establishment, Crist led Fried by 60.2%-35.0%, with 76.2% of votes counted.
The pressure is on for Democrats to beat DeSantis this fall, who is purportedly laying the groundwork for a 2024 presidential run.
— Ella Lee
Florida’s primary election:A referendum on Ron DeSantis after governor gets heavily involved
Demings to face Rubio for Florida’s U.S. Senate seat
Democratic Rep. Val Demings will face Republican Sen. Marco Rubio in November for Florida’s U.S. Senate seat in a race that is expected to be closely watched this fall.
Demings, who currently represents Florida’s 10th congressional district, easily outpaced three other Democrats in Tuesday’s primary: former Florida state Rep. Brian Rush, attorney William Sanchez and entrepreneur Ricardo De La Fuente. She received 85.3% of the vote, with 75.4% of votes reported.
Rubio has been a member of the U.S. Senate since 2011.
—Ella Lee
Polls close in Oklahoma
Oklahoma polls closed at 8 p.m. ET, with vote counting beginning in three run-off elections.
The premier race Tuesday will determine whether a Republican candidate for the U.S. House who once wrote that gay people are “worthy of death” and that “we would be totally in the right” to stone them will assume a seat in Congress.
—Ella Lee
Trump loyalists vie for GOP Senate nod in Oklahoma runoff
Two loyalists of former President Donald Trump who both have embraced his false claim that he won the 2020 election face off Tuesday in a contest that will likely decide Oklahoma’s next U.S. senator.
U.S. Rep. Markwayne Mullin, a plumbing company owner, and T.W. Shannon, a former speaker of the Oklahoma House and a bank executive from Oklahoma City, were the top two vote-getters in June’s 13-candidate Republican primary, but neither topped the 50% threshold needed to win the nomination outright. Mullin, who topped the field with nearly 44% of the vote, earned Trump’s endorsement shortly after the primary.
Mullin and Shannon are seeking to replace retiring 87-year-old U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe, a fixture in Republican politics in Oklahoma since the 1960s who has held the U.S. Senate seat since being elected in 1994. Inhofe is leaving before his six-year term is finished, so his replacement will serve for four years.
—Associated Press
county executives are competing to see who gets to serve in the U.S. House of Representatives in New York’s 19th Congressional District until the end of the year.
The special election taking place Tuesday pits Republican Marc Molinaro, the Dutchess County executive, against his Ulster County counterpart, Democrat Pat Ryan.
The two hope to succeed former U.S. Rep. Antonio Delgado, who vacated the seat earlier this year to become lieutenant governor.
The current 19th District, which will be realigned for the regular election in November to reflect U.S. Census numbers, includes parts of Broome, Dutchess, Montgomery and Rensselaer counties, and all of Columbia, Delaware, Greene, Otsego, Schoharie, Sullivan and Ulster counties.
– Jeff Murray, Binghamton Press Sun-Bulletin
In 2024 preview, new Florida laws for primary could make it harder to cast ballots
has made headlines lately for old Facebook comments he made in which he wrote gay people are “worthy of death” and “we would be totally in the right” to stone them.
He has defended the comments that he made in 2013, which surfaced when he unsuccessfully ran for a different House seat in 2014.
When contacted this week, Esk complained about a 2014 article about him in The Oklahoman that he called a “hit piece,” although he did not elaborate on the content of the story. Esk declined an interview about his campaign and directed The Oklahoman to videos he posted on his YouTube page.
– Carmen Formen, The Oklahoman
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has drawn criticism from multiple Democrats for buying attack ads in the Michigan Republican primary this year. The ads spotlighted a contender who denied the 2020 election results.
Maloney’s opponent, state Sen. Alessandra Biaggi, has blasted the strategy as out-of-touch for that and other reasons.
“Just weeks ago Sean Patrick Maloney asked for DCCC donations to protect Roe — and then used the money to prop up an anti-choice election denier in Michigan,” Biaggi said in an Aug. 16 tweet.
“Voters are tired of DC politicians demanding donations and lying about where the money will go.”
For this part, Maloney defended the game plan on ‘Meet The Press’ this past Sunday, saying how his “job is to win elections” for the party and that in the Michigan GOP primary the “weaker candidate” won giving Democrats a chance to pick up a seat this fall.
– Phillip M. Bailey
Who is Biaggi?:Alessandra Biaggi wants to win NY’s 17th District seat and has AOC’s backing. Who is she?
Who is Maloney?:Who is NY Democratic Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney? He’s got support of Bill Clinton, Pelosi