Here's the latest
• All eyes on Florida: Republicans are choosing their nominee in the race to replace term-limited Gov. Ron DeSantis in a contest that has in some ways turned into a bitter intra-party feud — even though there is little drama about its likely outcome.
• Sunshine state drama: The primaries 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. They include a wild GOP race in the 19th District, where the candidates include two former members of Congress from other states and a pardoned January 6 rioter.
• Also watching: There are competitive GOP primaries in Wyoming as voters look to replace the governor, a House member and one of its US senators. In Alaska, the top-four primaries will set up some intriguing November races, while in California two Democrats face a runoff to replace former Rep. Eric Swalwell.
Peltola shook up campaign leadership ahead of Alaska Senate primary
Democratic former Rep. Mary Peltola is widely expected to advance from today’s Senate primary in Alaska, but she’ll be doing so with new campaign leadership.
Her campaign disclosed Monday that her campaign manager, Anton McParland, was moving to a “new role” and that her deputy campaign manager, Cheryl Bruce, would take over the top spot. McParland was Peltola’s chief of staff in the House.
Republicans have highlighted the news as an ominous sign for her prospects of defeating GOP incumbent Dan Sullivan in the battleground race.
“Even Mary Peltola’s closest advisors know her Alaska last campaign is a lost cause,” Nick Puglia, a spokesman for the National Republican Senatorial Committee, said in a statement.
Republicans voters say Trump's endorsement of Donalds isn't affecting their vote
President Donald Trump endorsed Rep. Byron Donalds to be Florida’s next governor 544 days ago, giving Republicans voters in the Sunshine State plenty of time to process his preference.
At one Orlando polling place early today, a half-dozen Republicans told CNN it ultimately wasn’t a factor in their decision.
Randy, another voter who declined to give his last name, said he bucked Trump’s pick and went with former House Speaker Paul Renner instead.
“I think Byron Donalds is going to win,” Randy said. “I think he’s going to make a good governor. But I had to go with my gut.”
Trump’s recent track record in governor races is mixed lately, with his preferred candidates faltering in Minnesota, Iowa and Georgia.
Donalds entered today the heavy favorite. But if Davis and Randy are indicative of a broader slice of the GOP electorate, even a victory for Donalds could raise fresh questions about the power of Trump’s endorsement in his adopted home state.
Trump's influence will be tested in Wyoming's Republican primaries
There’s little drama about which party will win in November in Wyoming, one of the nation’s most reliably Republican states.
But the state is set to see a major political shakeup, with open seats for governor, Senate and House this fall.
Degenfelder, 37, is an advocate for charter schools and vouchers who has broadly backed Trump’s education policies, including downsizing the Department of Education.
Sen. Cynthia Lummis is retiring, and Rep. Harriet Hageman, who won her seat by ousting former Rep. Liz Cheney in 2022, is backed by Trump and favored to emerge from a five-person field as the senator’s Republican heir apparent.
Nine candidates are vying for the House seat Hageman is vacating, though the president has not waded into that contest.
Florida used to be a battleground state. What happened?
Less than 33,000 votes out of 8.2 million ballots separated Republican Ron DeSantis and Democrat Andrew Gillum in the 2018 race for governor — a narrow margin that appeared to reinforce the state’s longstanding reputation as the nation’s premier battleground.
The last eight years suggest otherwise.
Florida’s rightward shift has been decades in the making. Rural areas have grown increasingly Republican, millions of new residents have arrived with conservative voting histories, and liberal donors have largely shifted their attention elsewhere. Meanwhile, DeSantis’ remarkably consequential governorship and Trump’s presence in his adopted home state have energized Republicans there. As it is, Democrats face a steep uphill climb to make the state competitive once again.
AIPAC targets race to replace Swalwell
The race to replace former Rep. Eric Swalwell in California’s 14th District is the latest test of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee’s campaign to influence the 2026 midterm elections, following a series of interventions that have produced mixed results and sparked backlash amid an ongoing debate over US policy toward Israel.
United Democracy Project, the super PAC arm of AIPAC, has spent more than $2 million on the special election runoff between state Sen. Aisha Wahab and Melissa Hernandez, the San Francisco public transit director whom the group is backing. Another group that has received funding from UDP, BOLD America, has spent an additional $1.8 million on the contest, according to data from AdImpact.
The groups have run waves of ads boosting Hernandez and criticizing Wahab’s record in the state legislature, making no mention of the contentious debate over US-Israel relations that has animated elections across the country.
Wahab opposes military aid to Israel and has said the country’s actions in Gaza constitute a genocide, while Hernandez has said that Israel “had a right to defend itself” but also that “the destruction in Gaza has gone too far.”
Though not the focus of the race, the issue has nevertheless become a significant undercurrent. And a liberal group formed to oppose AIPAC’s effort this election cycle, American Priorities, also waded into the contest, spending just over $200,000 on its own advertising, supporting Wahab and calling out the pro-Israel group’s activity.
“AIPAC and Trump donors are lying about Democrat Aisha Wahab because Melissa Hernandez is one of their own,” one of the group’s ads says.
White House defends Trump’s choice to again vote by mail in Florida
The White House yesterday defended President Donald Trump’s decision to vote by mail in Florida’s upcoming GOP primary election despite his push to limit absentee voting, insisting that it aligned his federal elections overhaul bill.
Trump has repeatedly sought to limit the use of mail in ballots and has often claimed without evidence that it’s a significant source of election fraud. The elimination of no-excuse mail voting is a key component of Trump’s “SAVE America Act,” which he is pushing Republicans in Washington to pass but continues to face slim odds in the Senate. Later this month, the Supreme Court is expected to rule on his emergency appeal to impose new requirements on states’ mail voting programs.
Despite his efforts to clamp down on absentee voting, Trump also voted by mail earlier this year. He cast a ballot by mail for the March special election for House District 87 in Florida.
Trump warns Alaska voters to choose the “real” Dan Sullivan in today’s primary
President Donald Trump warned Alaska voters to choose the “real” Dan Sullivan in the state’s primary as he weighed in on a US Senate race that includes two candidates with the same name.
The president was referring to there being two candidates called Dan Sullivan in Alaska’s primary, in which the top four vote-getters, regardless of party, move on to the November general election.
One of those candidates is the incumbent Republican senator, Dan S. Sullivan. The other — Daniel J. Sullivan Jr. — is a resident of a small fishing town in southeast Alaska and former teacher. He is not listed with a party affiliation, even though he filed to run as a Republican.
The incumbent GOP Sen. Sullivan had raised concerns that his rival with the same name could help the Democratic challenger in the race: former US Rep. Mary Peltola.
Dan J. Sullivan, in his few public comments, has insisted his campaign is legitimate, CNN previously reported.
CNN’s Eric Bradner contributed to this report.
How Florida’s Republican primary for governor got so messy
The race to succeed Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has turned into a bitter fight that is coming to a head in today’s Republican primary.
Rep. Byron Donalds, who has President Donald Trump’s endorsement and the backing of most of the state GOP’s establishment, is widely seen as the front-runner. But he’s facing several challengers including Lt. Gov. Jay Collins, former state House Speaker Paul Renner and far-right activist James Fishback.
DeSantis, who is term-limited, has refused to hand the baton to Donalds and has spent months publicly and privately arguing the Naples congressman is unfit to replace him. Yet the governor has failed to throw his support behind an alternative, instead undercutting other Republicans trying to take down Donalds — including his own lieutenant governor.
The feud has opened space for Fishback, a 31-year-old, race-baiting insurgent who has gained national attention despite a troubling legal history and limited financial support.
Donalds has largely ignored the salvos from DeSantis. His campaign told CNN he is now looking ahead to the general election and likely Democratic nominee David Jolly, a former Republican congressman who changed parties amid his opposition to Trump.
As for DeSantis, he has made little secret of his continued presidential ambitions, but some Republican friends worry he is eroding the goodwill built during two terms in office.
