Primary elections held Tuesday in Florida and Alaska determined the candidates for several key state and federal offices ahead of the November midterm elections. In Florida, Republican Congressman Byron Donalds and Democratic candidate David Jolly won their respective primaries for governor. Donalds, who received an endorsement from President Donald Trump, will face Jolly, a former Republican congressman who left the party and has criticized Trump. The winner will succeed current Governor Ron DeSantis, whose term is expiring.
In the Florida race for the U.S. Senate, state lawmaker Angie Nixon won the Democratic primary, defeating former U.S. official Alex Vindman. Nixon, described as a democratic socialist, won despite Vindman’s reported cash advantage. Nixon will face Republican incumbent Ashley Moody in November. Moody, who was appointed to the seat previously held by Marco Rubio, won her primary by a comfortable margin.
Florida’s 7th Congressional District saw incumbent Republican Congressman Cory Mills lose his primary to former television reporter Ryan Elijah. Mills ran for re-election while facing a House Ethics Committee investigation and allegations of domestic abuse, both of which he has denied. Elijah will advance to face Democratic candidate Bale Dalton, a former U.S. Navy captain and NASA official, in the general election.
In Alaska, incumbent Republican U.S. Senator Dan Sullivan won his primary contest, finishing ahead of a challenger with a similar name, Daniel J. Sullivan, Jr. The contest used an open primary system where all candidates appeared on a single ballot. The top four finishers advance to November. According to projections, Senator Sullivan and Democratic candidate Mary Peltola, a former congresswoman, secured the top two spots.
For individual residents, these outcomes dictate who will oversee state-level policies on taxes, education, and health care in Florida, and who will represent their interests in Washington D.C. for at least the next two to six years. In Alaska, the primary results signal a competitive general election between incumbent Sullivan and Peltola, a race that national Democratic organizers have identified as a priority for flipping control of the Senate. Voters in Florida's 7th District will see a change in their immediate representation in the House of Representatives following the defeat of the incumbent Mills.
The next phase of these contests will conclude on the general election date in November. At that time, the top four finishers from Alaska's open primary will compete for the Senate seat, and the winners of the Florida primaries will face off for the governorship and Senate. The outcomes of these races will directly impact the legislative agenda of the Trump administration, as the balance of power in Congress will be decided by these and other contests across the country.