Several states are heading to the polls on Tuesday, with Florida's Rick Scott and Matt Gaetz facing primary challengers.
On Tuesday, Floridians, Alaskans, and Wyomingites will cast their primary ballots.
On Tuesday, primary races will take place in Florida, Wyoming, and Alaska for both Republicans and Democrats to select their respective nominees.
The Florida primary races of Rep. Matt Gaetz and Sen. Rick Scott will be closely monitored by Republicans, particularly in light of their ongoing feud with former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy.
On Tuesday, Scott is predicted to effortlessly triumph in his primary contest against two candidates who lack name recognition or financial support. Meanwhile, the Democrat primary is more competitive, featuring a battle between former U.S. Rep. Debbie Mucarsel-Powell, Navy veteran and businessman Stanley Campbell, Army veteran and businessman Rod Joseph, and Brian Rush, a former four-term Florida state representative.
In 2018, Mucarsel-Powell made history as the first Ecuadorian American and South American-born woman to be elected to Congress. Despite her initial success, she lost her House seat after only one term.
In May, Scott declared his intention to run for the Republican leadership in the Senate, following the announcement by Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., that he would be stepping down.
In a letter to fellow Senate Republicans, he stated that he has decided to run for Senate Republican leader because he believes now is a time for significant change.
Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., is gaining attention due to the political committee's $3 million attack on him and support for his primary opponent, Aaron Dimmock.
With the help of Democrat members, McCarthy was ousted from the speakership by a group of eight Republicans led by Gaetz last year.
The House Ethics Committee investigation into Gaetz's alleged sexual misconduct and drug use is the source of McCarthy's attacks on him. However, the allegations are not new, and Gaetz has a strong support base in his district, making an upset unlikely. Since his election in 2016, Gaetz has consistently won primaries with between 65% and 80% of the vote, according to the Associated Press.
The Associated Press reported that incumbents are running for 27 of Florida's 28 House seats, and all should be safe in the primary barring any surprises, outside of Gaetz's race.
Jennifer Adams, a small business owner and moderate, is challenging Rep. Cory Mills, R-Fla., a military veteran and first-term Republican, in Florida's 7th Congressional District. Adams has labeled Mills an "extremist incumbent."
In Florida's 10th Congressional District, Gen Z Democrat Rep. Maxwell Frost is running for re-election. At 26 years old, Frost previously worked for the anti-gun organization March for Our Lives and is anticipated to deliver a speech at the DNC this week.
For the first time ever, Florida Democrats have fielded candidates for all 120 state House and 40 state Senate seats. However, the GOP has built a strong supermajority in both chambers, and they are expected to maintain their dominance in the legislature in November.
At the voter deadline for the primary, Republicans had 5.3 million votes while Democrats had 4.3 million, with 3.5 million voters not registering with a party, according to the AP.
In Alaska, both Democrats and Republicans are vying for control of the seat previously held by Republican Rep. Don Young, who passed away in 2022. Peltola, who won the seat in a special election in 2022, has been serving since then.
Lt. Gov. Nancy Dahlstrom and Nick Begich, who shares a name with his late grandfather, a Democrat congressman who was on a plane that disappeared in 1972, will face Peltola in the upcoming election, according to the AP.
In Wyoming, Rep. Harriet Hageman, a freshman congresswoman, is facing a primary challenge from Steven Helling, who has not reported any fundraising to the Federal Election Commission. Hageman defeated Rep. Liz Cheney in 2022.
Since 2007, Republican Senator John Barrasso has represented Wyoming and is predicted to easily defeat his opponent, businessman Reid Rasner, in the upcoming election.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
politics
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