DC, Virginia elections; runoffs in Alabama, Georgia
[ad_1]
WASHINGTON – Voters in several states and Washington, D.C., marked primary night Tuesday by endorsing a two-term mayor in the nation’s capital and a prominent business executive in an Alabama Republican senate race.
Alabama businesswoman Katie Britt easily defeated U.S. Rep. Mo Brooks in the Republican Senate primary marked by ex-President Donald Trump’s decision in March to withdraw support from Brooks amid a dispute over the 2020 election.
Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser defeated two City Council members – Robert White and Trayon White – in a primary that that is tantamount to election in the heavily Democratic city. Bowser is now in line for a third term.
Also decided Tuesday: A series of congressional primaries in Virginia and runoffs in Georgia.
There were also legislative and judicial races in Arkansas.
Did Trump endorsement help Alabama’s Britt?
Republican voters said Tuesday the former president’s preferences had at best a partial effect on their vote; most said it had no effect at all.
“We can think for ourselves,” said Rick Groover, a Baptist missionary who voted for Brooks with his wife Tracy at Pike Road. “We don’t need Donald Trump.”
Sandra Cusey of Montgomery said she was already planning to vote for Britt before Trump’s endorsement.
“I just like what she stands for,” she said. “I’m a Trump supporter; I’ll vote for anybody he endorses. But I like what she has said.”
— Brian Lyman, Montgomery Advertiser
More:‘Alabama has spoken’: Katie Britt wins Alabama Republican nomination for U.S. Senate
Ben Cline easily takes nomination for Virginia’s 6th district seat
Cline was first elected in 2018 and took office the following January and has served in the U.S. House of Representatives since then. He will run against Waynesboro local Jennifer Lewis in the November election.
In a press release, Cline said, “I look forward to continuing our campaign in the months ahead as we discuss the issues that matter most to voters and how we can work together to find real solutions to the challenges we face as a nation.”
— Akhil Ganesh, Staunton News Leader
In Virginia, Vega wins GOP nod to face Rep. Spanberger
Yesli Vega, an auxiliary deputy and county-level elected official, prevailed in a crowded field in the central Virginia 7th District’s Republican primary.
Vega will face Rep. Abigail Spanberger in the general election, where Republicans are bullish about their chances of flipping the seats currently held by the two centrist Democrats.
Virginia’s 7th Congressional District was entirely reshaped thanks to redistricting, which shifted it away from the Richmond suburbs. It now covers a stretch of cities and counties between Charlottesville and the Washington suburbs. The GOP nomination fight was seen as more unsettled ahead of Tuesday’s vote, with several contenders including Vega claiming momentum.
— Associated Press
Two Trump candidates lost in Georgia – but to two Trump supporters
Another rainy night in Georgia for Donald Trump – but this time only a drizzle.
Trump-backed candidates Vernon Jones and Jake Evans lost congressional runoffs to Mike Collins and Rich McCormick, just two weeks after the former president failed to oust incumbent Republican Gov. Brian Kemp and Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger.
This time, however, the winners made clear they are big Trumpers anyway.
In claiming victory, McCormick told supporters: “I expect Donald Trump to call us because we’re gonna be friends together.”
–- David Jackson
Miss Day 4 of the Jan. 6 hearing?:Fake electors, Trump pressuring state leaders and more.
Mo Brooks, endorsed then un-endorsed by Trump, fails in Senate runoff to Katie Britt
Business executive Katie Britt claimed the Republican nomination for a U.S. Senate seat in Alabama on Tuesday, easily winning a runoff over former Donald Trump-endorsed congressman Mo Brooks.
Britt, ex-chief executive of the Business Council of Alabama, once worked as chief of staff for Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala., whose retirement opened the job she is now pursuing.
Many once favored Brooks for the GOP nomination because he had the endorsement of Trump. The congressman had been one of the most vocal supporters of Trump’s protests over the 2020 election.
But the former president pulled his support from Brooks in March after the latter began saying it was time for Republican voters to move past all the election disputes.
Brooks still managed to finish second to Britt in a May primary but could not overcome her strong political standing in the runoff – including a revised endorsement from Trump.
– David Jackson
Bowser wins D.C. primary in tough reelection fight
Washington D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser was renominated for a third term, despite the headwinds of increased crime in the nation’s capital and two Democratic challengers from city council who unsuccessfully tried to unseat her.
Bowser faced a tough fight against two members of the city council, who have criticized her public safety management and disagreed with her push to hire more police officers as crime rates increased.
The mayor has continually said the city needs more police officers to restore public safety, including after two teenagers were fatally shot over the weekend.
The primary winner is expected to cruise to victory in November in the Democratic stronghold.
— Candy Woodall
Georgia State Rep. Bee Nguyen is the Democratic nominee for Georgia Secretary of State
Georgia voters Tuesday chose State Rep. Bee Nguyen as the Democratic nominee to take on Republican incumbent Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger in November.
The state and the office have received attention in the past two years since former President Donald Trump made claims of widespread voter fraud in Georgia after the 2020 presidential election. Raffensperger testified before the Jan. 6 committee in Washington Tuesday that investigations into fraud claims turned up nothing.
Amid the fraud claims, Nguyen ran on a platform of debunking false narratives. She’s criticized Raffensperger’s support for sweeping election overhauls passed last year by Republican state lawmakers.
— Chelsey Cox
Recap:State election officials tell Jan. 6 committee of pressure, threats from Trump and allies
Polls close in Alabama, site of a big Senate race
Voting is now done in Alabama and election officials will soon report out one of the night’s biggest races.
Business executive Katie Britt and U.S. Rep. Mo Brooks are battling for the Republican nomination to replace retiring U.S. Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala.
— David Jackson
Previously:Trump pulls Senate endorsement of Alabama Rep. Mo Brooks
Polls close in Washington, D.C.
The polls closed at 8 p.m. Tuesday in Washington, D.C., where two-term Mayor Muriel Bowser is in a three-way race in the Democratic primary.
She is seeking a third term against competition from Robert White and Trayon White, two city council members who are not related.
Both challengers have criticized Bowser’s handling of crime in the city, while denying her requests for more police officers.
Bowser has been one of the leaders in D.C.’s fight for statehood and has also marched with social justice advocates, spending part of her first two terms squaring off against former President Donald Trump.
The winner of the Democratic primary will likely decide the mayoral race in the reliably blue capital city.
— Candy Woodall
Midterm roundup:Virginia, DC primaries and Alabama, Georgia runoffs to watch on Tuesday
Republican challenger set for Democratic Rep. Elaine Luria
RICHMOND, Va. — State senator and Navy veteran Jen Kiggans won the Republican nomination Tuesday in Virginia’s coastal 2nd Congressional District.
Kiggans, a nurse practitioner, will go on to face incumbent Democratic Rep. Elaine Luria in what’s expected to be a competitive general election contest that could help determine which party controls the U.S. House.
She defeated three opponents, including far-right Jarome Bell, who called himself the “MAGA candidate” and had called for executing anyone involved in what he claimed was widespread voter fraud.
Luria is also a Navy veteran. She’s currently on the Jan. 6 committee investigating the 2021 attack on the Capitol and has cultivated a congressional identity as a centrist since flipping the district blue under its previous lines in 2018. She’s expected to face a tough challenge under the district’s new lines.
The 2nd District covers much of Virginia’s coast, including the city of Virginia Beach and the Eastern Shore.
— Associated Press
More:Inflation fears pressure Democrats in Virginia House races. Could they be a bellwether?
Miss Day 4 of the Jan. 6 hearing?:Fake electors, Trump pressuring state leaders and more
In Georgia, Democratic race for secretary of state in runoff
State Rep. Bee Nguyen and former state Rep. Dee Dawkins-Haigler are vying for the chance to challenge incumbent Republican Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger in the fall.
Trump targeted Raffensperger for failing to overturn his narrow loss in the state. Raffensperger — who won the praise of some Democrats for refusing to bend to pressure from the former president — dispatched a challenge from a Trump-endorsed primary challenger without being forced into a runoff.
Nguyen and Dawkins-Haigler agree on their visions for the office: increase voter education and work more closely with local election boards to ensure universal access to free, fair and secure elections. But they say Raffensperger is no election hero, targeting his endorsement of a sweeping election overhaul passed last year by Republican state lawmakers.
— Associated Press
2022 midterms:A new ‘Big Lie’ battleground: secretary of state elections
Polls close in Virginia and Georgia
Polls have now closed in Virginia and Georgia, and officials should soon be reporting results in a slew of congressional and legislative primaries and runoffs.
Alabama, site of a high-profile Republican runoff for the U.S. Senate, is scheduled to close its polls at 8 p.m. Eastern Time.
— David Jackson
When do the polls close?
The first states to close their polls Tuesday are Virginia and Georgia, at 7 p.m. ET.
Polls close in Alabama and Washington, D.C. an hour later, at 8 p.m. ET.
–– Ella Lee
Runoffs in Arkansas state legislature
There are no statewide or congressional races on Arkansas ballots Tuesday; the focus is on a number of GOP state legislature primary runoffs.
Most closely watched is a race in northern Arkansas, where two GOP state senators with more than 20 years of state legislature service between them will face off. State Sen. Bob Ballinger and former State Sen. Bryan King had just under 400 votes between them in the primary race, with King in the lead, according to the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.
-Ella Lee
Virginia Dems face pressure of inflationfears
Lora Dotson, a resident of Locust Grove, Virginia, blames Democrats for inflation and the economic pain Virginians are facing.
“I think that the gas issue is on voters’ mind the most because it’s hitting everybody at home right now in their pockets,” Dotson said.
Republicans are betting that Democrats will face backlash from voters across the nation this year, angry over higher costs of living, exhausted from the coronavirus pandemic and a looming recession.
“We’re paying these outrageous prices,” Dotson said. “It’s hurting everything. It’s hurting the whole economy.”
-Mabinty Quarshie
Read the whole story here:Inflation fears pressure Democrats in Virginia House races. Could they be a bellwether?
Alabama Republicans to select Senate nominee after Trump flip-flop
In Alabama, Sen. Richard Shelby is retiring after 35 years in the chamber and his current stint as the ranking member on the Committee on Appropriations.
Former Business Council of Alabama President Katie Britt and Rep. Mo Brooks — who had, and then lost, Trump’s backing — emerged from the Republican primary May 24, but neither with enough votes to win outright.
Given the partisan lean of the state, whoever wins the runoff is likely to easily win election in November and join the Senate Republican conference. The winner will face Democrat Will Boyd in November.
— Dylan Wells
Alabama Republican SOS candidates prioritize election security in runoff
Alabama State Rep. Wes Allen faces outgoing State Auditor Jim Zeigler in the runoff for the Secretary of State’s office, which oversees elections in the state.
Zeigler is casting himself as the outsider candidate in the race and says he would be a “watchman” on the state’s election system. Allen, a former Pike County Probate Judge, is stressing his experience running elections and calls himself the only “lifelong” Republican in the race, an allusion to the fact Zeigler, like many other state Republicans, started his political life as a Democrat.
Both candidates say they want to maintain the security of the election system, and both oppose efforts to make voting easier or more convenient. The winner will face Democratic nominee Pamela Laffitte in the November election.
–Brian Lyman, Montgomery Advertiser
More:Election workers faced new threats after 2020 election. Experts fear it will drive them away
In Georgia House runoffs, 2 Trump-backed candidates
Trump endorsed two candidates in Georgia who will compete in runoff elections on Tuesday.
In the 6th Congressional District, Trump backed attorney Jake Evans, the son of his former ambassador to Luxembourg. Evans faces an uphill battle in the runoff after physician Rich McCormick led the primary in May. The seat was redistricted to be much more Republican, so whoever wins the runoff is on track to win in November.
In the 10th District, Trump backed former state Rep. Vernon Jones, who trailed trucking company owner Mike Collins in the primary. Jones is a former Democrat, who announced he was switching parties on Jan. 6. According to Fox News, Trump offered to endorse Jones if he dropped out of the gubernatorial primary.
-Dylan Wells
Bowser faces two challengers in D.C. mayor race
D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, a Democrat, is running for reelection. If she wins, she would be only the second mayor of D.C. to be elected for a third term.
City council members Robert White and Trayon White are both primarying Bowser after serving the last six years on the council. Both are to the left of Bowser on policing, and crime and public safety have been dominant themes in the election.
Whoever wins the primary on Tuesday is on track to win in November given the Democratic tilt of the district
— Dylan Wells
Democrat Rep. Henry Cuellar declared winner in Texas recount
AUSTIN, Texas — A recount in Texas affirmed Democrat U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar as the winner Tuesday of his primary race against progressive challenger Jessica Cisneros, who had trailed by fewer than 200 votes following a runoff in May.
Cuellar, a nine-term congressman, defeated Cisneros by 289 votes, according to results of the recount announced by by the Texas Democratic Party.
The Associated Press had not previously declared a winner in the race because it had been too close to call.
It is the second time that Cisneros, a 29-year-old immigration attorney who once interned for Cuellar, has lost a challenge to her former boss, whose moderate record along Texas’ heavily Hispanic southern border has aligned him at times with Republicans on issues including abortion and guns.
— Associated Press
Alabama GOP primary for governor was four times costlier than 2018
Getting the Republican nomination for governor of Alabama proved a lot more expensive this year than years past.
The nine candidates seeking the GOP nomination for governor spent almost $26 million on the race this year, according to campaign finance reports filed with the Alabama Secretary of State’s office. The amount was four times the $6 million dropped in the lead-up to the 2018 primary.
The bulk of the expenditures came from the top three candidates: Gov. Kay Ivey, who spent $9.1 million; former Slovenian ambassador Lynda Blanchard, who spent $10.1 million, and businessman Tim James, son of former Gov. Fob James, who spent $4.5 million. Ivey’s expenditures were more than double the $4.2 million she reported spending in the 2018 GOP primary.
-Brian Lyman, Montgomery Advertiser
[ad_2]
Source link