{"id":9333,"date":"2026-08-19T09:08:25","date_gmt":"2026-08-19T09:08:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=9333"},"modified":"2026-08-19T09:08:25","modified_gmt":"2026-08-19T09:08:25","slug":"8-takeaways-and-surprises-from-florida-wyoming-and-alaska-primaries","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=9333","title":{"rendered":"8 takeaways and surprises from Florida, Wyoming and Alaska primaries"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n
Florida Republican gubernatorial candidate Byron Donalds, center, stands with his family at a primary election party in Orlando. (John Raoux\/AP)<\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n

Many of the highest-profile elections on Tuesday night went just as expected. But across the country and down the ballot in four states, there were some surprises.<\/p>

Read more Nationals fall to Rangers as young Kent returns to the mound<\/a><\/p>\n

In a onetime battleground state that has shifted firmly to the right, Florida <\/b>Democrats took dueling approaches to win statewide for the first time since 2018. They picked a democratic socialist<\/a> to run for Senate and a former Republican to run for governor<\/a>.<\/p>\n

As GOP voters picked one House incumbent to succeed Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) as governor, they ousted another<\/a> mired in scandal whom DeSantis declined to support.<\/p>\n

A Democrat is locked in a tight race for a special election for a heavily Republican <\/b>Pennsylvania state House district, and President Donald Trump\u2019s pick for Wyoming governor lost to a state lawmaker<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s a rundown from Tuesday\u2019s elections.<\/p>\n

Of eight Florida House incumbents who faced primary challenges, only one lost: Cory Mills (R).<\/p>\n

Mills, a two-term lawmaker from the Daytona Beach area, faces mounting allegations<\/a> of sexual misconduct, domestic abuse and campaign finance violations. The House Ethics Committee said it authorized more than 20 subpoenas<\/a> as it investigates him.<\/p>\n

As DeSantis stayed out of the race, Trump stopped publicly backing Mills and some of Mills\u2019s House GOP colleagues endorsed a challenger. Primary voters in his district followed suit: They picked former news anchor Ryan Elijah by a margin of 13 percentage points, signaling voter distaste for incumbents\u2019 scandals<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Democrats haven\u2019t won statewide in Florida since 2018, and they face long odds this year. A pair of wild cards who won over primary voters will try to reverse the party\u2019s losing streak.<\/p>\n

David Jolly, a Republican turned independent Trump critic turned Democrat, beat challengers from the left to take on Rep. Byron Donalds (R) in the governor\u2019s race.<\/p>\n

He\u2019ll be on the ballot alongside Angie Nixon<\/a>, a progressive state lawmaker from Jacksonville who recently joined the Democratic Socialists of America but had not been endorsed by the group or any of its chapters. Facing Alexander Vindman, a key witness in Trump\u2019s first impeachment trial<\/a>, she overcame a massive disadvantage in fundraising and spending. She will face Sen. Ashley Moody (R), who is in her second year in Congress after being appointed to fill the seat left open when Marco Rubio became secretary of state.<\/p>\n

Donalds and Moody will be heavily favored. Although this election will herald the end of DeSantis\u2019s ironfisted leadership in Florida, he has managed to turn the former swing state into a conservative bastion.<\/p>\n

DeSantis\u2019s move to redraw the state\u2019s congressional map and give the GOP a boost scrambled the field for many House races.<\/p>\n

But some of the incumbents whose districts were splintered managed to hang on<\/a>: Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D), who faced criticism for shifting to run in a predominantly Black seat, beat four Black candidates.<\/p>\n

Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D), a moderate, ran in a new district, a battleground where he defeated a democratic socialist. He will now face a self-described \u201cAmerica First\u201d mayor.<\/p>\n

As in that race, Democrats are expected to fight for other seats that were redrawn to favor Republicans: In Tampa, Rep. Kathy Castor (D) is facing former state lawmaker Mike Beltran, while an empty seat in southern Florida pits restaurant franchisee Casey Askar (R) against Pia Dandiya (D), a tech executive and former teacher.<\/p>\n

The GOP\u2019s best flip opportunity is likely to come in the Orlando area, where the Republican primary to take on Rep. Darren Soto<\/a> (D) was too close to call early Wednesday.<\/p>

Read more Trump revives unverified claims of noncitizen voting in 2020<\/a><\/p>\n

The power of Trump\u2019s endorsement took another blow<\/a> after his preferred candidate in Wyoming\u2019s gubernatorial primary, Megan Degenfelder, lost to state Sen. Eric Barlow.<\/p>\n

Degenfelder, the state\u2019s superintendent of public instruction, secured Trump\u2019s endorsement before she even announced her campaign. But Barlow had years of experience in party leadership in the state legislature, <\/b>as well as the cash advantage.<\/p>\n

Gubernatorial candidates in Iowa, Minnesota, South Carolina and Georgia also lost GOP primaries despite Trump\u2019s backing.<\/p>\n

In a deep red state like Wyoming, political fights are usually about how far right Republicans should go.<\/p>\n

State Rep. Rachel Rodriguez-Williams, chair of the ultraconservative Wyoming Freedom Caucus, accused Barlow of being insufficiently conservative<\/u><\/a> during his time as House speaker and opposed his gubernatorial run. Others in Wyoming\u2019s right flank did well on Tuesday.<\/p>\n

Rep. Harriet Hageman, Trump\u2019s pick for the open Senate seat vacated by the retiring Sen. Cynthia Lummis, won her race handily. Secretary of State Chuck Gray, aligned with the Freedom Caucus, won the crowded primary for the state\u2019s sole House seat, vacated by Hageman, a conservative who unseated the fierce Republican Trump critic Liz Cheney in 2022. <\/b><\/p>\n

In a Pennsylvania special election, Democrat Brandon Dukes held a narrow lead over Republican Scott Timko in a state House district that Trump carried by 18 percentage points in 2024. The race remained uncalled early Wednesday morning.<\/p>\n

The district includes parts of Butler County close to the site where Trump was shot at during a campaign rally two years ago. Tuesday\u2019s winner will complete the months left in the term of a lawmaker who stepped down. Dukes and Timko are also competing in November for a full term.<\/p>\n

While special elections generally have low turnout, Tuesday\u2019s contest could be an early sign of shifting political sentiments in the swing state. Pennsylvania is home to several battleground congressional districts in the fight for control of the U.S. House.<\/p>\n

Democrats have won or overperformed expectations in special elections in the past year, including an upset<\/a> in a Florida state legislative district that includes the president\u2019s Mar-a-Lago estate.<\/p>\n

The force of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee<\/a> was on display in a California special election where the pro-Israel lobby\u2019s last-minute intervention may have thinned the margin between two Democrats competing for the seat vacated by Eric Swalwell (D).<\/p>\n

AIPAC\u2019s super PAC, the United Democracy Project, swooped in and spent millions of dollars on advertising in the final two weeks of the race. The election was too close to call Tuesday despite state Sen. Aisha Wahab, a critic of Israel, finishing with a double-digit lead over her opponent Melissa Hernandez in the primary.<\/p>\n

AIPAC\u2019s involvement in races has become controversial<\/a>, including in Michigan, where Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed turned its super PAC\u2019s massive spending against him into a rallying cry for his supporters. Tuesday\u2019s outcome showed that despite its polarizing brand, AIPAC still wields power in congressional races.<\/p>\n

Sen. Dan Sullivan (R) and former representative Mary Peltola (D) advanced to the general election in Alaska\u2019s Senate race. The state\u2019s unusual primary system meant the two were widely anticipated to make it, but they will also contend against two other candidates in a ranked-choice system.<\/p>\n

Sullivan is one of Democrats\u2019 biggest targets this year in their bid to retake control of the Senate. Peltola, who was previously the state\u2019s sole House member, was recruited by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (New York) and has been an adept fundraiser.<\/p>

Read more Workers start latest repairs to Reflecting Pool liner, months after rehab began<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Embattled Rep. Cory Mills (R-Florida) lost his re-election bid, another Trump gubernatorial pick fell, and another democratic socialist won a Democratic primary. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":9331,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9333","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interesting"],"yoast_head":"\n8 takeaways and surprises from Florida, Wyoming and Alaska primaries - Moving Insider USA<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=9333\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"8 takeaways and surprises from Florida, Wyoming and Alaska primaries - Moving Insider USA\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Embattled Rep. 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