Voters in Alabama, Georgia, Idaho, Kentucky, Oregon and Pennsylvania cast ballots on Tuesday. Governors, senators and former candidates are fanning out to traditional early‑voting states, courting donors and rolling out books — familiar steps toward a White House run against Republicans’ eventual nominee to succeed the term-limited U.S. President Donald Trump.
Voters in six U.S. states including Georgia and Pennsylvania hold primary elections to pick candidates ahead of the November congressional elections. Georgia and Pennsylvania will host races that are expected to play a critical role in determining control of the U.S. Senate and House, while Alabama, Idaho, Kentucky and Oregon will also hold lower-profile contests.
Pennsylvania
It’s no secret that Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro may run for the White House. But on Tuesday, the Democrat’s political clout will be tested in his home state, where he’s working to elect a slate of House candidates that he thinks will give his party the best chance to flip Republican seats in the fall.
Shapiro’s endorsed candidates include Paige Cognetti, mayor of Scranton; Bob Brooks, president of the state firefighters’ union; and Janelle Stelson, a former television news personality who narrowly lost two years ago.
As popular as he may be, Shapiro’s endorsements haven’t scared off Democratic rivals, who are fighting to defeat the governor’s picks — and perhaps send a message that he’s not as strong as he’d like to be with the 2028 presidential contest looming.
Kentucky
President Trump has repeatedly shown that Republican primary voters will follow his lead, even as his popularity wanes with the broader electorate. In Kentucky, he's supporting first-time candidate Ed Gallrein over Massie, who has been in office since 2012. Massie is trying to convince Republicans that they can support both himself and Trump at the same time, a proposition that has been tried unsuccessfully in other races around the country.
Georgia
In the race for Georgia governor, Trump is backing Lt. Gov. Burt Jones in an unexpectedly ugly battle for the Republican nomination. Jones, who comes from a wealthy Georgia family, has given his campaign $19 million. But billionaire Rick Jackson, a health care tycoon, has put more than $83 million of his fortune into the race. Trump’s endorsement power has rarely been tested against that level of lopsided spending.
Trump stayed on the sidelines of Georgia’s Senate race, leaving a crowded field of hopefuls seeking to take on Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff, who’s running unopposed for his party’s nomination.
Georgia is about to feature a fresh case study in the divergent paths available to Republicans who defy Trump. Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger and former Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan were among the few Republicans to speak out against Trump’s attempt to overturn his 2020 loss.
Both are now running for governor — Raffensperger as a Republican and Duncan as a Democrat — and both are trying to convince voters to look past things they said in the past.
Raffensperger is spending millions of his own money trying to reintroduce himself to Republicans by reminding them of his long career in conservative politics before defying Trump.
Duncan, meanwhile, is trying to convince Democratic voters that they can trust him after renouncing his prior opposition to abortion rights, gun control and the expansion of Georgia's Medicaid program.
The primaries will go to a runoff on June 16 if nobody gets 50% of the vote on Tuesday.
Alabama
In Alabama, Trump endorsed Rep. Barry Moore for Senate to replace Tommy Tuberville, who is running for governor.
Rep. David Scott's death is a reminder of Democratic gerontocracy. The late Rep. David Scott, D-Ga., was the fourth Democrat to die in office this term, fueling a growing restlessness on the left over the party's aging leadership. Scott, who was 80 when he died, was seeking a 13th term.
Scott's name will appear on the ballot alongside five other candidates running in the Democratic primary, but votes for him will not be counted. Whether someone wins on Tuesday or the race goes to a runoff on June 16, the Democratic nominee is almost certain to win the general election in a district that tilts overwhelmingly toward the Democrats.
A special election on July 28 will decide who finishes the remainder of Scott's term, with a runoff on August 25 if nobody gets a majority.
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