Over the next four weeks, the remaining seven states on the calendar will complete their primary elections, locking in the Senate, House and gubernatorial landscape for the fall. (Louisiana, which uses a majority-vote system where all candidates, regardless of party, appear on the same ballot in November, is the unique exception.)
Here’s an overview of the most important primary races left to be decided, roughly 80 days out from the general election.
Much of the attention next Tuesday will be on Florida, a once-perennial swing state that has trended in the GOP’s direction over the past decade. Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis, who is already eyeing the 2024 presidential campaign, must first win re-election this fall. The leading Democratic candidates to take him on are Rep. Charlie Crist and Florida Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried. Democrats are also expected to officially nominate Rep. Val Demings in the race against GOP Sen. Marco Rubio.
Democrats’ intraparty tensions will be on display in New York, where the redistricting process has left some House incumbents in vulnerable positions. Longtime Reps. Carolyn Maloney and Jerry Nadler will square off against each other in the state’s newly drawn 12th District. Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney, who chairs the Democrats’ House campaign arm, is facing a progressive challenger backed by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, in the 17th District, which had been represented by Rep. Mondaire Jones under the old map. Jones is now instead running in the new 10th District, but faces a tough race against a large field that includes Dan Goldman, who was one of the House’s impeachment lawyers in Donald Trump’s first impeachment hearing.
Ruby red Oklahoma is also holding their primary runoff elections on this day, most notably to decide the Republican nominee for the special election to fill the seat Sen. Jim Inhofe will vacate in January. The winner of the contest between Rep. Markwayne Mullin and former state House Speaker T.W. Shannon will be a heavy favorite in November.
September 6
Massachusetts has the Tuesday after Labor Day all to itself. With Republican Gov. Charlie Baker, one of the most popular governors in the country, declining to run for reelection, Democrats are confident they can take back the seat in the deep blue state.
State Attorney General Maura Healey has a clear path to the Democratic gubernatorial nomination, while Republicans are deciding between former state Rep. Geoff Diehl and businessman Chris Doughty.
September 13
After declining to run for Senate himself, GOP Gov. Chris Sununu is running for reelection instead. State Sen. Tom Sherman is expected to win the Democratic nomination.
Delaware and Rhode Island will also hold their primaries on this day.
The Point: In less than a month, the full midterm election playing field will come into view and the sprint to November will truly pick up pace.
