Welcome
It’s our last big primary night until we’re back at it again on June 7, and tonight is once again a high stakes evening, especially for former President Donald Trump.
As Geoffrey wrote in his preview of the 10 Georgia primaries to watch, Trump has endorsed seven non-incumbent Republican candidates in the GOP primaries for U.S. Senate, U.S. House, governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state and attorney general. And only one of those bets looks likely to pay off in full.
To be sure, many of these races may go to a runoff with one of Trump’s preferred candidates in the running. (Remember candidates must receive at least 50 percent of the vote to avoid a runoff in Georgia.) But it’s very likely that Trump racks up a few more losses tonight after notching his first two last week.
Nowhere is this more true than in Georgia’s governor’s race where Republican incumbent Brian Kemp looks likely to prevail against Trump-endorsed challenger, former Sen. David Perdue. A common thread in tonight’s primaries: Trump exacting vengeance on Republican officials who did not back his fraudulent claim that the 2020 election was stolen. And though Kemp looks safe, it’s important to remember that Trump’s pettiness might still get results. For instance, Trump could still get his preferred candidates in the races for secretary of state, attorney general and lieutenant governor. And as Kaleigh will write about more on the live blog, this could have huge consequences for the future of Georgia’s elections.
It’s not just Georgia going to the ballot box tonight, though. As Nathaniel and Alex wrote on Monday, there are also 11 key primaries to watch in Alabama, Arkansas, Minnesota and Texas. There, too, Trump’s influence is on the ballot, but as Jean will detail later on this live blog, Trump made safer endorsements in these states, and he should rack up a few wins here.
We’ve talked a lot about the Republican primaries so far because that’s where most of the action is tonight, but there are a few key Democratic primaries to watch as well. For instance, there are two progressive versus establishment matchups in Texas that are worth keeping an eye on in the 28th and 30th congressional districts. There’s also an incumbent-versus-incumbent showdown between Reps. Carolyn Bourdeaux and Lucy McBath in Georgia to pay attention to, as whomever wins this seat should be this district’s next representative.
But OK! That’s it from me. As always, thanks for following along, and if you have any questions, ping us @538politics and I’ll try to get your question answered on the live blog!