Tuesday’s primary elections saw the victory of a beloved progressive, the defeat of a Trump supported GOP candidate, and a “to close to call” result in a crucial Kentucky Senate race. Here’s the rundown from some of the primaries’ most popular races.
What We Know:
New York
- Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez cruised to victory Tuesday, garnering almost 73% of the vote in New York’s 14th district.
- AOC took down moderate former cable news host Michelle Caruso-Cabrera, who raised about $2 million.
- “What you all have shown is that a people’s movement here is not an accident, it is a mandate,” Ocasio-Cortez said on a livestream Tuesday night. “This absolutely strengthens us. It’s not just about winning or losing, but so much of this is about how we win. To win with that kind of mandate is transformative, and it tells us that our policy positions are not an accident.”
- Her victory has further fueled talks of a 2022 primary challenge to Senate Minority Chuck Schumer. In the meantime, she’ll be rooting for Jamaal Bowman and Mondaire Jones, who could be one of the first openly LGBTQ Black members of Congress, to win their close, undecided races to improve her influence in the House Democratic Caucus.
North Carolina
- 24-year-old Republican Madison Cawthorn won North Carolina’s 11th congressional primary for the seat vacated by the President’s chief of staff, Mark Meadows. Cawthorn will turn 25 in August, the constitutionally required age to serve in the House, and if elected in November will become the youngest member of Congress.
- He defeated Lynda Bennett, a realtor supported by President Donald Trump.
- “Tonight, the voters of the 11th district of North Carolina said they’re ready for a new generation of leadership in Washington,” Cawthorn said in a statement Tuesday night. “You turned our message of hope, opportunity and freedom into a movement.”
Kentucky
- The highly anticipated Democratic Senate primary between Amy McGrath and Charles Booker has not determined a winner, while McGrath leads Booker by just over 2,000 votes. That tally, however, only includes votes cast in person. None of the substantial number of mail-in ballots that could determine the outcome have been counted and will not be for days.
- For months, McGrath had the clear advantage in the race but the recent focus on racial injustice in America, to which Booker has been extremely outspoken (even attending protests), created a new energy behind his campaign.
- The state reduced the number of polling places from 3,700 to fewer than 200, including just one each in the state’s two largest cities, due to a massive shortages of poll workers as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. This led to concerns of a suppressed Black vote, including from national figures such as Hillary Clinton, NBA star LeBron James and Stacey Abrams, the former Georgia gubernatorial candidate.
- A judge extended voting by 30 minutes, allowing more than 100 people who were waiting outside Louisville’s Expo Center to vote. The judge’s decision did not fulfill Booker’s request to extend voting to 9 p.m. ET.
Democratic primary races, like that of Rep. Ocasio-Cortez and Charles Booker, show the impact of grass-roots campaigns and their efforts to topple candidates with major funding. The recent primary elections can be used as a dry run for how candidates will approach the critical 2020 general election.
