Florida voters choose in governor, Senate primaries, and more races to watch

Three states are holding primaries on Tuesday, with Florida deciding its nominees for both governor and for Senate. In Alaska, Sen. Dan Sullivan is facing several competitors — including one who shares his name — in the nonpartisan top-four primary.

Floridians will also be voting in primaries in new congressional districts after GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis pushed through new district boundaries to give Republicans an advantage in 24 of the state's 28 districts.

Florida hasn't elected a Democratic governor since 1994 and DeSantis is prevented from running again due to term limits. In 2018, DeSantis won by less than a single point . By 2022, he won by 20 points — transforming Florida from being seen as a swing state to being solidly Republican.

Rep. Byron Donalds , first elected in 2020 to represent Naples, Fort Myers and the surrounding area, is backed by President Trump and has long branded himself as a "Make America Great Again" member of the House. He is a prominent member of the House Freedom Caucus and in 2023, challenged Kevin McCarthy in the race to become speaker, forcing 15 rounds of voting. Donalds also put his name in the bid to replace McCarthy 10 months later when he was ousted from the speakership .

In addition to Mr. Trump's backing, Donalds has amassed a significant war chest, having raised $90 million so far. He has also held a commanding lead in polls.

There are 10 other Republicans seeking the nomination, with Lt. Gov. Jay Collins and far-right activist James Fishback as the leading challengers to Donalds. While DeSantis has not endorsed in the race, Collins has branded himself as "DeSantis-appointed," but it's likely a race for second place given Donalds' lead.

Collins tried earlier this summer to get Fishback booted from the ballot, alleging Fishback had not met the state's seven-year minimum residency requirement. The case was ultimately thrown out by a judge.

Fishback, a 31-year-old Florida native, has gained momentum among young men in the "groyper" movement online and has support of Nick Fuentes and Tucker Carlson. Fishback has taunted Donalds with racist comments , calling him a "slave to donors," a "token Black" in Congress and accusing him of wanting to turn Florida into a "Section 8 ghetto."

As the well-funded front-runner, Donalds generally does not acknowledge Fishback's comments. Fishback has raised little money and does not stand much of a chance of succeeding on Tuesday, but he has pushed white nationalism into the governor's race and caused a splinter in the GOP.

Across the aisle, there are six Democrats seeking the nomination on Tuesday, with former Republican Rep. David Jolly as the front-runner. Jolly represented the St. Petersburg area from 2014 to 2016, and is the second prominent Republican-turned-Democrat to run for governor in Florida in two cycles. In 2022, former Gov. Charlie Crist — who served as a Republican as governor before becoming a Democrat and defeating Jolly in the 2016 election — lost to DeSantis by nearly 20 points. Crist is now running for St.