Primaries for key Arizona, Florida senate seats to be held on Tuesday
Arizona and Florida—two states critical to Donald Trump’s presidential win—along with Oklahoma will today hold primary votes to decide which candidates will contest midterm elections on November 6.
The midterms represent a crucial opportunity for the Democrats to overturn a Republican congressional majority. Democrats need to win just one additional Senate seat to deny the Republicans a majority in the upper house; they need to add 22 seats to do the same in the House.
Incumbent Floridian Senator Bill Nelson (D) will run unopposed in today’s primary. He’s likely to face Florida’s term-limited Governor Rick Scott (R), who is expected to beat his weak challenger in today’s primary. With Scott pouring tens of millions of dollars of his own fortune into the November 6 race, this midterm election presents a prime opportunity for the Republicans to clinch a crucial Senate seat and stave off a Democratic majority.
The situation is reversed in Arizona, where Republican Senator Jeff Flake—one of President Trump’s most outspoken critics and a potential 2020 presidential challenger—will vacate his seat. There polling shows Democrats have a real chance to win the Senate seat, with the likely winner of today’s primary Kyrsten Sinema leading all three of her potential Republican candidates.
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