Who were the winners and losers in the Florida and New York primary elections?
The last of the key races ahead of November’s primaries took place on Tuesday. We look at who triumphed in FL and NY with a full list of winners.
With the November midterms fast approaching, Tuesday saw a big day of primary elections in New York and Florida which could have huge consequences for the composition of Congress in the second half of President Biden’s first term in office.
Redistricting controversy and bitter campaigns made these some of the most hotly contested races in the country. We take a look at two winners and two losers from Tuesday’s primaries, as well as a full list of the victors in two key states.
Winner – Abortion rights activists
The Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe v. Wade is undoubtedly the key political event of the year and one that is likely to have huge repercussions in upcoming elections. The fight for renewed abortion rights enjoyed a positive result in New York where Pat Ryan, competing in a special election in New York’s 19th District, won after making abortion rights a key point in his campaign.
The district had been seen as a potential flip for the Republicans but GOP challenger Marc Molinaro, who tried to move the conversation away from abortion rights and towards economic issues, refused to back the state’s Reproductive Health Act.
Winner – Election deniers
The Republican races in Florida saw the party’s far-right wing mount a challenge to the more established candidates. The more extreme candidates lost out at the ballot box but the victors, generally considered more conservative, were almost exclusively supporters of the election fraud Big Lie.
In Florida’s 11th District Rep. Daniel Webster beat alt-right activist Laura Loomer, but Webster himself has previously pushed to contest the 2020 election results. Likewise Rep. Markwarne Mullin and Cory Mills won GOP nominations and have previously challenged the presidential election results.
The defeat of the alt-right candidates does demonstrate a rebuke of the party’s more extreme elements, but Tuesday’s results also shows how mainstream election denialism has become in the GOP.
Loser – New York progressives
The progressive cause in New York suffered losses in what is typically considered fertile ground for left-wing candidates. Sitting progressive Rep. Mondaire Jones was forced to enter the race after his old seat was removed in the redistricting controversy and lost out to Daniel Goldman, a more mainstream candidate and the main congressional attorney who helped impeach former President Donald Trump.
Likewise Alessandra Biaggi, a progressive who had won the support of Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, was comfortable beaten 67%-33% by Sean Patrick Maloney.
Loser – Carolyn Maloney
One of the most closely-watched races came in New York’s 12th District where Rep. Jerrold Nadler, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, and Rep. Carolyn B. Maloney were forced to face off after the Democrats’ redistricting attempt was ruled to be unlawful.
Maloney and Nadler, two prominent Democrats with congressional careers dating back to 1992, had to compete for a single seat after a New York appeals court ruled that the districts drawn by Democrats violated state rules on partisan gerrymandering. In a bitter campaign the two 70-year-olds became increasingly critical of each other and Maloney’s defeat is expected to spell the end of her long congressional career.
Florida Primary Results
Governor: Charlie Crist
Senate: Val Demings
Attorney General: Aramis Ayala
House Districts (Republican): Gaetz, Cammack, Bean, Rutherford, Waltz, Mills, Moore, Wimbish, Webster, Bilirakis, Luna, Judge, Lee, Buchanan, Franklin, Donalds, Mast, Budd, Navarro, Spalding, Diaz-Balart, Salazar, Gimenez; Franvese v Adeimy: race not yet called
House Districts (Democrat): Jones, Hawk, Green, Terry, Frost, Castor, Cohn, Cherfilus-McCormick, Moskowitz, Wilson, Wasserman Schultz, Taddeo, Asencio; Holloway v Hall: race not yet called
New York Primary Results
House District 19, New York Special Election: Pat Ryan
House District 23, New York Special Election: Joe Sempolinski
House Districts (Democrat): Zimmerman, Gillen, Velazquez, Jeffries, Rose, Nadler, Espaillat, Bowman, Maloney, Ryan, Riley, Tonko, Castelli, Conole, Higgins; Goldman v Niou: race not yet called
House Districts (Republican): LaLota, Garbarino, Malliotakis, Forte, Lawler, Williams, Langworthy, Tenney