Florida voters will head to the polls Tuesday to select party nominees for key state and federal elections in November, marking the first elections in the state to use newly redrawn congressional districts.
Three states are holding primaries on Tuesday. In Alaska, Sen. Dan Sullivan faces several competitors, including one who shares his name, in the nonpartisan top-four primary. Florida is deciding its nominees for both governor and Senate, while voters will also cast ballots in primaries across new congressional districts.
The state's legislature, which skews heavily Republican, redrew the congressional map in May to favor right-wing candidates. The new boundaries give Republicans an advantage in 24 of Florida's 28 districts. The redistricting effort is part of a broader push under President Donald Trump to give the Republican Party an advantage in the November general election.
In the gubernatorial race, Florida has not elected a Democratic governor since 1994. Gov. Ron DeSantis is prevented from running again due to term limits. DeSantis won the 2018 gubernatorial election 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 running for the Republican gubernatorial nomination. Donalds is backed by President Trump and has long branded himself as a "Make America Great Again" member of the House.
The race to replace Donalds in Florida's 19th Congressional District, which includes parts of Cape Coral, Naples and Fort Myers, has drawn a unique cast of candidates. The district is strongly Republican. One candidate is John Strand, a former model and actor who grew up in Beverly Hills, California. Strand is a convicted and pardoned January 6 rioter. Many candidates running for the seat have only recent ties to the district and the state. The field also includes former members of Congress and pardon recipients from President Trump.
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