As the long, contentious primary season nears its end, Democratic voters elevated another progressive Senate candidate in Florida, while President Donald Trump 's chosen candidate in his adopted home state, Republican Rep. Byron Donalds, won the nomination to be the state's first Black governor.
It was a mixed bag for incumbents in the state, where Republican-led redistricting efforts scrambled congressional maps.
Tuesday's contests will help shape the fiercely contested midterms this fall to determine control of Congress, where Republicans have a narrow edge.
Here are some takeaways from the contests:
Donalds joins historic slate of Black candidates for governor
Donalds, a rising star in the Republican Party, won his party's nomination to succeed term-limited Gov. Ron DeSantis, joining a historic slate of Black gubernatorial nominees across the country as he vies to become the first Black governor of the state.
There is currently only one Black governor in the nation, Democrat Wes Moore of Maryland, who is seeking reelection in November.
Donalds will face David Jolly, a Republican-turned-independent-turned-Democrat, who won the Democratic nomination Tuesday night.
Wasserman Schultz wins diverse, redistricted Florida seat
A Republican-led redrawing scrambled Florida's congressional map, creating some awkward matchups for Democrats.
But longtime U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz easily won the most contentious race, beating U.S. Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick and three other Black candidates in a South Florida district that is a plurality-Black district. Cherfilus-McCormick had resigned earlier this year under a pending federal indictment and threat of House ethics sanctions, but wanted her seat back.
Wasserman Schultz, a former national party chair seeking a 12th term in Congress, was the only white candidate competing to represent an area of Broward County that has helped send Black Democrats to Congress since 1992.
Her decision to run had stirred deep animosity, including charges by one rival that "she stabbed us in the back."
Trump pick loses in race in race for Donalds' seat
While Trump-backed Donalds emerged victorious, the candidate Trump had endorsed to fill his seat — Catalina Lauf — lost to Jim Schwartzel, owner of conservative talk radio station 92.5 FOX News.
The race had featured a cast of characters akin to a reality show reunion, including several who had spent time in prison and a handful who had run in other states.
They included two former members of Congress mounting comeback bids after departing in scandal: Former North Carolina Rep. Madison Cawthorn's tenure was marred by repeat traffic stops, guns at airport checkpoints and a claim he had been invited to a Washington orgy. Former New York Rep. Chris Collins, who resigned before pleading guilty to insider trading charges, served prison time before he was pardoned by Trump.
Trump-endorsed Lauf had run twice for Congress in Illinois. She lost the 2020 primary to Jim Oberweis, a former state senator, who has also decamped to Florida and ran for the seat.
Another candidate, Ola Hawatmeh, previously ran unsuccessfully for Congress in New York, while Linda Sawyer once tried in Michigan.
Also in the race: John Strand, a former television actor, underwear model and romance novel cover model, who served prison time for his role in the Jan. 6, 2021 assault of the U.S. Capitol.
Progressive beats an establishment candidate again
The internal battle between progressive and establishment candidates that has been roiling the Democratic Party in states like Wisconsin, Minnesota and Michigan, continued to play out on more conservative territory with mixed results.
Progressive state lawmaker Angie Nixon easily defeated retired Army Lt. Col. Alex Vindman, a former National Security Council official who delivered searing testimony against Trump in his 2019 impeachment trial.
Nixon, who had raised just a fraction of Vindman's campaign haul, will now face interim Sen. Ashley Moody in a race to fill the last two years of Secretary of State Marco Rubio's former Senate term. Moody was appointed by DeSantis after Rubio stepped down.
But in South Florida, U.S. Rep. Jared Moskowitz won the nomination for reelection in a new Republican-friendly district against union organizer and democratic socialist Oliver Larkin.
Republicans lose an incumbent
While Democratic incumbents won their races, Republican Rep. Cory Mills lost his bid for a third term to Ryan Elijah, a former television reporter.
Mills faced a series of scandals, including allegations of domestic violence involving a former girlfriend, which he denies. He had also been abandoned by DeSantis and other state officials.
Trump initially backed Mills in February but did not include him in a list of endorsements on Monday.
Follow the AP's coverage of the 2026 election at https://apnews.com/projects/elections-2026/.
