In a special election in California, Vince Fong won the seat previously held by former Speaker Kevin McCarthy, representing the most conservative district in the state. Fong will serve until January and will face his Republican opponent, Mike Boudreaux, in the fall to seek a full term. Georgia, Idaho, Kentucky, and Oregon also held primary contests, with presidential primaries in Kentucky and Oregon seeing notable protest votes against President Biden and former President Trump. Biden faced resistance in the Kentucky primary, with nearly 30 percent of voters backing an option other than him. In Oregon, a write-in campaign protesting Biden’s handling of the war in Gaza underperformed significantly, with Trump winning 85 percent of the Republican primary vote.
In Georgia, Fani T. Willis, the prosecutor for Trump’s criminal case, won her primary by a landslide, gaining 87 percent of the vote. Scott McAfee, the judge overseeing Trump’s case, also won re-election with 83 percent of the vote. Willis’ victory indicates confidence in her performance among Democrats, despite controversy over a romantic relationship with a lawyer she had hired. A progressive candidate in Oregon, Jamie McLeod-Skinner, lost in the Democratic primary to Janelle Bynum, who will face Representative Lori Chavez-DeRemer in a closely watched House race. Mike Schmidt, the progressive district attorney of Multnomah County, was trailing his challenger, Nathan Vasquez, who criticized Schmidt for Portland’s issues with drugs and crime.
Mr. Vasquez blamed Mr. Schmidt for Portland’s recent problems with drugs and crime, vowing to prosecute even petty crimes amid a rise in homicides, homelessness, and overdose deaths under Schmidt’s tenure. Schmidt, who had previously focused on making low-level crimes lower priority, shifted his stance on drugs and violent crime in response to voters’ concerns. Georgia, Idaho, Kentucky, and Oregon held primary contests, with notable protest votes against President Biden and former President Trump in the Kentucky and Oregon presidential primaries. Mr. Trump was unopposed in Oregon’s Republican primary, while a write-in campaign protesting Biden’s handling of the war in Gaza underperformed significantly.
Overall, the elections in Georgia, Idaho, Kentucky, and Oregon revealed varying dynamics within each state’s political landscape. Fani T. Willis’ landslide victory in Georgia’s district attorney primary signified confidence in her performance, despite controversy over her relationship with a lawyer working on Trump’s case. Progressives faced challenges in Oregon, with Jamie McLeod-Skinner losing the Democratic primary and Mike Schmidt facing criticism over Portland’s issues with drugs and crime. The presidential primaries in Kentucky and Oregon saw protest votes against President Biden, with turnout significantly lower in the Democratic primary in Kentucky compared to 2020. Despite these challenges and controversies, the results of these primary contests will shape the upcoming general elections and potentially influence the broader national political landscape.
