Today's First Read ran down some of the top races to watch in New York. But voters in Florida and Oklahoma are also heading to the polls Tuesday for their states’ respective primaries and primary runoffs. Here are a few more races to watch from those two states:
Florida governor: Multiple Democrats are competing to take on GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis, but the top two contenders include Rep. Charlie Crist, the state’s former Republican governor who later became a Democrat, and state Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried. Crist has outraised Fried and outspent her on the airwaves.
Oklahoma Senate special: Rep. Markwayne Mullin and T.W. Shannon, the former state House speaker, are competing in the GOP runoff to replace Republican Sen. Jim Inhofe, who plans to resign next year, leaving four years left of a six-year term he was elected to in 2020. Mullin has endorsements from Trump and GOP Gov. Kevin Stitt. The winner will face former Democratic Rep. Kendra Horn in November, but the seat is expected to remain in Republican hands.
Florida's 1st District: GOP Rep. Matt Gaetz faces two primary challengers, former FedEx executive Mark Lombardo and pilot Greg Merk. Though Gaetz leads in fundraising and ad spending, Lombardo launched TV ads calling Gaetz “Lyin’ Matt Gaetz” and highlighting the fact that Gaetz is under federal investigation connected to sex trafficking crimes. Gaetz denies any allegations of wrongdoing and has not been charged with a crime.
Florida's 10th District: Democratic Rep. Val Demings’ decision to run for Senate opened up this deep-blue seat. The top fundraiser in the Democratic primary is Maxwell Alejandro Frost, a 25-year-old organizer who has been endorsed by progressive leaders including Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass. The race also features state Sen. Randolph Bracy, former Rep. Alan Grayson, and former Rep. Corrine Brown, who lost her 2016 primary while under indictment for multiple fraud charges.
Oklahoma's 2nd District: The winner of this GOP runoff will likely be heading to Congress to replace Mullin. The race has attracted outside spending, with School Freedom Fund, a group tied to the conservative Club for Growth, bolstering former state Sen. Josh Brecheen over state Rep. Avery Frix.
Elsewhere on the campaign trail…
Georgia Senate: Republican Herschel Walker tried to discredit new climate provisions by questioning “Don’t we have enough trees around here?”
Nevada Senate/Nevada governor: Democratic Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto is leading her GOP opponent, former state Attorney General Adam Laxalt, 45% to 38%, in a new Suffolk University/Reno Gazette-Journal poll. The survey also found that Democratic Gov. Steve Sisolak had a slight lead over Republican Joe Lombardo, 43% to 40%.
And NBC News’ Allan Smith reports that a pro-Lombardo super PAC is investing $1 million to target Hispanic and Asian voters.
New Hampshire Senate: Ret. Brig. Gen. Don Bolduc, who topped a Saint Anselm College poll of the GOP Senate primary earlier this month, is making his first media expenditure of the primary, per AdImpact, just $3,000 on a radio buy.
Pennsylvania Senate: Democratic Lt. Gov. John Fetterman is hitting the campaign trail again Tuesday for an event with the United Steelworkers, after nabbing the endorsement of the Pennsylvania AFL-CIO, per a campaign press release.
Washington Senate: Democratic Sen. Patty Murray launched a new TV ad knocking her GOP opponent, Tiffany Smiley, on abortion.
Kansas governor: State Attorney Derek Schmidt placed his first ad spending of the general election tracked by AdImpact, reserving nearly $1.2 million on the airwaves with TV ads beginning next week and running until November.
South Dakota governor: GOP Gov. Kristi Noem (a potential 2024 contender) may have “engaged in misconduct” involving her daughter’s application for a real estate appraiser license, a state ethics board said Monday. Another investigation into Noem’s use of a state plane was referred to the state attorney general.
California's 27th District: GOP Rep. Mike Garcia likened Democrats to the Nazis in a podcast interview where he discussed the FBI’s search of Trump’s Florida residence, per the Los Angeles Times.
New York's 11th District: Former President Trump has endorsed GOP Rep. Nicole Malliotakis in her re-election.
