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Live results: Arizona and Florida hold primaries

by Max Greenwood and Lisa Hagen - 08/28/18 6:16 PM ET
by Max Greenwood and Lisa Hagen - 08/28/18 6:16 PM ET

Voters in Florida and Arizona are heading to the polls on Tuesday for some of the last remaining primaries of the season.

{mosads} Polls in Florida’s eastern time zone close at 7 p.m. EST, and at 8 p.m. EST in the state’s central time zone. In Oklahoma, polls also close at 8 p.m. In most parts of Arizona, polls close at 10 p.m. EST.

Follow The Hill’s live coverage as results trickle in.

McSally defeats Ward, Arpaio to win Arizona GOP Senate primary

11:50 p.m.

Rep. Martha McSally (R-Ariz.) won a nasty Republican Senate primary in Arizona on Tuesday, setting up a marquee fight against fellow Congresswoman Kyrsten Sinema (D) that could help decide which party controls the Senate.

McSally, the GOP establishment favorite, won 51 percent of the primary vote with 3 percent of precincts reporting, according to a projection from The Associated Press.

 

Sinema wins AZ Democratic Senate primary

11:30 p.m.
 
Rep. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) has secured the Democratic nomination to replace retiring Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.). 
 
Sinema faced a primary challenge from Deedra Abboud, but was overwhelmingly favored to win the race. She’ll face one of three possible Republican contenders – Rep. Martha McSally (R-Ariz.), former state Sen. Kelli Ward or former Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio – in the November general election.
 
Doug Ducey secures GOP nod for second-term in office
 
11:30 p.m.
 
Gov. Doug Ducey (R) beat out former Arizona Secretary of State Ken Bennett in the state’s GOP gubernatorial primary, putting him on track to win a second term in office.
 
Ducey’s win came a day after President Trump abruptly endorsed him in a tweet. The incumbent governor will face either state Senator Steve Farley, Kelly Fryer or David Garcia, who are all competing for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination, in November.

Most polls in Arizona close

10:10 p.m.
 
Polls are closing in most of Arizona, where three Republicans are vying for the nomination to challenge Rep. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) for the Senate seat being vacated by Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.).
 
Rep. Martha McSally (R-Ariz.) is seen as the favorite to win the GOP Senate nod. Two hardcore conservatives, former state Sen. Kelli Ward and former Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, have duked it out in a fight that has threatened to divide the state’s conservative base.
 
Former Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick (D-Ariz.) is also gunning for the Democratic House nomination in Arizona’s 2nd District. She faces several primary opponents. 

Stitt wins Okla. GOP gubernatorial primary

9:48 p.m.

Tulsa businessman Kevin Stitt won the GOP nomination in Oklahoma’s GOP primary runoff for governor.

Stitt, who garnered 55 percent of the vote, defeated Oklahoma City Mayor Mick Cornett, who nabbed nearly 45 percent.

Stitt will face Democratic nominee Drew Edmondson, a former state attorney general who won his party’s primary in June in the race to replace term-limited Gov. Mary Fallin (R).

Republicans are expected to hold onto the governor’s mansion in the deep-red state.

Sanders hails Gillum win

9:45 p.m.
 
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) is hailing Andrew Gillum’s stunning win in the Florida Democratic gubernatorial primary.

“Congratulations to Andrew Gillum on his victory tonight,” Sanders said in a statement. “What has made Andrew’s campaign so powerful is that he’s not just working hard to win an election, he has laid out a vision for a new course for the state of Florida and our country.”

“No one person can take on the economic and political elites on their own,” he added. “Tonight, Floridians joined Andrew in standing up and demanding change in their community. That’s what the political revolution is all about and Andrew Gillum is helping to lead it.”

Sanders had endorsed Gillum and rallied alongside with him.

Dem Mucarsel-Powell to face Curbelo in top swing seat

8:30 p.m.

Democrat Debbie Mucarsel-Powell cruised to victory in the Democratic primary, setting up a high-profile race against Rep. Carlos Curbelo (R-Fla.) in Florida’s 26th District.

Mucarsel-Powell, a former associate dean at Florida International University, garnered 64 percent of the vote, while her Democratic rival Demetries Grimes won 36 percent.

Mucarsel-Powell will now head into a tough race against Curbelo, who represents a south Florida district that went heavily for Hillary Clinton in 2016. It’s considered a top seat that Democrats will need to win if they want to take back the House this fall.

But Curbelo has proven to be a formidable opponent and even Democratic polls show Mucarsel-Powell trailing the GOP congressman—though they pull even when voters are informed about both candidates’ backgrounds.

Scott, Nelson match-up officially begins

8:20 p.m.

It’s no surprise that Florida Gov. Rick Scott prevailed in the GOP primary — especially since his only primary challenger was on the ballot in multiple states this cycle.

But Tuesday night officially marks the Senate race that will pit Scott against Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.) in what’s expected to be one of the most competitive races of the year.

Scott has already dumped in millions of his own money into the race, something he did in both of the gubernatorial races he narrowly won in 2010 and 2014. And recent polls show Scott inching up slightly ahead of the Democratic senator.

That’s left Nelson to play a bit of catch-up as he seeks a fourth term in the Senate. With nearly two months until the election and tons of ads released by his opponent, Nelson is finally up on the airwaves.

But the race is still wide open. And Scott, a close ally of President Trump, will have to navigate anti-Trump fervor in the state, which narrowly went for the president in 2016.

Soto defeats Grayson in Florida’s 9th District

8:15 p.m.

Rep. Darren Soto (D-Fla.) clinched the Democratic nomination in Florida’s 9th District, defeating former Rep. Alan Grayson (D-Fla.) who was looking to make a comeback in the race for his old seat.

AP called the race for Soto with 82 percent of precincts reporting. Soto won 65.7 percent of the vote, compared to Grayson who captured 34.3 percent.

Grayson, a liberal firebrand, frustrated the party by running against a fellow Democrat. He ran an aggressive campaign that attacked Soto’s congressional and state legislative record.

Soto will face Republican Wayne Liebnitzky, who unsuccessfully ran against him in 2016. But Soto is expected to win a second term in November to a safely Democratic seat.

Trump-backed DeSantis wins GOP gubernatorial nod in Florida

8:11 p.m.
 
Rep. Ron DeSantis (R-Fla.) easily defeated Florida Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam in the state’s Republican gubernatorial primary.
 
The win is the latest signal that Trump’s endorsement carries a lot of weight among GOP primary voters. It also deals a blow to Putnam, a favorite son of Florida Republican politics who won a seat in the state House at age 22, and who appeared poised to one day take the governor’s mansion.
 
DeSantis aligned himself closely with Trump, and the president returned the favor, urging voters in two separate tweets on Monday to vote for the Florida lawmaker.

Curbelo secures GOP nomination in FL-26

8:05 p.m.
 
Rep. Carlos Curbelo (R-Fla.) has secured the Republican nomination in Florida’s 26th District. He faced only nominal opposition from longshot primary challenger Souraya Faas, who once lauded Syrian President Bashar Assad and Russian President Vladimir Putin as “heroes” for fighting terrorism.
 
Curbelo is seeking re-election in a district won handily by Hillary Clinton in 2016 and is considered a key Democratic target this year. Debbie Mucarsel-Powell is favored to win the Democratic primary, though that race has not yet been called.

Polls close in Oklahoma

8 p.m.
 
Polls are closing in Oklahoma, where two candidates, Oklahoma City Mayor Mick Cornett and Tulsa businessman Kevin Stitt, are duking it out for the Republican gubernatorial nomination.
 
Cornett and Stitt emerged as the top two vote-getters in the state’s June primary. But neither candidate managed to break the 50 percent needed to avoid a runoff.
 
There are also runoff elections to secure either Democratic or Republican nominees in four of the state’s five House districts.
 
Remaining Florida polls close
8 p.m.
 
Precincts are closing in Florida’s panhandle, an hour behind the rest of the state.
 
While most of Florida sits in Eastern Standard Time, the far west part of the state is in Central time, and includes some of the most conservative parts of Florida.

First polls close in Florida

7 p.m.

Polls are closing in Florida’s Eastern Time Zone – the vast majority of the state, including Miami, Orlando, Tampa and Jacksonville. 
 
That means results should be trickling in soon in the state’s 26th and 27th Districts, both of which are currently held by Republicans but went for Hillary Clinton in 2016. Democrats consider those districts prime pickup territory in their quest to retake control of the House. 
 
Also in the spotlight are the Democratic and Republican gubernatorial primaries, which will be a measure of progressive momentum in the state and the strength of President Trump’s endorsement.
 
Polls will close in far-west Florida, which sits in the Central Time Zone, at 8 p.m. EST. 

 

Tags Alan Grayson Ann Kirkpatrick Bernie Sanders Bill Nelson Carlos Curbelo Darren Soto Donald Trump Hillary Clinton Jeff Flake Martha McSally Ron DeSantis

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