Primaries Shape Congressional Races in Florida, Alaska, and Oklahoma

Voters in Florida, Alaska, and Oklahoma selected candidates in primary elections on Tuesday. These contests will influence the composition of Congress and state leadership in the upcoming midterm elections.

### Florida Primary Elections

Florida voters made choices for various offices. Democratic voters nominated Representative Charlie Crist for governor. Crist will challenge incumbent Republican Governor Ron DeSantis in the general election. Crist previously served as a Republican governor of Florida from 2007 to 2011.

In the U.S. Senate race, Democratic voters chose Representative Val Demings to challenge Republican Senator Marco Rubio. Demings, a former Orlando police chief, secured her party's nomination. Voters also selected candidates for House of Representatives districts across the state.

### Alaska Primary and Special Elections

Alaska held a primary election and a special election for its lone House seat. The special election utilized ranked-choice voting. Voters ranked candidates for the remainder of Representative Don Young's term. Young, a Republican, died in March.

In the primary election, voters selected candidates for the general election in November. Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski faced primary challengers. Murkowski, who voted to convict Donald Trump during his impeachment trial, previously won re-election in 2010 as a write-in candidate after losing her primary. Former Governor Sarah Palin also ran for the House seat. Palin, a Republican, resigned as governor in 2009.

### Oklahoma Primary Runoffs

Oklahoma voters participated in runoff elections. These runoffs decided candidates who did not secure more than 50% of the vote in the initial primary. These elections set the stage for general election matchups in November.