Primary elections in Georgia, Alabama, runoff in Texas
Voters Tuesday are picking their party nominees for several key elections, including Alabama's open Senate seat and Georgia's gubernatorial race.
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Follow live returns from Texas, Alabama and Georgia and more in the Fox News Election Center.
Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger will handily defeat Trump-backed challenger Rep. Jody Hice in the GOP primary for secretary of State, the Associated Press projects.
It appears Raffensperger will avoid a runoff, as he leads with 52% of the vote (above the 50% threshold to avoid a runoff). Hice came in a distant second with 33.6%, with 94.4% of votes counted.
Former Senate staffer Katie Britt and Rep. Mo Brooks, R-Ala., will face off next month in a runoff for Alabama's Republican nomination for U.S. Senate, the Associated Press projects.
Britt holds a commanding lead in the primary day votes, but will not reach the 50% threshold necessary to avoid a runoff. Brooks, meanwhile, leads veteran Mike Durant by enough to secure a second-place finish and a matchup against Britt that will likely decide Alabama's next U.S. senator.
"It is clear tonight that Alabamians want new blood. Yes. They want someone to go to Washington, DC and shake it up," Britt said to supporters, according to Fox News' Ben Florence.
"Two months ago, the experts declared our campaign dead in the water," Brooks said. "Today? Call me Lazarus! Back from the dead, resurrected by Alabama citizens who figured out who the real MAGA conservative is, and voted for America First. Thank you!"
Former President Donald Trump speaks during the American Freedom Tour at the Austin Convention Center on May 14, 2022 in Austin, Texas. (Brandon Bell/Getty Images)
Former President Donald Trump's spokesman Taylor Budowich Tuesday touted the strength of Trump's endorsement, even as one of his biggest foes in the Republican Party beat a Trump-backed opponent.
"President Trump is continuing to win everywhere after having another huge night of victories for his endorsed candidates," Budowich said according to Fox News' Paul Steinhauser. "Americans are clearly united around restoring the leadership and policies of President Trump in 2022 and beyond."
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, who resisted Trump's efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election, Tuesday handily beat former Sen. David Perdue, the former president's handpicked candidate to challenge the governor. Kemp's win was the biggest so far by a GOP candidate running against a Trump-endorsed opponent.
Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, who also fought against Trump's false claims the presidential election was stolen in 2020, also leads his race over Rep. Jody Hice, R-Ga., who Trump endorsed. That race was not yet called as of 11 p.m. Tuesday.
Trump's record on endorsements in Republican primaries is still stellar, however.
As of May 18, 96% of Trump-supported candidates won their primaries. Just this year, Trump's endorsement powered Ohio GOP Senate nominee JD Vance to a major comeback victory last month and set Pennsylvania senate candidate Mehmet Oz up as a frontrunner in his race, which isn't yet called a week after the primary.
GOP Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp Tuesday told supporters at his victory party that after his primary victory over former Sen. David Perdue, the real fight is beginning against Democrat nominee Stacey Abrams
"Our battle is far from over," he said. "Tonight, the fight for the soul of our state begins to make sure that Stacey Abrams is not going to be our governor or the next president."
Rep. Lucy McBath, D-Ga., beat Rep. Carolyn Bourdeaux, D-Ga., in a member-on-member primary in Georgia Tuesday, the Associated Press projects, making Bourdeaux the latest incumbent casualty of the midterms.
Due to redistricting in Georgia, McBath was forced out of her district and into a face-off with Bourdeaux.
Bourdeaux is a member of the moderate Blue Dog Coalition, and her loss will slightly weaken the strength of moderate House Democrats in Congress.
Former White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders is projected to win the Arkansas Republican gubernatorial primary, the Associated Press projects.
Endorsed early on in the race by former President Trump, Sanders is hoping to replace incumbent Gov. Asa Hutchinson, who is term-limited and has served as governor of the state since 2015.
To read more from Fox News' Kyle Morris, click here
DALLAS, TEXAS - JULY 11: Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton speaks during the Conservative Political Action Conference CPAC held at the Hilton Anatole on July 11, 2021 in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by Brandon Bell/Getty Images) (Brandon Bell)
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton Tuesday successfully fought off a primary challenge from Texas Land Commissioner George P. Bush, meaning the last member of the Bush political dynasty in elected office will soon be without a job.
Paxton's victory, projected by the Associated Press, is also a victory for former President Donald Trump, who endorsed the attorney general for reelection. Trump saw his picks in Georgia's governor race and secretary of state race lose earlier Tuesday night.
Paxton is best known nationally for trying to legally upend the 2020 presidential election results and for his aggressive actions in taking on President Biden’s administration in court. But he is saddled with a slew of corruption allegations as he seeks a third four-year term as Texas attorney general.
To read more from Fox News' Paul Steinhauser and Tyler Olson, click here
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., talks as President Joe Biden delivers his first State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress at the Capitol in Washington March 1, 2022. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, Pool, File)
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., Tuesday won the GOP nomination for her seat after an establishment-backed primary challenge from businesswoman Jennifer Strahan.
Greene earned significant criticism from many in the GOP for her past controversial comments, including some which were anti-Semitic. Greene has apologized for many of her past comments, but nevertheless was removed from her House committees by congressional Democrats.
Strahan was backed by the Republican Jewish Coalition and other establishment DC figures like Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La. But that wasn't enough to power her over the firebrand Trump-supporter Greene in her deep-red north Georgia district.
Polls in Arkansas have closed as former White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders is favored to win the GOP nomination for governor and incumbent Sen. John Boozman hopes to fend off his primary challengers in a contentious race.
Endorsed early on in the race by former President Trump, Sanders hopes to clinch her party's nomination in an attempt to replace incumbent Gov. Asa Hutchinson, who is term-limited and has served as governor of the state since 2015.
Ahead of Tuesday's election, Sanders, who announced she was running for governor in January 2021, consistently polled ahead of Francis "Doc" Washburn, her primary challenger. Washburn is a former radio talk show host who now has his own national podcast.
To read more from Fox News' Kyle Morris, click here
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp Tuesday beat former Sen. David Perdue in a GOP gubernatorial primary, striking the most significant blow yet to a candidate endorsed by former President Donald Trump.
Kemp's victory over Perdue, projected by the Associated Press, breaks a trend of significant success for Trump with his primary endorsements. As of May 18, 96% of Trump-supported candidates won their primaries. Trump's endorsement powered Ohio GOP Senate nominee JD Vance to a major comeback victory last month and set Pennsylvania senate candidate Mehmet Oz up as a frontrunner in his race, which isn't yet called a week after the primary.
But now Kemp, one of the Republicans Trump has attacked the most since 2020, is headed to a general election matchup against Democrat Stacey Abrams and Perdue is out of public office for now.
“I just called the governor and I congratulated him," Perdue said Tuesday. “I am fully supporting Brian Kemp…tomorrow morning you are going to hear me going to work...to make damn sure Stacey Abrams is not the next governor of Georgia."
To read more from Fox News' Tyler Olson and Paul Steinhauser, click here
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is facing primary challenge from George P. Bush on Tuesday in the Republican primary runoff for the Lone Star state’s top law enforcement officer.
Paxton, who is backed by former President Donald Trump, is known nationally for trying to legally upend the 2020 presidential election results and for his aggressive actions in taking on President Biden’s administration in court. But he is saddled with a slew of corruption allegations as he seeks a third four-year term as Texas attorney general.
Bush, twice elected to statewide office as Texas land commissioner, is the last elected member of his family’s political dynasty — which over four generations has produced two family members who rose to become president, George W. Bush and George H.W. Bush, and one who became a senator, Prescott Bush.
To read more from Fox News' Paul Steinhauser, click here
Alabama Senate candidates Mike Durant (L), Katie Britt (M), Mo Brooks (R) (Durant campaign / Britt campaign, / Bill Clark, CQ Roll Call )
Polls in Alabama have closed as one candidate who recently surged in polling aims to obtain a seat held by longtime Alabama Republican Sen. Richard Shelby, who is retiring at the end of his term.
Ahead of the election on Tuesday, leading contenders for the Republican nomination in the Alabama Senate race were Katie Boyd Britt, Shelby's former chief of staff who once led the Business Council of Alabama; Rep. Mo Brooks, R-Ala., an outspoken conservative in Congress who received an endorsement from Trump but later lost it; and Mike Durant, a business owner in the state and a former Army pilot who was involved in the "Black Hawk Down" incident.
The contentious GOP primary race for the Senate is likely to lead to a runoff election on June 21 should no candidate garner more than 50% of Tuesday's vote.
To read more from Fox News' Kyle Morris, click here
Former football star Herschel Walker won Georgia's Republican Senate primary Tuesday, as he seeks to unseat Sen. Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., in November.
Walker is a rare candidate to unite both the MAGA wing and the establishment win of the Republican party. He earned endorsements from both former President Donald Trump and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., in the GOP primary race.
Polls closed for primary voters in Texas and Alabama at 8 p.m. ET Tuesday, with several key primary races at stake in the two southern states.
In Alabama, former Senate staffer Katie Britt, Rep. Mo Brooks and veteran Mike Durant are vying for what will likely be two spots in a runnoff set for next month.
Meanwhile in Texas, George P. Bush -- the last member of the Bush family in public office -- is mounting a primary challenge against Trump-supported Attorney General Ken Paxton.
Polls in Texas closed at 7 p.m. CT except for the two most Western districts, which close 7 p.m. MT.
Sen. Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., Tuesday won his primary election against challenger Tamara Johnson-Shealy, setting the senator up to defend his seat November.
Warnock, who is expected to have to face off against GOP frontrunner Herschel Walker, is considered one of the most endangered Democrats in the Senate, as Democrats struggle to make their case to voters amid rising inflation and low approval for President Biden.
Stacey Abrams is projected to win Georgia's Democrat gubernatorial primary, according to the Associated Press, setting her up to face the winner of the Brian Kemp-David Perdue Republican primary in November.
Abrams, a former state lawmaker, narrowly lost to Kemp in the 2018 Georgia gubernatorial race.
The Georgia race grabbing the most attention from coast to coast is GOP gubernatorial primary, where conservative Gov. Brian Kemp is being challenged by Trump-backed former Sen. David Perdue.
Four years ago, with the support of the then-president, Kemp narrowly defeated Democrat Stacey Abrams. But Kemp earned Trump’s ire after certifying the 2020 presidential election results in Georgia following two recounts of the vote. Last year, Trump repeatedly urged Perdue to primary challenge the governor and endorsed him the day after the former senator announced his bid in December.
Perdue jumped into the race days after Abrams, a rising star in the Democratic Party and a nationally known champion of voter rights, launched her second straight gubernatorial bid. Abrams is unopposed in the Democratic primary.
Trump traveled to Georgia in late March to headline a rally for Perdue, starred in his campaign commercials, and called into two tele-rallies this month. But even though Trump retains immense sway over the GOP, his full court press hasn’t boosted Perdue in his uphill challenge of Kemp.
To read more from Fox News' Paul Steinhauser, click here
Polls closed for voters in Georgia at 7 p.m. ET Tuesday, with yet another test of former President Donald Trump's endorsement clout on deck in the state's gubernatorial and secretary of state primaries.
Trump-endorsed former Sen. David Perdue is taking on Gov. Brian Kemp, who's supported by former Vice President Mike Pence. Meanwhile, Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger looks to hold off a Trump-backed Rep. Jody Hice, R-Ga. Both contests will be a major test of Trump's sway in the GOP and whether Republican voters continue to be focused on the 2020 election.
Also in Georgia, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., is facing a primary challenge from businesswoman Jennifer Strahan. Strahan's campaign got some national GOP attention, but it's not clear if she'll be able to best the incumbent Greene.
Former President Donald Trump shakes hands with former Sen. David Perdue, who's primary challenging GOP Gov. Brian Kemp of Georgia, at the former president's rally in Cumming, Ga. on March 26, 2022 (David Perdue campaign)
ATLANTA – Former President Donald Trump has targeted Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp for nearly a year and a half.
And on the eve of the Peach State’s primary – with Trump backing Kemp challenger former Sen. David Perdue – the former president took aim at the governor one last time before voters headed to the polls
"Brian Kemp is truly an embarrassment to the Republican Party because of what's taken place in your great state, Georgia," Trump charged during a tele-rally Monday evening on behalf of Perdue. "And David will make a massive upgrade as your governor."
Georgia, a crucial general election battleground, is one of three states holding primaries on Tuesday, along with Alabama and Arkansas. And voters are also heading to the polls in Texas, where there are primary runoffs for attorney general and Congress. And while Trump is not on the ballot, his presence looms large over many of the high-profile GOP showdowns.
To read more from Fox News' Paul Steinhauser, click here
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