This rising star in the GOP could succeed Florida’s Gov. DeSantis, plus other takeaways from the primaries

Rep. Byron Donalds, won the Republican nomination to be Florida’s first Black governor.

Florida Republican congressman and gubernatorial candidate Byron Donalds talks with a member of the Hispanic Police Officers Association in Doral, Fla., after receiving the group’s endorsement, Thursday, Aug. 6, 2026. [Photo: Rebecca Blackwell/AP Photo]

As the long, contentious primary season nears its end, Democratic voters elevated another progressive Senate candidate in Florida, while President Donald Trump’s chosen candidate in his adopted home state, Republican Rep. Byron Donalds, won the nomination to be the state’s first Black governor.It was a mixed bag for incumbents in the state, where Republican-led redistricting efforts scrambled congressional maps. Voters in Alaska, Wyoming and California were also choosing their nominees, sometimes considering multiple people running with matching last names.Tuesday’s contests will help shape the midterms this fall to determine control of Congress, where Republicans have a narrow edge.Here are some takeaways from this round of primaries.

Another progressive beats a far better-funded establishment rival

Progressives notched a surprise victory as the battle between outsider and establishment candidates that has roiled the Democratic Party in states like Wisconsin, Minnesota and Michigan moved to more conservative territory.In a major upset, progressive state lawmaker Angie Nixon easily defeated retired Army Lt. Col. Alex Vindman, a former National Security Council official who delivered searing testimony against Trump in his 2019 impeachment trial. Vindman had outraised Nixon by more than 16-to-1, with Nixon bringing in less than $1 million.Now she will face Sen. Ashley Moody in a campaign to fill the last two years of Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s........

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