Trump stakes out territory in Georgia and Oklahoma primaries to shape Republican Party ahead of midterms

The United States set the election clock in motion weeks ago. Since then, both parties have rushed to hold primaries to select candidates for the House of Representatives, the Senate and for several governorships ahead of midterm elections in November that are shaping up as a decisive measure of public discontent with the excesses of Donald Trump. The process is complex because electoral rules are intricate and vary by state, and they will showcase the firm grip the Republican president holds over his party. The pattern of endorsements from the occupant of the White House has been decisive so far in these preliminary races.

With the U.S. president traveling in Europe, Georgia became the center of attention on Tuesday in a day that also featured primaries to choose a mayor in Washington, D.C., and representatives in Alabama and Oklahoma.

Georgia has been the hot spot for Republican primaries. The Trump-backed Senate candidate, Mike Collins, defeated his party rival in the race, former University of Tennessee football coach Derek Dooley, winning more than 55% of the vote.

Georgia, key to the future

Georgia’s primaries are notable because they are taking place amid a political battle within the Republican Party between outgoing governor Brian Kemp and Trump for control of the party. The rivalry goes back to 2020, when Kemp refused to support the current president in his attempt to overturn that year’s election won by Joe Biden, falsely alleging fraud.

Two years later, the New York real estate magnate tried to exact revenge by backing another candidate in an unsuccessful bid to unseat Kemp as governor.

Collins, a transportation company owner and the son of a congressman, calls himself a “MAGA warrior.” He will face Democratic candidate Jon Ossoff in November, an ascending figure in his party. If Ossoff performs well in November, Democrats expect him to be a contender in the 2028 presidential race.

Republicans are worried about Ossoff in a state they have traditionally controlled but one the Democrats have a strong chance of flipping. That is why Collins’s first words after learning he had won the Republican primary were: “Y’all know what the mission is, it’s to put a Republican in that seat and get rid of that Jon Ossoff in November and return this seat to the people of Georgia.”

The other focal point in the Atlanta area is the gubernatorial race. Burt Jones, the lieutenant governor and front-runner, secured endorsements from Trump and from the outgoing governor, Republican Brian Kemp, who remains in open conflict with the U.S. president. Yet Jones, who was among the politicians who backed Trump in 2020 in his attempt to overturn his defeat by Joe Biden, was ultimately defeated by Rick Jackson, a billionaire and health care executive who has spent nearly $100 million on his campaign, through TV and radio ads. Jackson’s budget is four times larger than Jones’. He will face former Atlanta mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, a Democrat, in November.

The midterms will be held in early November and will test Donald Trump’s power after a first half of his presidency marked by shocks, excesses and outbursts directed at his political rivals or anyone who stands in his way. All 435 seats in the House of Representatives are up for election, along with one-third of the Senate. Democrats hope to take control of the House from Republicans and some polls also give them a chance in the Senate.

The battle for the nation’s capital

Another one of Tuesday’s hottest electoral contests is taking place in the nation’s capital, Washington, D.C. where Mayor Muriel Bowser announced weeks ago she would not seek a fourth term. Democratic voters therefore had to choose among seven candidates to succeed her through a complex voting system approved in 2024. The capital uses the so-called “ranked choice voting” system, which is applied if no contender wins more than 50% of the ballots. This voting method basically has voters rank candidates in order of preference. When there is no clear winner, the next choices are tallied. This system, together with the high volume of mail ballots received on this day, could delay results for several days.

The two leading favorites to succeed Bowser are councilmember Janeese Lewis George, a democratic socialist, and former councilmember Kenyan McDuffie, who is viewed as more moderate. Lewis George follows the political trajectory of New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and embodies the party’s new tilt toward more progressive options.

The contest is unfolding amid threats from Trump to intervene in the city if Lewis George wins. The president warned that if the left-leaning candidate prevails, he might take back control of Washington and run it at the federal level.

The eventual victor will become Washington’s next mayor in the November elections. The capital is overwhelmingly Democratic. Authority over the nation’s core, which has no vote in Congress, is divided among the mayor’s office, Capitol Hill and the federal government.

Oklahoma

Kevin Hern, the Trump-endorsed candidate, won the Republican primary for the U.S. Senate in Oklahoma, a seat previously held by Markwayne Mullin, who resigned after being appointed secretary of Homeland Security a couple of months ago following the removal of Kristi Noem.

Hern’s victory illustrates the tremendous influence Trump is exerting over the Republican Party. MAGA supporters are treating endorsements and refusals as mandates. The president is reshaping the party in his own image, altering the Republicans’ traditional balances. The party of Abraham Lincoln, born as a more centrist anti-slavery party, has tilted toward more conservative, nationalist and, above all, populist positions since Trump took the White House.

Hern received more than 50% of the vote in a contest against five candidates, thereby avoiding a runoff. His win on Tuesday positions him as the favorite to claim a Senate seat in November, since Republicans have carried this race in Oklahoma since 1990.

Voters in the Midwestern state also chose a successor to governor Kevin Stitt, a conservative Republican who has been critical of Trump and is term-limited. The Republican primaries are fiercely contested with nine candidates, but former state senator Mike Mazzei has Trump’s backing.

In addition to Mazzei, other high-profile Republicans in the Oklahoma governor’s race include the state attorney general, Gentner Drummond; former secretary of public safety Chip Keating, the son of a former governor; and former speaker of the state House, Charles McCall.

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