At first blush, tomorrow looks like a slow day for campaign watchers. After all, Virginia and the District of Columbia are holding primaries — and that’s the whole list for June 21.
But the calendar only tells part of the story, because there are also runoff elections in three states tomorrow. Let’s take a look at them in alphabetical order.
In Alabama, arguably the marquee contest of the day is the Republicans’ U.S. Senate primary, pitting Katie Britt, a former chief of staff to retiring incumbent Sen. Richard Shelby, against Rep. Mo Brooks. The congressman received Donald Trump’s endorsement last year, before the former president abandoned him and eventually backed Britt, who enjoys sizable leads in the latest statewide polls.
The winner will face Will Boyd, a former Democratic candidate for lieutenant governor, who will be a heavy underdog.
On a related note, there’s also Republican U.S. House runoff in Alabama’s 5th congressional district, which is the seat Brooks is giving up to run for the Senate. The top two GOP candidates from the first round of balloting were Dale Strong, a local county commissioner, and Casey Wardynski, a former assistant secretary of the Army. The winner is all but certain to win the seat: This is one of the reddest districts in the country.
There’s also a Republican runoff in Alabama’s secretary of state race, where both contenders — state Rep. Wes Allen and state Auditor Jim Zeigler — have embraced election conspiracy theories. (Incumbent John Merrill had planned to run for the U.S. Senate, but his candidacy was derailed by a sex scandal.)
In Arkansas, there are also primary runoffs, though as a recent Associated Press report explained, “There are no statewide or congressional races on the ballot in the June 21 runoff so the action will instead focus on several Republican primaries for the state legislature. “
In the District of Columbia, incumbent Democratic Mayor Muriel Bowser, running for a third term, has three primary rivals. There’s also a three-way Democratic primary for the open seat for D.C. attorney general.
In Georgia, Trump-backed candidates got crushed up and down the ballot during the first round of balloting in late May, and tomorrow, things may yet get a little worse. In the 10th congressional district, the former president endorsed former Democratic state Rep. Vernon Jones, who trailed trucking company owner Mike Collins in the first round of balloting. Collins, the son of a former congressman, appears to have the edge.
Similarly, in Georgia’s 6th congressional district, Trump-backed former state Ethics Commission Chairman Jake Evans trailed badly in the first round against physician Rich McCormick, and the latter is the favorite tomorrow.
Meanwhile, in Georgia’s 2nd district, a GOP primary runoff will determine whether Jeremy Hunt or Chris West takes on Democratic Rep. Sanford Bishop, in a race national Republicans are targeting in the fall.
There’s also a Democratic runoff in Georgia’s secretary of state race, with Bee Nguyen and Dee Dawkins-Haigler facing off for the right to take on incumbent Republican Brad Raffensperger in the fall.
Meanwhile, in Virginia, where Republicans are targeting incumbent Democratic Reps. Elaine Luria and Abigail Spanberger in the fall, there are competitive GOP primaries in both districts.
In Virginia’s 2nd congressional district, much of the Republican establishment has rallied behind state Sen. Jen Kiggans, though she’s facing a challenge from an even-further-to-the-right candidate, retired Naval officer Jerome Bell, who made a notable trip to Mar-a-Lago a few months ago.
And in the commonwealth’s 7th district, there’s a crowded GOP primary, though state Sen. Bryce Reeves is generally seen as the top contender.
