Florida Primaries Test Trump's Grip on Adopted State
Voters across Florida chose party nominees Tuesday for governor, U.S. Senate and multiple House seats, with primaries also underway in Alaska and Wyoming.
The Morning Brief Desk · August 18, 2026 · Based on reporting by AP News
Floridians went to the polls Tuesday to pick Republican and Democratic candidates in contests for the governorship, a U.S. Senate seat and a number of congressional districts, according to AP News. The outcomes are widely viewed as a measure of how firmly Donald Trump controls Republican politics in the state where he now makes his home.
In South Florida, two sitting Democratic congressmen, Jared Moskowitz and Debbie Wasserman Schultz, are defending their seats against challengers from the party's progressive wing, The Hill reported. Both lawmakers are running in districts whose boundaries were recently redrawn, adding a layer of uncertainty to races that already reflect a wider struggle between the Democratic establishment and its left flank.
A separate thread runs through several of Tuesday's contests: prominent Jewish politicians facing opponents drawn from the outer edges of both parties' ideological spectrums. The Washington Examiner framed the results as a gauge of how much tolerance voters in either party have for antisemitism and hostility toward Israel. Florida was not alone at the polls; voters in Alaska and Wyoming also participated in primaries the same day.
The context
The Florida contests arrive as both major parties work through internal divisions ahead of the 2026 midterms. On the Republican side, the question is whether Trump's endorsement and influence still determine outcomes in a state he has made his political base. On the Democratic side, the Moskowitz and Wasserman Schultz races capture a running argument between the party's mainstream and its socialist-aligned wing over direction and priorities. Redistricting reshaped the South Florida map before this cycle, meaning both incumbents are competing for votes in territory that differs from the districts that previously elected them. The primaries also happened to fall on the anniversary of the 19th Amendment's ratification on Aug. 18, 1920, which extended voting rights to women.
Why it matters
Tuesday's results will help set the general-election matchups for Florida's governorship, a Senate seat and several House districts, shaping one of the country's most closely watched political battlegrounds heading into the midterms. Beyond the individual races, the outcomes offer early evidence on two larger questions: whether Trump's sway over Republican voters remains intact in his home state, and whether establishment Democrats can hold off progressive challengers in redrawn districts. The performance of fringe candidates opposite Jewish incumbents may also signal how voters respond to antisemitic and anti-Israel politics within both parties, per the Washington Examiner.
What’s next
Results from Florida, Alaska and Wyoming will determine which nominees advance to November's general elections. Watch whether Moskowitz and Wasserman Schultz survive their progressive challenges in redistricted seats, and how candidates aligned with Trump perform in the Republican contests. How the redrawn South Florida districts behave in a competitive general election remains an open question until the fall campaigns take shape.
Sources
AP News — Florida primaries test Trump's grip on his adopted state
Florida voters cast ballots Tuesday for Republican and Democratic nominees for governor, US Senate, and several congressional races.
The Hill — Moskowitz, Wasserman Schultz duel progressives in redistricted South Florida
Democratic Reps. Jared Moskowitz and Debbie Wasserman Schultz face progressive challengers in newly redistricted South Florida seats.
Washington Examiner — Florida primaries test appetite for antisemitism and anti-Israel politics on Left and Right
Tuesday's primaries pit prominent Jewish political figures against challengers from the ideological fringes in both parties.
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