Voters across five states head to the polls Tuesday facing a fundamental question about the direction of American democracy: whether presidential endorsements backed by election skepticism will prevail over local concerns about representation, accountability, and the integrity of democratic institutions.
In Georgia, healthcare tycoon Rick Jackson has spent more than $100 million of his own money to challenge Trump-backed Lt. Gov. Burt Jones in a gubernatorial runoff, underscoring how concentrated wealth can compete with political influence in shaping electoral outcomes. Trump endorsed Jones more than one year ago and reiterated his support last week, praising Jones' "Courage and Wisdom" in a social media post. Jones finished first with 38% and Jackson second with 33% in the May 19 primary. The runoff will be decided by voters who did not back either candidate.
In Oklahoma, Trump threw his support two weeks ago to former state Sen. Mike Mazzei in a crowded Republican primary for governor without a clear front-runner. The race will go to a runoff if no candidate gets a majority. Trump's choice for governor of Iowa, U.S. Rep. Randy Feenstra, lost to Zach Lahn in the state's primary earlier this month.
Democracy Under Pressure in D.C.
In the District of Columbia mayor's race, one of the leading Democratic contenders, Janeese Lewis George, describes herself as a democratic socialist. Trump indicated days before the mayoral primary election that he might take over the city if George wins, saying "we won't put up with it." George called Trump's threat "an attack on democracy itself." The overwhelmingly Democratic city's relationship to the president is a focal point of the campaigns as Trump has exercised broad power over Washington, D.C., including an open-ended deployment of National Guard troops in the streets and his culling of the federal workforce, a chunk of the city's jobs. Some residents were frustrated that the mayor, Muriel Bowser, did not push back enough on the administration. George's platform on her website, which heavily focuses on affordability, is to "protect Home Rule" with "leaders that stand up and fight back, not shrink in the face of injustice." George and another Democrat, Kenyan McDuffie, who is focused on public safety, are two of the seven candidates whose race will be the first decided with D.C.'s new ranked choice voting system. Like a handful of other places, D.C. voters will rank the candidates on a ballot, and if no one crosses 50% of the popular vote, then residents' second choices come into play. Election officials have warned the new system could delay results by days.
Election Denialism Takes Center Stage
In Georgia's race for secretary of state, six years ago Brad Raffensperger resisted Trump's unfounded claims of election fraud and his request to "find 11,780 votes" to overtake Democrat Joe Biden. Now, in the first open election for the seat since Raffensperger's defiance, the two Republicans in the runoff echo Trump's falsehoods to varying degrees. Vernon Jones, who was previously elected to the statehouse as a Democrat but switched parties and aligned himself with Trump, has said he believes there were "irregularities" and "violations" and he stands "with those who believe there was election fraud." Of four key points on Jones' campaign platform, three have to do with election management, including stronger voter identification rules and requiring voting in person with limited exceptions. Jones' runoff opponent, state Rep. Tim Fleming, has tiptoed around the topic, saying there were "irregularities" in 2020 but adding he is "not running on conspiracy theories." Still, of the seven platform points on his campaign website, four are focused on election management and one says the state should "make it impossible for the Left to cheat in our elections."
Skepticism of elections flared up recently in California after Trump made a baseless claim that Democrats were cheating to defeat a Republican candidate for governor and another for Los Angeles mayor. Soon after, the U.S. attorney's office in Los Angeles, led by Trump appointee Bill Essayli, said it was opening fraud investigations related to the elections.
Alabama and California Contests
In Alabama, Trump is backing U.S. Rep. Barry Moore, a three-term congressman who has promised to be "a warrior for President Trump's 'America First' agenda" if elected. Moore faces former Navy SEAL Jared Hudson, who is presenting himself as a Washington outsider and trying to harness the anti-establishment fervor that propelled Trump to power. Alabama is a Republican stronghold, so whoever wins the primary will be heavily favored to prevail in November over either candidate in Tuesday's Democratic runoff, business owner Dakarai Larriett and lawyer Everett Wess. The seat is being vacated by Sen. Tommy Tuberville, the Republican nominee in the race for Alabama governor.
In California, a special primary election Tuesday was prompted by Eric Swalwell's resignation from the U.S. House in April after a woman alleged he had sexually assaulted her twice, saying she was too intoxicated to consent to sex in both cases. Swalwell denied the accusations, but he dropped out of the race for California governor and resigned from Congress. Both Republican and Democratic candidates are competing to serve out Swalwell's term until January. If a candidate gets more than 50% of the vote Tuesday, that candidate wins outright; otherwise the top two contenders will go to a runoff election Aug. 18. The Democratic candidates favored to win in the blue district covering several East Bay cities include Aisha Wahab, a state senator, and Melissa Hernandez, a Bay Area Rapid Transit director. Wahab takes aim at "corporate profiteering" and argues for an expansion to social safety nets. Hernandez focuses on local job growth and supporting small businesses. Both candidates also ran in the regular primary election for Swalwell's seat and will face off in the general election in November. Whoever wins that race will take over next year.
Why This Matters:
Tuesday's primaries represent a critical test of whether voters will prioritize democratic accountability and institutional integrity over concentrated political and financial power. In Georgia, the contest between massive personal wealth and presidential endorsement raises fundamental questions about who can afford to run for office and whether ordinary citizens' voices can compete. In Washington, D.C., the threat of federal intervention in local elections strikes at the heart of self-governance and Home Rule protections that residents have fought to preserve. The Georgia secretary of state race will determine whether election administration falls into the hands of officials promoting unfounded fraud claims, potentially undermining voter confidence and access to the ballot. In California, candidates focused on economic fairness and social safety nets offer voters a choice about whether government should address corporate power and inequality. Across these contests, the outcomes will shape not just individual offices but the broader question of whether democratic institutions can withstand attacks on their legitimacy and whether voters will defend the systems that protect their rights and representation.