A healthcare tycoon has injected over $100 million into the Georgia Republican primary for governor, demonstrating how concentrated capital directly influences political outcomes. Rick Jackson, the healthcare magnate, has financed the majority of his campaign's spending to sway Republican primary voters, challenging former President Donald Trump’s endorsement of Lt. Gov. Burt Jones.
Trump endorsed Jones more than one year ago and reiterated his support last week, praising Jones’ “Courage and Wisdom” in a social media post. In the May 19 primary, Jones secured 38% of the vote, while Jackson finished second with 33%. The runoff election, scheduled for Tuesday, June 16, 2026, will be decided by voters who did not initially support either candidate.
Capital's Investment in Power
The influence of capital extends beyond Georgia. In Oklahoma, Trump offered his support two weeks ago to former state Sen. Mike Mazzei in a crowded Republican primary for governor. This race, like others, will proceed to a runoff if no candidate achieves a majority vote. Earlier this month, Trump’s chosen candidate for governor of Iowa, U.S. Rep. Randy Feenstra, lost to Zach Lahn, indicating that political endorsements do not always overcome local dynamics or other forms of influence.
In Alabama, Trump has backed U.S. Rep. Barry Moore, a three-term congressman who has pledged to be “a warrior for President Trump’s ‘America First’ agenda.” Moore faces former Navy SEAL Jared Hudson, who presents himself as a Washington outsider, attempting to harness the anti-establishment sentiment that propelled Trump to power. Alabama, a Republican stronghold, ensures that the primary winner will be heavily favored in the November general election against either Democratic runoff candidate, business owner Dakarai Larriett or lawyer Everett Wess. The seat is being vacated by Sen. Tommy Tuberville, the Republican nominee in the race for Alabama governor.
The State as Enforcer
The state’s role in protecting accumulated wealth and suppressing challenges to existing power structures was starkly illustrated in the District of Columbia mayor’s race. Days before the mayoral primary election, Trump indicated he might take over the city if Janeese Lewis George, a leading Democratic contender who describes herself as a democratic socialist, were to win. Trump stated, “we won’t put up with it.” George characterized Trump’s threat as “an attack on democracy itself.”
Trump has historically exercised broad power over Washington, D.C., including an open-ended deployment of National Guard troops in the streets and the culling of the federal workforce, which constitutes a significant portion of the city’s jobs. This demonstrates the state’s capacity for direct intervention and its impact on the working class. George’s platform, heavily focused on affordability, advocates to “protect Home Rule” with “leaders that stand up and fight back, not shrink in the face of injustice.” Some residents expressed frustration that the incumbent mayor, Muriel Bowser, did not sufficiently resist the administration’s actions. George and Kenyan McDuffie, another Democrat focused on public safety, are among seven candidates in the city’s first election using a new ranked-choice voting system, which election officials warned could delay results by days.
In Georgia’s race for secretary of state, the state apparatus is being shaped to manage electoral outcomes. Six years ago, Brad Raffensperger resisted Trump’s unsubstantiated claims of election fraud. Now, in the first open election for the seat since Raffensperger’s defiance, both Republican runoff candidates echo Trump’s falsehoods. Vernon Jones, who switched parties to align with Trump, believes there were “irregularities” and “violations” and stands “with those who believe there was election fraud.” Three of his four key platform points concern election management, including stronger voter identification rules and mandatory in-person voting. His opponent, state Rep. Tim Fleming, also acknowledged “irregularities” in 2020 and has four of his seven platform points focused on election management, with one stating the state should “make it impossible for the Left to cheat in our elections.”
Similar claims of electoral fraud surfaced in California after Trump made a baseless assertion that Democrats were cheating to defeat Republican candidates. Soon after, the U.S. attorney’s office in Los Angeles, led by Trump appointee Bill Essayli, announced it was opening fraud investigations related to the elections, illustrating the state’s legal machinery being deployed in service of political interests.
Managing the System's Contradictions
In California, a special primary election on Tuesday, June 16, 2026, was prompted by Eric Swalwell’s resignation from the U.S. House in April, two months ago, following sexual assault allegations. Both Republican and Democratic candidates are competing to serve out Swalwell’s term. Democratic candidates favored in the district include state senator Aisha Wahab and Bay Area Rapid Transit director Melissa Hernandez. Wahab’s platform targets “corporate profiteering” and advocates for an expansion of social safety nets, representing reformist efforts to manage the contradictions of the capitalist system. Hernandez focuses on local job growth and supporting small businesses, a strategy that reinforces local capitalist structures. These candidates will also face off in the general election in November, in about five months, for the full term beginning next year. If no candidate secures over 50% of the vote on Tuesday, the top two contenders will proceed to a runoff election on Aug. 18, 2026, in about two months.