Vince Fong, a former aide to Kevin McCarthy, won a special election in California to fill his seat in the most conservative district in the state. Fong will serve until January when he will face his Republican opponent in the fall seeking a full term. Other states, including Georgia, Idaho, Kentucky, and Oregon, also held primary contests. In the Kentucky primary, nearly 30% of Democratic voters backed an option other than President Biden, while in Oregon, a write-in campaign protest against Biden’s handling of the war in Gaza underperformed significantly.
Fani T. Willis, the prosecutor for Trump’s criminal case in Georgia, won her primary in a landslide. She received 87% of the vote in the Democratic primary for district attorney in Fulton County, while the judge overseeing Trump’s case, Scott McAfee, won re-election with 83% of the vote. Willis’s victory signals confidence in her performance among Democrats, despite a conflict of interest controversy involving a romantic relationship with a lawyer she had hired. A progressive candidate in Oregon, Jamie McLeod-Skinner, was defeated in a closely watched Democratic primary by Janelle Bynum, who will face Representative Lori Chavez-DeRemer in a closely watched House race.
In Oregon, the progressive district attorney of Multnomah County, Mike Schmidt, was trailing his challenger, Nathan Vasquez, a prosecutor in his own office. Vasquez, previously registered as a Republican, criticized Schmidt for Portland’s issues with drugs and crime and vowed to prosecute even petty crimes in response to a rise in homicides, homelessness, and overdose deaths during Schmidt’s tenure. Schmidt, who had campaigned in 2020 on making low-level crimes a lower priority, has recently adjusted his stance to prosecute more violent crime amid voter concerns.
In the Kentucky primary, a notable protest vote against President Biden saw nearly 30% of Democratic voters backing an option other than Biden. In Oregon, a write-in campaign protest against Biden’s handling of the war in Gaza saw less than 5% of all votes in the Democratic primary go to write-ins. Former President Donald Trump won about 85% of the vote in the Republican primary in Kentucky, with turnout dropping significantly compared to 2020. Trump was unopposed in Oregon’s Republican primary, while in neighboring Washington State, the uncommitted ballot option received nearly 10% of the vote in the Democratic primary.
Fani T. Willis’s landslide victory in the Democratic primary for district attorney in Fulton County, Georgia, where she is prosecuting Trump’s case, signals confidence in her performance among Democrats. The judge overseeing Trump’s case, Scott McAfee, also won re-election with a significant lead. Jamie McLeod-Skinner, a progressive candidate for Oregon’s Fifth Congressional District, was defeated in the Democratic primary by Janelle Bynum, setting up a closely watched House race. Mike Schmidt, the progressive district attorney of Multnomah County, was trailing his challenger, Nathan Vasquez, who criticized Schmidt’s handling of Portland’s issues with drugs and crime. Schmidt has adjusted his stance to prosecute more violent crime in response to voter concerns.
