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Tag: governor ✕

Wyoming Sends Harriet Hageman to a Near-Certain Senate Seat and Election-Denying Secretary of State Chuck Gray to Her House Seat — but Rejects Trump's Pick for Governor

Wyoming's August 18, 2026 primaries reshuffled the entire federal delegation of the country's reddest state, and split the difference on President Trump. Rep. Harriet Hageman, the state's lone House member and Trump's endorsed candidate, won the Republican nomination for retiring Sen. Cynthia Lummis's open seat with roughly 65% of the vote against businessman Sam Mead. She will face Democrat James Byrd, a former state representative, in November. In her victory statement Hageman framed the race as a fight against "a rising tide of Marxists." Secretary of State Chuck Gray — a prominent election denier and Trump ally — won the crowded nine-way primary for Hageman's open at-large House seat with about 25% of the vote, ahead of conservative activist Steve Friess at 20%. Former Wyoming Freedom Caucus chairman John Bear, whose faction backed rivals, said "I don't think any of us anticipated this kind of loss." But in the governor's race, Trump's endorsement did not carry. State Sen. Eric Barlow, a Gillette rancher and former speaker of the Wyoming House, beat Trump-backed Superintendent of Public Instruction Megan Degenfelder and Wyoming GOP-endorsed Brent Bien for the nomination to succeed retiring Gov. Mark Gordon. Barlow, who ran on a "we're running for Wyoming, not against anybody" message, credited a backlash to "a lot of out of state money and agendas." Degenfelder's loss was one of three Trump-endorsed primary defeats that night, pushing his 2026 cycle total to 12 — more than 2018, 2020 and 2024 combined.

“I don't think any of us anticipated this kind of loss.”

John Bear (R-WY) · Aug 19, 2026
elections
2026-midterms
wyoming
7 statements

Trump’s Pick Byron Donalds Routs the DeSantis Camp by 20 Points to Win Florida’s Governor Primary — and Will Face David Jolly, the Republican Congressman Who Became a Democrat

On August 18, 2026, Florida Republicans nominated U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds for governor, handing President Trump's hand-picked candidate a victory of more than 20 points over a crowded field that included Lt. Gov. Jay Collins, the candidate widely understood to be Gov. Ron DeSantis's preferred successor. Donalds took roughly 48 percent of the Republican vote. DeSantis, who has an icy relationship with Donalds and whose wife Casey had been floated for the race, declined to endorse anyone before the primary, saying he was "not involved in any Primaries." On the Democratic side, former U.S. Rep. David Jolly — who represented Florida's 13th District as a Republican from 2014 to 2017 before leaving the party and registering as a Democrat — won his primary with about 61 percent. Jolly used his primary-night remarks to claim a cross-party "new coalition" and to attack Donalds as purchasable, saying Donalds "will sell his governorship for a buck." Donalds, who is seeking to become Florida's first Black governor, called for Republican unity and predicted Jolly would lose again in November. The Republican Governors Association, chaired by Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte, congratulated Donalds the next day and attacked Jolly's party switch. The general election is November 3, 2026, for the seat term-limited Gov. DeSantis must vacate.

“Congratulations to Byron Donalds on his primary victory. He has the vision, experience, and the right plan for lowering costs, protecting law and order, and defending the American Dream. Hardworking families and the next generation of Floridians have a fighter on their side in Donalds. Democrats continue to prove they can't gain ground in Florida with David Jolly campaigning as a so-called moderate while voters know he's just another career politician they can't trust. From switching parties to promoting far-left woke policies like irreversible gender transition surgeries for minors, Florida voters will reject Jolly in November.”

Greg Gianforte (R-MT) · Aug 19, 2026
florida
elections
2026-midterms
9 statements