Independent
A number of Donald Trump’s allies were among the early winners Tuesday evening as Republicans saw impressive showings in Florida and a handful of other states.
The ex-president’s new home state in particular emerged as a bastion of Republican strength on Tuesday as Senator Marco Rubio easily defeated his well-funded challenger, Val Demings, and Governor Ron DeSantis defeated the state’s former governor, Charlie Crist.
Matt Gaetz, a far-right congressman who has faced an investigation by the Justice Department for the alleged sex trafficking of a minor, also won reelection in the state.
It was also a night for one of Donald Trump’s oldest allies, former White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders, in Arkansas. Her first foray into elected office, Ms Huckabee Sanders will now be the state’s next governor, following in her father’s footsteps. In another governor’s race, Kirsti Noem won reelection in South Dakota, an expected victory in another red bastion.
Elsewhere, Trump-backed candidates notched similar early wins even as major races including the Ohio, Georgia and Pennsylvania Senate races remained contested. But there were early signs of good news for Mr Trump in North Carolina, where Ted Budd took a lead over Cheri Beasley before 10 pm. Katie Britt, running in Alabama, won her race promptly as polls closed at 8pm.
Other Republicans backed by Mr Trump in the House fared well in deep-red districts, like Andrew Clyde and Jim Banks, as well as controversial firebrand Marjorie Taylor Greene. But the “red wave” failed to materialise in several key House districts outside of Florida, where the GOP’s early victories were concentrated. Abigail Spanberger won reelection in Virginia, as did Seth Magaziner in Rhode Island. Both districts were viewed by the GOP as potential pickups tonight.
One sort-of victory for Mr Trump came in Georgia, where Brian Kemp won reelection against Democratic challenger Stacey Abrams. Mr Kemp had the president’s endorsement…
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