Georgia, Oregon, Idaho and Kentucky primaries 2024: Tough night for progressives

Abortion didn’t help liberals flip a Georgia Supreme Court seat.

Last Updated: May 21, 2024, 5:28 PM EDT

On May 21, voters in Georgia, Idaho, Oregon, Kentucky and California held key elections for Congress and nationally watched local races. Two key figures from one of Trump’s legal cases, Fani Willis and Scott McAfee, easily won their races, while conservatives won a Georgia Supreme Court election fought largely over abortion. In the House, progressives lost two key races in Oregon, while California voters picked a successor to Kevin McCarthy.

As usual, 538 reporters and contributors broke down the election results as they came in with live updates, analysis and commentary. Read our full live blog below.

Latest headlines:

Here's how the news is developing.
Kaleigh Rogers Image
May 21, 2024, 8:35 PM EDT

Some downballot drama in Georgia

Looking a little further down the ballot in the Peach State, Democrats are hoping they can reclaim the state legislative 56th District in Atlanta. Technically, Democrats won this seat in the last election, but state Rep. Mesha Mainor switched parties last year, after Democrats criticized her conservative stance on issues like school vouchers and policing.

Mainor is running unopposed in the GOP primary tonight, but four candidates are vying for the Democratic nomination, including 23-year-old public school math teacher Bryce Berry, who is currently leading with 55 percent, with half of the expected votes in. Berry has accumulated a decent war chest for a state House race, and has the endorsement of some high profile state Democrats, including House Democratic chairman Bill Mitchell and several local state Reps and state Senators, so it's not a total surprise to see him in the lead. If he wins the nomination tonight, he'll square off against Mainor in the fall to see if the Democrats can prevail despite no longer having the incumbent candidate.

Kaleigh Rogers, 538

Nathaniel Rakich Image
May 21, 2024, 8:19 PM EDT

A good sign for November?

It’s only 8 p.m. Eastern, and yet 40 percent of the statewide vote is reporting in Georgia and we have a pretty good feel for where these races are headed. That could be a good sign for November, when Georgia will obviously be one of the most closely watched states in the nation. A clear winner here early-ish on election night would do a lot to avoid a repeat of 2020, when a winner wasn’t projected until the Saturday after the election. (And yes, I’m still traumatized from that.)

—Nathaniel Rakich, 538

Monica Potts Image
May 21, 2024, 8:16 PM EDT

McBath projected to win her primary

McBath is projected to win her primary in Georgia's 6th District, according to The Associated Press. She is likely to win reelection in November, in this safely blue (and recently redrawn) seat.

—Monica Potts, 538

Nathaniel Rakich Image
May 21, 2024, 8:02 PM EDT

Fulton’s blueness helps Willis and McAfee

That’s right, Mary. Willis will now move on to a general election against Republican Courtney Kramer that she is heavily favored to win: Biden carried Fulton County 73 percent to 26 percent in 2020. And for McAfee, this was the general election; judicial elections in Georgia are nonpartisan, so all candidates run on the same initial ballot, and there’s only a second round of voting if no one gets a majority.

—Nathaniel Rakich, 538