Abortion didn’t help liberals flip a Georgia Supreme Court seat.
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.
With 32 percent of the expected vote reporting in the Republican-on-Republican California 20th District special election, Assemblyman Vince Fong is leading Tulare County Sheriff Mike Boudreaux 74 percent to 26 percent. This is no surprise, since Fong had the endorsement of both Speaker Mike Johnson and ex-Speaker Kevin McCarthy, whose resignation triggered this special election.
—Nathaniel Rakich, 538
With 29 percent of the expected vote reporting in the Republican primary for Oregon's 4th District, Air Force veteran and attorney Monique DeSpain leads former Keizer city councilmember, Amy Ryan Courser, 56 percent to 43 percent. DeSpain has an endorsement from Maggie's List — one of the GOP groups formed to elect more women to office that we've been tracking endorsements from this primary cycle. The winner of this primary will face incumbent Democrat, Rep. Val Hoyle in what's expected to be a competitive race.
—Meredith Conroy, 538 contributor
To our conversation on issue-related polling vs. vibes, I read that post today too, Nathaniel, but I think there's still something interesting in the polling around what voters say they're focused on. I've been tracking this throughout the primaries, and I think it can help hone in on how voters in different states are thinking about the issues that impact their communities. For example, we learned that Maryland voters are more focused on crime than voters in other states. Georgia Democrats are particularly worried about healthcare. Illinoisans are focused on crime and taxes.
These kinds of insights perhaps don't tell us who voters are going to choose at the ballot box, but they do tell us something about how voters are thinking about politics. And while a lot of voting choices may be just vibes, which vibes voters care about are probably connected to the issues they see as important in their local communities.
—Mary Radcliffe, 538
Mere minutes after polls closed in Oregon's 6th District, ABC News reports that Erickson is projected to win the GOP primary. With about 37 percent of the expected vote counted, Erickson leads the field with 75 percent. The businessman only spent $43,000 on his primary bid but easily secured a rematch against Salinas, who is favored to win a second term in this relatively new district.
—Jacob Rubashkin, Inside Elections
