Election News

The Associated Press reports that "after a trio of new announcements this week, the Republican Party’s 2024 presidential field is all but set." The question now is whether any of the nine notable candidates not named Donald Trump can keep him from his third consecutive GOP nomination.

The AP article goes on to say that "as of now, the former president is running in a field that features no fewer than nine high-profile challengers. They include Mike Pence, a former vice president; four current or former governors: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson; Nikki Haley, the former ambassador to the United Nations and also a former South Carolina governor; U.S. Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina; biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy; and conservative talk show host Larry Elder, an unsuccessful candidate for California governor.

Polling

Tuesday is primary day in New Jersey, one of just four states with legislative elections this year. The others - Louisiana, Mississippi, and Virginia - will hold their primaries in the weeks ahead; see the election calendar at the bottom of this article.

Separately, residents of Denver will elect a mayor in Tuesday's runoff election.

New Jersey Primary

Polls close at 8:00 PM. Winners will advance to the November 7 general election.

State Senate

Democrats hold a comfortable 25-15 majority in the New Jersey State Senate. The chamber uses a 2-4-4 election cycle. In that system, the first election after redistricting is for a two-year term, with the two subsequent elections for a four-year term.  Applying that to this decade, the 2021 Senate elections were for a two-year term, while those this year and in 2027 will be for a four-year term.

The Salt Lake Tribune has learned that Utah Rep. Chris Stewart (R) plans to resign from Congress in the near future, possibly this week. The departure is expected to be for personal reasons, reportedly to address family health issues. 

Stewart is in his 6th term representing Utah's 2nd congressional district, which covers much of the western and southern part of the state. Like all four of the state's safely Republican districts after 2021 redistricting, it also includes a portion of the Salt Lake City area.

Stewart was reelected by a 26% margin in 2022.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has joined the 2024 presidential race. His campaign filed paperwork with the Federal Election Commission Wednesday afternoon, to be followed by an official announcement during a Twitter Spaces audio livestream interview at 6:00 PM Eastern Time.

To listen to the livestream, visit Twitter.com on a web browser or open the Twitter app on your phone.

DeSantis released this video late Wednesday afternoon.

South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott formally launched his 2024 presidential campaign on Monday. Scott, the only Black Republican in the Senate, made his announcement in North Charleston, after an introduction by the second-highest-ranking Senate Republican, John Thune of South Dakota, who has endorsed him.  

Scott is attempting a more traditional conservative, positive message, a contrast to the current frontrunner, former President Donald Trump. Whether that resonates with the GOP base, particularly in an increasingly crowded field, remains to be seen.

According to the New York Times, "Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida and Chris Christie, the former governor of New Jersey, are expected to enter the race in the coming days. Chris Sununu, the popular Republican governor of New Hampshire, hinted over the weekend that he was likely to throw his hat in the ring as well, scrambling the battle for the state with the first Republican primary. Mike Pence, Mr. Trump’s former vice president, is still mulling a run."

Democratic Sen. Tom Carper said Monday that he will retire at the end of this term. Carper was first elected in 2000, and won his fourth term by a 22% margin in 2018.

Tune in to hear my announcement live: https://t.co/4p83TdQYhf

— Tom Carper (@TomCarperforDE) May 22, 2023

The move opens up a seat likely to remain in Democratic hands. The early favorite, if she chooses to run, will be Lisa Blunt Rochester, the state's at-large U.S. Representative. Answering a question following his prepared remarks, Carper said that he supports Rochester to succeed him.

Carper is the fifth Senator to pass on reelection in 2024, joining Mike Braun (R-IN), Ben Cardin (D-MD), Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) and Debbie Stabenow (D-MI). Only Braun is seeking another office, running for governor of Indiana. Only the Michigan seat is seen as competitive. 

Overall, 34 Senate seats are up in 2024. The map favors Republicans, as Democrats will be defending 23 seats, including all seven currently seen as the highly competitive. The GOP can regain control with a net gain of two seats or by winning the 2024 presidential election along with a net gain of one seat.

Kentucky and Pennsylvania hold statewide primaries on Tuesday. In this off-year, there's only a few races we're tracking. There are also several mayoral and legislative special elections.

Kentucky Primary

Polls close at 6:00 PM local time. That's 6:00 PM Eastern, except 7:00 PM Eastern for areas observing Central Time.

Governor

Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear is seeking a second term. While he has the benefit of incumbency, a competitive general election is likely in this deep red state. That has drawn a large field of Republicans seeking to challenge him.

Texas Mayoral Elections

Three of the nation's 15 most populous cities, along with another three in the top 100 - all in Texas - will elect a mayor on Saturday.^{1 1}City rankings are based on July 1, 2021 Census Bureau population estimates. They are for the city itself, not the associated metropolitan area.

All the elections are officially nonpartisan. However, the affiliation of each incumbent, if known, is displayed. All six incumbents are expected to be reelected.

The six cities are ordered by population, starting with the largest - San Antonio. Results will be available after the polls close at 7:00 PM Central Time (8:00 PM Eastern).

Three term incumbent Rep. David Trone (MD-06) is entering the race for U.S. Senate in Maryland. He is looking to succeed fellow Democrat Ben Cardin, who announced his retirement earlier this week. 

Trone, who has made a fortune as the co-founder of the nation's largest independent wine retailer, is the second candidate in the race. Montgomery County Councilmember Will Jawando jumped into the race Tuesday.  According to the New York Times, the race for the Democratic nomination "could also draw Angela Alsobrooks, the Prince George’s County executive who is seen as a rising star in the state, and Representative Jamie Raskin". 

Texas Republican Sen. Ted Cruz has drawn a high-profile opponent for 2024. Democratic Rep. Colin Allred (TX-32) will look to unseat the incumbent Republican.

I’m running for U.S. Senate because Texans deserve a Senator whose team is Texas. Ted Cruz only cares about himself.

Join our campaign today: https://t.co/2dROrrQrPV pic.twitter.com/9iz9yu1rFb

— Colin Allred (@ColinAllredTX) May 3, 2023

Cruz narrowly won a second term in 2018, fending off then-Rep. Beto O'Rourke by less than three percent. That race drew national attention and, at the time, was the most expensive Senate race in history. 

Allred was first elected to Congress in that same 2018 cycle, upsetting longtime Republican Rep. Pete Sessions. In 2022, he was reelected to a third term by a 65% to 35% margin.

The Dallas-area 32nd is oddly shaped, part of a gerrymander in 2021 redistricting that largely eliminated competitive districts across Texas. In 2022, Republicans won 25 of 38 districts, and only two seats were decided by a margin of 10% or less.