US midterm primaries 2026 live: Trump pick for Republican candidate in Georgia trails competitor in early counting | US midterm elections 2026


Results expected as voters cast ballots in three states and Washington DC

Fran Lawther

Voters have been casting their ballots in primary elections in Alabama, Oklahoma and Georgia – where a closely watched runoff will decide who faces off against Democratic candidates in Senate and gubernatorial races in November.

In Washington DC – a Democratic stronghold – voters were also selecting a candidate for the party ahead of November’s mayoral election.

In Alabama, a Republican primary runoff for Senate between Trump-backed Barry Moore and Jared Hudson is another test of how far Trump’s endorsement can sway voters.

These primaries are the latest test of Donald Trump’s power over the Republican party. In deeply conservative Oklahoma, Trump has given his early backing to Kevin Hern in the senate seat previously held by homeland security secretary Markwayne Mullin.

Hern has kept other potential big challengers at bay in Oklahoma, which hasn’t elected a Democratic senator since 1990, according to AP.

But a bigger test of Trump’s influence – which has usually proved potent in Republican primaries this year – may come in the crowded race to succeed outgoing governor Kevin Stitt.

In Georgia, meanwhile, Republicans will finalize their selections for gubernatorial and US senate elections.

For the senate, US representative Mike Collins and former University of Tennessee football coach Derek Dooley are the finalists for the Republican nomination. Whoever wins will challenge rising Democratic star Jon Ossoff for the seat in November.

In the Republican primary campaign for Georgia governor, Trump-backed Burt Jones was facing off against the healthcare billionaire and political newcomer Rick Jackson. Brad Raffensperger, the Georgia secretary of state and longtime political enemy of Trump, was locked out of the race when he finished third earlier in the year.

We’ll bring you the latest results and reactions as the night unfolds.

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The Associated Press projects that Tim Fleming will win the Republican nomination for Georgia secretary of state, defeating a pro-Trump election denier, Vernon Jones.

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Jones, a former Democrat, embraced Trump’s “stop the steal” movement in 2020 and said he stands “with those who believe there was election fraud.” Fleming, who once served as deputy secretary of state to Brian Kemp, the current state governor, said he was “not running on conspiracy theories”, but claimed there were “irregularities” in 2020, a word popular with Republicans who do not want to alienate Trump voters but are not outright election deniers.

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Polls have now closed in Alabama, Oklahoma and Washington DC.

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In Alabama, Donald Trump’s influence is on the ballot in a Republican primary runoff for the US Senate between Trump-backed Barry Moore and former Navy Seal Jared Hudson.

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In Oklahoma, Trump has backed Republican congressman Kevin Hern to fill the US Senate seat vacated by the new homeland security secretary, Markwayne Mullin.

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Washington DC is voting in a seven-candidate race to succeed Muriel Bowser as the city’s mayor. The district uses ranked-choice voting, so if no candidate passes 50% of the vote tonight, a result may not be known for some time.

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The leading candidates are thought to be Janeese Lewis George, a progressive city council member, and Kenyan McDuffie, a former city council member.

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About 40% of the vote has been counted in Georgia and in the Republican primary for governor, the Trump-backed candidate, Burt Jones, trails the healthcare billionaire, Rick Jackson, 58%-42%.

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In the Republican primary for the US Senate, the Trump-endorsed candidate, Mike Collins, narrowly leads former football coach Derek Dooley, who is backed by the Georgia governor Brian Kemp, 52%-48%.

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With the first 20% of the ballots counted in the Republican primary in Georgia to be the party’s candidate for governor in November, the Trump-endorsed candidate, Georgia’s lieutenant governor, Burt Jones, trails healthcare executive Rick Jackson by nearly 20 points: 59.4% to 40.6%.

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Jackson has spent over $100m on his campaign.

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With 15% of the vote counted in Georgia, the race for the Republican nomination for the US Senate, to take on incumbent Jon Ossoff, is very close. Trump-endorsed congressman Mike Collins has 51.9% of the vote so far, to 48.1% for former football coach Derek Dooley, who is backed by the Georgia governor Brian Kemp. The current margin in less than 6,000 votes.

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Polling places closed at 7pm local time across Georgia, where voters cast ballots in several primary runoff races, including Republican contests to be that party’s nominee for the US Senate and governor. We will bring you updates on the vote count soon.

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A trip to the Georgia secretary of state’s website is a reminder that the state’s elections are still overseen by Brad Raffensperger, the top voting official Donald Trump threatened with possible prosecution during a recorded phone call in early 2021, if he did not help the then president “find 11,780 votes”, one more than he needed to overturn his loss to Joe Biden in the state’s 2020 presidential election.

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Weighed down by his subsequent unpopularity with Trump voters, for refusing to help him cheat, Raffensperger finished a distant third last month in the Republican primary to be the party’s candidate in the November election for governor.

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Raffensperger got less than half the votes of the two leading contenders who faced off in today’s runoff: the Trump-backed Burt Jones, who supported his effort to overturn the 2020 election through false claims of fraud, and a self-funding healthcare billionaire, Rick Jackson.

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Voters have been casting their ballots in primary elections in Alabama, Oklahoma and Georgia – where a closely watched runoff will decide who faces off against Democratic candidates in Senate and gubernatorial races in November.

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In Washington DC – a Democratic stronghold – voters were also selecting a candidate for the party ahead of November’s mayoral election.

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In Alabama, a Republican primary runoff for Senate between Trump-backed Barry Moore and Jared Hudson is another test of how far Trump’s endorsement can sway voters.

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These primaries are the latest test of Donald Trump’s power over the Republican party. In deeply conservative Oklahoma, Trump has given his early backing to Kevin Hern in the senate seat previously held by homeland security secretary Markwayne Mullin.

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Hern has kept other potential big challengers at bay in Oklahoma, which hasn’t elected a Democratic senator since 1990, according to AP.

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But a bigger test of Trump’s influence – which has usually proved potent in Republican primaries this year – may come in the crowded race to succeed outgoing governor Kevin Stitt.

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In Georgia, meanwhile, Republicans will finalize their selections for gubernatorial and US senate elections.

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For the senate, US representative Mike Collins and former University of Tennessee football coach Derek Dooley are the finalists for the Republican nomination. Whoever wins will challenge rising Democratic star Jon Ossoff for the seat in November.

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In the Republican primary campaign for Georgia governor, Trump-backed Burt Jones was facing off against the healthcare billionaire and political newcomer Rick Jackson. Brad Raffensperger, the Georgia secretary of state and longtime political enemy of Trump, was locked out of the race when he finished third earlier in the year.

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We’ll bring you the latest results and reactions as the night unfolds.

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Key events

Tim Fleming wins Republican nomination for Georgia secretary of state, defeating pro-Trump election denier Vernon Jones

The Associated Press projects that Tim Fleming will win the Republican nomination for Georgia secretary of state, defeating a pro-Trump election denier, Vernon Jones.

Jones, a former Democrat, embraced Trump’s “stop the steal” movement in 2020 and said he stands “with those who believe there was election fraud.” Fleming, who once served as deputy secretary of state to Brian Kemp, the current state governor, said he was “not running on conspiracy theories”, but claimed there were “irregularities” in 2020, a word popular with Republicans who do not want to alienate Trump voters but are not outright election deniers.

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