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A voter cast his ballot at the Miami-Dade County Palm
Springs North Fire Station, during the Florida primary election,
Tuesday, Aug. 28, 2018, in Miami. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)
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Associated Press
TALLAHASSEE, Fla.
The Latest on primaries in Arizona and Florida and a runoff election in Oklahoma (all times local):
12:05 a.m.
Steve Ferrara won a three-way primary to become the Republican nominee for an open Arizona House seat.
He beat recurring candidate Dave Giles and longtime resident Irina Baroness Von Behr in Tuesday’s primary. The seat, Arizona’s 9th Congressional District, is held by Democratic Rep. Kyrsten Sinema, who is running for U.S. Senate.
In November, Ferrara will face former Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton, who ran on the Democratic ticket unopposed.
Ferrara is a former Navy chief medical officer who spent more than two decades in the military. He’s campaigned with a moderate approach, saying he wouldn’t participate in conservative lawmakers’ Freedom Caucus.
The district covers parts of Phoenix and suburbs to the east. It went for Hillary Clinton in 2016, but it has more unaffiliated voters than Republicans or Democrats.
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11:43 p.m.
Congresswoman Martha McSally has won the Republican primary for Arizona’s open U.S. Senate seat.
She defeated former state Sen. Kelli Ward and former Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio in Tuesday’s primary.
McSally is an Air Force veteran who was the first female fighter pilot to fly in combat. She’s represented a southern Arizona district covering parts of Tucson and rural Cochise County since 2015.
Many political observers predicted McSally would emerge as the nominee with Ward and Arpaio splitting the state’s most conservative voters.
Arizona has an open Senate seat this cycle after Republican Sen. Jeff Flake decided to not run for re-election. The seat is considered a key pickup for Democrats in their bid to take control of the chamber.
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11:40 p.m.
Education professor and military veteran David Garcia is the Democratic nominee for Arizona governor.
He beat state Sen. Steve Farley and Kelly Fryer, former CEO of the YWCA Southern Arizona in Tuesday’s primary. He’ll face Republican Gov. Doug Ducey in November.
Garcia emphasizes increasing funds for public schools and establishing more sustainable energy sources. He’s a professor at the education school at Arizona State University and a fourth-generation Arizona resident.
Garcia has also pointed out the historical relevance of his candidacy: A Latino hasn’t won statewide office in Arizona since Gov. Rául Castro was elected in 1974.
Garcia emerged as the front-runner in the primary this summer. The Republican Governors Association already as aired attack ads against Garcia linking him to calls to abolish Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
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11:25 p.m.
Democratic Rep. Kyrsten Sinema has won her party’s nomination for Arizona’s U.S. Senate seat, a largely expected victory for the centrist.
Sinema defeated community activist Deedra Abboud in Tuesday’s primary. This November she’ll face the winner of a three-way Republican primary.
Sinema is currently serving her third term in the House.
In her Senate campaign, Sinema focused on affordable health care and her willingness to work across the aisle. She had a significant cash advantage and deep well of establishment support.
Arizona has an open U.S. Senate seat this cycle after Republican Sen. Jeff Flake decided to not run for re-election. The seat is considered a key potential pickup for Democrats in their bid to take control of the chamber.
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11:25 p.m.
Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey has defeated a Republican challenger in the primary round of his re-election bid.
In Tuesday’s primary, Ducey bested a more conservative GOP candidate, former Secretary of State Ken Bennett, who had little funding and campaign resources.
Ducey’s re-election effort has focused on border security and job creation. He’s touted the new law enforcement collaboration effort called the Border Strike Force as well as multiple companies that have located in Arizona during his first term.
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10:45 p.m.
A Tulsa fast-food restaurateur has won the Republican nomination in the race for the open U.S. House seat in Tulsa.
Kevin Hern defeated longtime Tulsa prosecutor Tim Harris in Tuesday’s GOP primary runoff to advance to the November ballot in the race for the state’s only open congressional seat. Hern will face The Democratic nominee, Tulsa attorney Tim Gilpin.
The seat was previously held by U.S. Rep. Jim Bridenstine, a Republican tapped by President Donald Trump to be administrator of NASA.
Republicans have held the seat for more than 30 years and are heavily favored to keep it in November.
The 56-year-old Hern runs a company that owns and operates a chain of McDonald’s restaurants in northeast Oklahoma.
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10:41 p.m.
The polls are closed for Arizona’s primary election, but some people are still waiting to cast votes.
Social media video shows long lines of voters outside public libraries in Tempe and Phoenix.
Since they were in line before the polls closed at 7 p.m. local time Tuesday, they will be allowed to vote.
Most voters cast their ballots early.
However, some voters who waited to vote until Tuesday morning faced problems in the Phoenix metro area.
Several locations opened hours behind schedule because voting machines had not been set up on time.
The office of Maricopa County Recorder Adrian Fontes says 62 polling places didn’t open on time, but all were operating by 11:30 a.m.
The county has about 750 locations.
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10:25 p.m.
Among the winners in Tuesday’s statewide primary races in Florida is Tallahassee’s Democratic mayor, Andrew Gillum, who is seeking to become the state’s first black governor.
Gillum faces the Republican nominee, U.S. Rep. Ron DeSantis, who won with the backing of President Donald Trump.
The man they hope to replace, Republican Gov. Rick Scott, won his party’s primary for the U.S. Senate and will compete against incumbent Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson.
Former Clinton administration Cabinet member and university president Donna Shalala has won the Democratic nomination for a U.S. House seat in Florida.
Meanwhile, polls have closed in Arizona’s primary election.
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10:10 p.m.
The polls are now closed for Arizona’s primary election.
Most voters cast their ballots early but polling places across the state opened at 6 a.m. local time Thursday and closed at 7 p.m. local time.
However, some voters faced problems at Phoenix-area polling places.
Several locations opened hours behind schedule because voting machines had not been set up on time.
The office of Maricopa County Recorder Adrian Fontes says 62 polling places didn’t open on time, but all were operating by 11:30 a.m.
The county has about 750 locations.
The head of elections in Arizona called on the county to seek a court order to keep the polls open later, but leaders opted against the move.
No voting machine problems were reported in other parts of Arizona.
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10:10 p.m.
Tulsa attorney Tim Gilpin has won the Democratic nomination in the race for the open U.S. House seat in the northeast Oklahoma district.
The 58-year-old former member of the Oklahoma State Board of Education defeated 36-year-old Amanda Douglas in Tuesday’s primary runoff.
Gilpin advances to the general election against the winner of the GOP primary between Tulsa businessman Kevin Hern and former Tulsa County District Attorney Tim Harris.
The seat was left open when President Donald Trump appointed Jim Bridenstine to head NASA. Republicans have held the Tulsa-area seat for three decades.
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9:40 p.m.
Former Clinton administration Cabinet member and university president Donna Shalala has won the Democratic nomination for a U.S. House seat in Florida.
Shalala defeated four candidates Tuesday in the Miami-area race. Incumbent Republican Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen is retiring. The seat is widely viewed as one of the Democrats’ best chances for a pickup.
Seventy-seven-year-old Shalala served eight years as President Bill Clinton’s Health and Human Services secretary. She also was president of both the University of Miami and the University of Wisconsin.
Shalala banked that voters would see her experience as an asset. The Democratic candidates had similar positions on most key issues, such as tackling climate change, reducing gun violence, improving health care, and overhauling immigration. But none could match Shalala’s lengthy record or familiar name
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9:35 p.m.
Andrew Gillum’s win in the Florida Democratic gubernatorial primary makes him the third black Democratic nominee for governor this year.
The Tallahassee mayor joins Georgia’s Stacey Abrams and Maryland’s Ben Jealous.
There have been just two black governors in American history. Abrams would be the nation’s first black woman to hold the post.
Gillum and Abrams both defeated white challengers backed by longtime establishment leaders in their respective states. Jealous’ top primary rival also was black.
The three winners represent a generational shift in black Democratic politics.
Gillum is 39. Abrams is a 44-year-old former legislative leader. Jealous is the 45-year-old former NAACP chief.
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9:30 p.m.
Tulsa mortgage company owner and political newcomer Kevin Stitt has won the Republican nomination in the race to become Oklahoma’s next governor.
Stitt defeated former Oklahoma City Mayor Mick Cornett in Tuesday’s primary runoff. The 45-year-old will face Democrat Drew Edmondson and the winner of the Libertarian runoff.
Two-term Republican Gov. Mary Fallin couldn’t run again because of term limits.
Stitt touted his experience growing his company, Gateway Mortgage Group, into one of the nation’s largest privately held mortgage companies.
He boosted his campaign finances by loaning himself nearly $3.3 million, about half of the $6.5 million he received ahead of Tuesday’s primary runoff.
He also overcame a barrage of negative advertising in recent weeks that highlighted wrongdoing by his company ahead of the country’s mortgage crisis.
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9:20 p.m.
Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum has won the Democratic nomination in his quest to become Florida’s first black governor.
Gillum won the primary Tuesday after upsetting a field of better-known and better-funded candidates. They included former U.S. Rep. Gwen Graham, who aimed to follow her father to the office and become the state’s first female governor.
Gillum is a favorite among those who call themselves progressive Democrats. U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont endorsed him.
Gillum spent only $6.5 million on a primary where billionaire Jeff Greene spent $38 million and millionaire former Miami Beach Mayor Philip Levine spent about $29 million of his fortune.
Gillum faces the Republican nominee, U.S. Rep. Ron DeSantis, in the race to replace term-limited Republican Gov. Rick Scott.
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8:05 p.m.
U.S. Rep. Ron DeSantis has won Florida’s Republican nomination for governor, with the help of President Donald Trump’s endorsement to overtake an opponent with a long history in Florida politics.
DeSantis defeated Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam on Tuesday and faces the Democratic challenger in the race to replace term-limited Republican Gov. Rick Scott.
DeSantis entered the race in January and largely built his name recognition with near-nightly Fox News appearances. Trump’s endorsement helped him overtake Putnam, who has held elected office nearly his entire adult life.
DeSantis is a former Navy lawyer who won his seat in 2012 running as a Washington outsider. He ran for Senate in 2016 but dropped out of the race when Republican Sen. Marco Rubio decided to run for re-election after a failed presidential campaign.
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8:05 p.m.
Florida Gov. Rick Scott is heading into a bitter and expensive clash with U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson after an easy win in the Republican primary.
The looming battle between Scott and the three-term Democratic incumbent could help determine whether Republicans keep control of the U.S. Senate.
Nelson wasn’t on the ballot because no other Democrat challenged him in the primary.
Scott defeated California businessman Roque “Rocky” De La Fuente, who earned attention this year by mounting U.S. Senate bids in multiple states.
The two-term governor is leaving office because of term limits and entered the race for Senate at the urging of President Donald Trump.
Scott’s campaign has already spent millions on television ads bashing Nelson as an out-of-touch career politician. Recent polls have shown Scott with a slight lead.
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7:15 p.m.
Arizona voters are nominating candidates to replace one of President Donald Trump’s fiercest critics in the Senate, a primary contest that comes amid increasing political change in a closely watched political battleground.
Tuesday’s primary contest is for the seat being vacated by retiring Sen. Jeff Flake, whose opposition to Trump badly hurt his standing with the conservative Republican voters who dominate Arizona’s GOP primaries.
The death of Sen. John McCain means both of the state’s Senate seats will change hands by year’s end. The state’s governor will name a replacement to fill McCain’s seat.
The three Republicans competing Tuesday all embraced Trump and distanced themselves from McCain, including establishment favorite Rep. Martha McSally.
Florida and Oklahoma also are holding elections Tuesday.
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6:40 p.m.
Gun control is weighing on the minds of some voters casting ballots in Florida, where a Jacksonville shooting Sunday stoked the still painful memory of a February shooting in south Florida.
Independent voter Franklyn Roman of Miami says he wants Florida’s next governor to press for some form of gun control. Roman says he’s a gun owner and doesn’t want anyone taking away his guns but adds, “I think it’s become a problem.”
Likewise, South Miami Democrat Louis Carvajal says restricting access to assault weapons, in light of the deadly shooting in Parkland this year, is an important issue.
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5:10 p.m.
A contractor hired to set up voting machines in the Phoenix area failed to send enough technicians, leaving several polling places down during Arizona’s primary election.
Maricopa County Recorder Adrian Fontes said Tuesday that his office in the state’s most populous county learned of the issues Monday afternoon. He says he sent his staff to as many locations as possible to make fixes.
Fontes says he had expected up to 250 locations not being operational by Tuesday morning, but only four sites were down by 10 a.m. It’s unclear how many polling places were down when they were supposed to open.
Fontes says the contractor didn’t set up the machines on time. More than 100 calls from voters have reported problems Tuesday.
It comes more than two years after Phoenix-area voters endured hourslong lines after the county cut polling locations.
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