Trump wins big in Illinois primaries, New York GOP picks Zeldin over Giuliani

Voters in five states chose nominees Tuesday for the fall election, with former president Donald Trump scoring big in Illinois where state Sen. Darren Bailey won the Republican gubernatorial primary and Rep. Mary Miller defeated fellow Republican congressman Rodney Davis.

Miller and Davis were forced to compete against each other in the state’s redrawn 15th Congressional District.

Miller is seeking a second term. Davis, the more moderate of the two candidates, had served in Congress since 2013. Trump campaigned for Miller and Bailey, a family farmer, this past weekend in the candidates’ home state. 

In perhaps the other most-closely-watched race, the Colorado GOP primary for secretary of state, Mesa County clerk Tina Peters lost her bid for the post amid an indictment for election tampering. Peters had sought Trump’s backing, and the race was considered a test about whether voters were still concerned about allegations of 2020 election fraud. 

In New York, GOP Rep. Lee Zeldin defeated first-time candidate Andrew Giuliani in the state's Republican gubernatorial primary, advancing to face incumbent Democrat Gov. Kathy Hochul in the November general election.

Hochul easily won her primary. Zeldin is considered by some Republicans to be the GOP's best chance in decades to win the New York governorship.

Other Trump-backed winners were Utah GOP Rep. Burgess Owens, the former NFL star who in 2020 flipped a House seat held by Democrats; Illinois GOP Rep. Mike Bost who ran unopposed; and Oklahoma GOP Reps. Tom Cole, Frank Lucas and Kevin Hern, who also ran unopposed.

Also in Oklahoma, the GOP primary for the seat of retiring GOP Sen. Jim Inhofe is headed to an August runoff between Rep. Markwayne Mullin and state lawmaker T.W. Shannon, after Mullin failed to get at least 50% of the vote, according to the Associated Press. With roughly 98% of the vote counted, Mullin had 44%, compared to 18% for Shannon.

In addition, Oklahoma GOP Gov. Kevin Stitt swept the primary field with about two-thirds of the vote, as did Sen. James Lankford, who received more than 70% of votes counted when the wire service called the race in his favor.

Two states had runoff elections, Mississippi and South Carolina.

In Mississippi, six-term Republican Rep. Steven Palazzo lost his primary, runoff  reelection bid to Jackson County Sheriff Mike Ezell. Palazzo was considered vulnerable for defeat after a House ethics report last year accused him of several violations including inappropriately using campaign funds.

Palazzo won the initial primary with Ezell coming in second.

In South Carolina, state Rep. Krystle Matthews won the Democratic Senate runoff against author Catherine Fleming Bruce. Matthews will challenge Republican Sen. Tim Scott this fall.