AILSA CHANG, HOST:
OK. Primaries in three states yesterday offered mixed messages for both parties. On the Democratic side, results in Florida went both ways. The party's progressive and more moderate factions both notched wins. And for Republicans, President Trump's endorsement didn't guarantee success at the polls. NPR senior political correspondent Tamara Keith is here to talk through her takeaways. Hi, Tam.
TAMARA KEITH, BYLINE: Hello.
CHANG: Hello. OK. So the headline for last night's results were Florida's Democratic primary race for the Senate seat there, right? State Representative Angie Nixon easily defeated a much better financed candidate. What did you make of that?
KEITH: Yeah. I mean, this was a notable upset and a big win for the progressive left. But this may have had less to do with ideology than good old-fashioned organizing and campaigning. Nixon joined the Democratic Socialists of America during the campaign. She leaned on her experience as a union organizer in building a campaign that was powered by volunteers rather than big campaign cash. And that's why she had been seen as an underdog.
Her more moderate Democratic rival, Alexander Vindman vastly outraised her. He was a key figure in Trump's first impeachment, and he leaned on his Trump resistance credentials. But he seemed to treat the primary as a foregone conclusion, which it clearly was not.
CHANG: It was not. OK. We did speak with Nixon earlier today, and we're going to hear that conversation right after this conversation with you. But, Tam, what would you say the general election looks like right now for that seat?
KEITH: Yeah. Nixon will face Ashley Moody, who was appointed to temporarily fill the Senate seat. Florida is a red state and has only gotten more Republican in recent years. So this race was always going to be a long shot for Democrats, and it's just not clear how much financial support Nixon will get from the Democratic establishment given the long odds and also her DSA affiliation.
CHANG: OK. And also, what's interesting is that that statewide result of a progressive having this big win, it was kind of countered - right? - by more moderate Democrats winning in congressional races. (Inaudible).
KEITH: Yeah. This...
CHANG: Yeah.
KEITH: Yeah. This isn't a neat narrative. This isn't the first time a primary night has brought us mixed results this year. Democratic Congressman Jared Moskowitz easily dispatched a progressive challenger. That seat is considered a toss-up headed into November.
And in Florida's 20th Congressional District, Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz easily won her primary. She's a former chair of the Democratic National Committee. You don't get much more establishment than her.
CHANG: Yes.
KEITH: But this runs counter to the sort of anti-establishment sentiment we - that we've seen in so many races this year.
CHANG: OK. So this is not a neat and tidy story. Let's turn to another state. Alaska had primaries as well. What should we know about the results there?
KEITH: Most of the attention is on the race for U.S. Senate. Alaska has nonpartisan primaries, so the top four finishers move ahead to the general. As expected, the Republican incumbent Dan Sullivan and Mary Peltola, a former Democratic congresswoman, are moving on to the general election.
The big question now is who the other two finalists will be and whether the other Dan Sullivan makes it out. Dan J. Sullivan is a retired teacher who Republicans accuse of trying to play spoiler. But with votes still coming in, it looks quite likely that there will be two Dans Sullivan on the November ballot.
CHANG: (Laughter) OK. Another takeaway from this latest round of primaries was that a few candidates who had been endorsed by President Trump actually lost their Republican primaries, right? What do you think that tells us about the power of Trump's endorsement at this moment?
KEITH: There may be some cracks emerging in the president's grip on the Republican Party. Three of the candidates he endorsed in yesterday's races ended up losing in primaries in Florida and Wyoming.
CHANG: That is NPR's Tamara Keith. Thank you so much, Tam.
KEITH: You're welcome. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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