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HEBRON, KY – Six states from coast to coast hold primary elections on Tuesday in one of the busiest and potentially most consequential days of the 2026 midterm calendar.
Voters in Alabama, Georgia, Idaho, Kentucky, Oregon, and Pennsylvania will vote in the Democratic and Republican primaries for the US House, Senate and governor, as well as in down-ballot races. Nominating contests wrap up this fall’s midterms, when Republicans will defend their majority in the Senate and lower House.
Meanwhile, some of Tuesday’s most high-profile ballot boxes will serve as the latest tests of President Donald Trump’s hold on the Republican Party and the strength of his support in GOP nomination races.
Two weeks after purging five state senators in Indiana’s primary who opposed his congressional redistricting plan, and three days after helping oust Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana – as a senator who, five and a half years ago, voted to impeach Trump in his second impeachment trial and lost his impeachment bid – Trump has a new target for Rep. Thomas Massie.
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Republican Representative Thomas Massie of Kentucky campaigns on the eve of his primary, in Mason County, Kentucky on May 18, 2026. (Paul Steinhauser/Fox News)
Massie, who has represented Kentucky’s Fourth District for 14 years, in the northeastern part of the heavily red-leaning state, has long been one of Trump’s most vocal critics of the GOP in Congress. The liberal-leaning legislature has since repeatedly targeted the president on foreign policy, including the war on Iran and unconditional US military aid to Israel. And he has been a thorn in Trump’s side for successfully pushing for the release of government files related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Trump referred to Massie repeatedly on social media in the closing days of the primary campaign and praised Kentucky farmer and former Navy SEAL Ed Gallrein, his presidential endorser, as a “great guy” and a “great patriot.”
Gallrein got some last-minute support and some extra fireworks on the eve of the inaugural school, as he joined forces with Secretary of the Army Pete Hegseth.
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Secretary of the Army Pete Hegseth, right, joins former Navy SEAL Ed Gallrein, at an event before Kentucky’s primary school, in Hebron, Kentucky on May 18, 2026. Gallrein is supported by President Donald Trump as he challenges Rep. Thomas Massie for the GOP nomination in the state’s fourth congressional district. (Jessica Sonkin/Fox News)
The president said in a video posted on Truth Social on Monday that he hopes Kentucky voters will put Massie “out of business” and that “we are fighting the worst congress in the history of our country.”
Massie said in an interview with Fox News Digital on the eve of the first day that Trump’s social media taunts could backfire.
“It shows that he is losing sleep, his reputation is at stake. He really shouldn’t have been involved in this race,” said Massie.
The race has become the most expensive in House history in terms of ad spending, with more than $32 million spent, according to nationally known ad tracking firm AdImpact.
Most of that money was raised by Trump supporters and pro-Israel groups.
“Here’s the thing, I have nothing against Israel. I’ve never voted for foreign aid. When I said America First, I meant it. I don’t vote for foreign aid to Egypt, Syria, Ukraine. I have an impeccable record on this, and I’m not going to waste it by sending foreign aid to one country,” said Massience while defending Israel.
This race has attracted the attention of many people across the country.
“It’s basically a national race at this point, the most expensive race in congressional history, and it’s because, you know, I’m up there, doing things. I got the Epstein files released, I got legislation on the farm bill, I got legislation passed, and they want to shut me down,” Massie emphasized.
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But Gallrein, speaking to Fox News Digital, accused Massie of “opposition to President Trump, and the agenda put forward by the Republican Party.”
The primary winner will be considered the overwhelming favorite in the general election in the district Trump carried by 36 points to win the 2024 White House.
Trump’s endorsement was also on the front line for the Kentucky Republican Senate, in the race to replace Sen. Retired Mitch McConnell, the longtime GOP leader in the chamber.
Among the 11 Republican candidates are Rep. Andy Barr, who recently received support from Trump, and former Attorney General Daniel Cameron, a former aide to McConnell who was the GOP gubernatorial nominee in 2023. Seven Democrats, including 2020 Senate nominee Amy McGrath, are running in the Democratic primary.
Here’s a look at some of the key races to watch on Tuesday.
Georgia
Trump’s executive power will be tested again in the GOP gubernatorial primary battleground in southeast Georgia.
The president supports Lt. Gov. Burt Jones in the race to replace popular Gov. Brian Kemp, who has no term limits.
Jones is considered one of the two frontrunners in the race, along with health care executive and billionaire businessman Rick Jackson, who launched his campaign in February and has spent more than $80 million of his own money on behalf of his cause.
State Attorney General Chris Carr and Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger are also working.
Former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, former Lt. Gov. Republican Geoff Duncan, former state Sen. Jason Esteves, Rep. Derrick Jackson, along with former labor commissioner and former DeKalb County Executive Mike Thurmond, are among the candidates seeking the Democratic nomination.
Trump remains neutral in the heated Republican Senate primary race.
Reps. Mike Collins and Buddy Carter, along with University of Tennessee football coach Derek Dooley, the son of University of Georgia football coach Vince Dooley, who is strongly supported by Kemp, are considered the frontrunners in a crowded field of candidates.
University of Tennessee football coach Derek Dooley, Rep. Mike Collins, R-Ga., Rep. Buddy Carter, R-Ga., intends to take Sen. Jon Ossoff, D-Ga., in the November midterm elections. (Amanda Andrade-Rhoades/AP Photo)
The winner of the GOP nomination will challenge Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff. The first-term senator is being targeted by Republicans, who see him as the most vulnerable Democrat in the chamber seeking re-election this year. But Ossoff has built a very formidable war chest.
Alabama
The president supports Sen. Tommy Tuberville of Alabama as a partner of Trump and two other Republicans who want to be appointed as the party manager in the race to take over from Gov. Kay Ivey of the GOP. Among the candidates for the Democratic Alliance nomination is former US Senator Doug Jones.
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Meanwhile, only three of Alabama’s seven congressional districts will hold primaries on Tuesday. Elections in four other states have been postponed until this summer, after a landmark Supreme Court ruling prompted Republicans in several southern states to redraw congressional district lines.
