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Primary Results: Trump-Endorsed Mastriano Wins in Pennsylvania; Cawthorn Loses in North Carolina; Charles Booker Becomes First Black Candidate to Win Major Party Senate Nomination in Kentucky

HeadlineMay 18, 2022

Voters went to the polls for primary elections in Pennsylvania, Kentucky, Oregon, North Carolina and Idaho on Tuesday. In Pennsylvania, state Senator Doug Mastriano won the Republican gubernatorial primary. Mastriano is a far-right politician who was endorsed by Donald Trump. Mastriano is an election denier who took part in the January 6 protests outside the Capitol and funded charter buses to take supporters to Washington, D.C., ahead of the insurrection. He has long claimed Trump won the 2020 election. If Mastriano wins in November, he could appoint Pennsylvania’s next secretary of state to oversee elections.

Pennsylvania’s closely watched Republican Senate primary is too close to call. Television doctor Dr. Mehmet Oz, who was backed by Trump, has a narrow lead over hedge fund executive Dave McCormick. The winner will face Democrat John Fetterman, who defeated Congressmember Conor Lamb even though Lamb had been endorsed by much of Pennsylvania’s Democratic establishment. Fetterman, who is Pennsylvania’s lieutenant governor, had to miss his victory party on Tuesday night. He suffered a stroke on Friday and spent Election Day in a hospital, where he had a pacemaker implanted.

In other races, the progressive candidate Summer Lee has declared victory over Steve Irwin in a closely watched congressional race in Pennsylvania, but the race has not yet been called. Irwin received major funding from AIPAC, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, and the Democratic Majority for Israel. Lee is aiming to become the first Black woman to represent Pennsylvania in Congress.

In North Carolina, the Trump-backed Republican Congressmember Madison Cawthorn lost on Tuesday. The 26-year-old was seen as a rising star of the Republican Party, but his campaign faltered following a number of scandals, including allegations of insider trading.

Meanwhile, in Kentucky, Charles Booker has won the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate, becoming the first Black candidate in Kentucky to win a major party nomination for Senate. He will face Republican Senator Rand Paul in November.

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