Rep. Joseph Crowley of New York, a top-ranking Democrat and a rising star in the party, lost in a stunning upset Tuesday to a little-known primary challenger, sending shock waves through the party out of power less than five months before the midterm elections.
With more than 80 percent of the vote tallied, the Associated Press projected that Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a 28-year-old activist, would defeat the fourth-ranking House Democrat. Crowley became just the third sitting member of Congress, and the first Democratic incumbent, to lose in a primary this year.
The House Democratic Caucus chairman was widely seen as a potential successor to Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif. In a party already struggling with generational conflict, his defeat will set off a scramble in party leadership as Democrats seek to gain control of the House in November.
The defeat came on a night when President Donald Trump again demonstrated his hold on his party. In New York, Rep. Daniel Donovan won the GOP primary after Trump endorsed him over former congressman Michael Grimm, who was seeking the office he lost after pleading guilty to tax fraud.
South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster, another Trump ally, won the Republican runoff for his seat, advancing to the general election a day after the president campaigned for him in the state.
With 84 percent of the vote tallied, the Associated Press projected that McMaster would defeat businessman John Warren. South Carolina was one of seven states where voters went to the polls Tuesday.
Proximity to Trump has become a major test for Republican candidates this primary season. His endorsement has been a coveted prize, and those who have shunned the president have struggled to convince party loyalists to support them.
In Utah, former Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney, who has Trump's endorsement despite their troubled history, aimed to take a giant step closer to returning to the national stage. He started the day a heavy favorite to defeat state legislator Mike Kennedy in the GOP primary for Senate.
In addition to those three states, Colorado, Maryland, Mississippi and Oklahoma held primaries or runoffs Tuesday.
Trump's appearance in South Carolina on Monday, where he delivered meandering remarks at a rally, was part of an administration push to persuade South Carolina Republicans to vote for McMaster, an early Trump supporter who became governor last year when Nikki Haley left to be the United Nations ambassador.
Vice President Mike Pence campaigned in the state Saturday.
Crowley's defeat came at the hands of a little-known activist who ran on a sharply liberal agenda, including abolishing the federal immigration agency and making Medicare a universal program.
He is the first incumbent Democrat to lose renomination since 2014, when a Massachusetts Democrat was brought down by scandal. Crowley, who was first elected in 1998, had grown his profile inside the party and faced no personal controversies.
But Ocasio-Cortez argued that the increasingly nonwhite district, which stretches from the Bronx to Queens, had been represented for too long by a figure from the local political machine. Crowley, who chaired the Queens County Democratic Party while serving in Congress, had played a major role in determining candidates for local offices. Ocasio-Cortez said he had grown too distant – he enrolled his children in a Northern Virginia school – and too dependent on donations from corporate PACs.
Crowley took the contest seriously, spending $1.5 million in his first primary race since 2004. He was the first member of the Democratic leadership to endorse the House's universal Medicare bill, and he joined protests against the Trump administration's travel ban and its immigration policies.
Ocasio-Cortez told voters they could do better – she refused corporate PAC money, emphasizing that most of the $300,709 she'd raised for her campaign came from small donors, most of them from in and around the district.
Elsewhere Tuesday, far-right former South Carolina legislator Lee Bright – one of the few Republicans to oppose the removal of the Confederate flag from the statehouse during Haley's tenure – trailed state legislator William Timmons in the GOP race for the House seat Rep. Trey Gowdy is vacating.
Up the Eastern Seaboard in New York, Trump told Republicans not to "take any chances," urging them to pick Donovan over Grimm. Grimm, who was seeking redemption in his old Staten Island-based district, compared his tax fraud case to investigations into Trump and argued that he was the target of political persecution, although he ultimately pleaded guilty.
Romney's presence on the ballot in Utah marked another turn in a political career played out in different venues – he served as Massachusetts governor and ran for a U.S. Senate seat there before seeking the presidency twice – and with differing relationships with the president.
After seeking Trump's endorsement in 2012, Romney warned in March 2016 that "the prospects for a safe and prosperous future are greatly diminished" if Trump became the GOP nominee for president. As a candidate for Senate, Romney has been less hostile toward the president, raising questions about what kind of senator he will be if he wins in November, as is widely expected.
Democrats also had much at stake Tuesday, as party leaders looked to continue a streak of mostly nominating mainstream candidates for the House, where they need 23 seats to win the majority in November.
In New York, a state that offers opportunities for Democrats to pick up seats, party strategists were watching Democratic primaries in the 1st, 11th, 19th, 21st and 24th districts.
Besides Crowley, several other Democratic incumbents also were navigating primary challenges in New York. In the 9th District, Rep. Yvette Clarke looked to get past Adem Bunkeddeko, the son of war refugees. In the Manhattan-based 12th District, Rep. Carolyn Maloney tried to get by liberal real estate executive Suraj Patel. And in the 16th District, Rep. Eliot Engel spent more than $1.3 million to dispatch three more-liberal challengers.
In the 25th District, which has remained empty since the March 16 death of Louise Slaughter, four Democrats were fighting to replace her; longtime State Assembly leader Joe Morelle was the favorite heading into Tuesday.
A Democratic family feud was set to reach its conclusion in Colorado, where lawyer and party favorite Jason Crow looked to defeat liberal challenger Levi Tillemann in the 6th District, a swing seat in the Denver suburbs. The winner will face endangered Rep. Mike Coffman, a moderate Republican trying to broker an immigration compromise who has expressed frustration with Trump.
Colorado's 1st District featured left-on-left drama, as longtime Rep. Diana DeGette faced her first real primary challenge, from Saira Rao. In the 5th District, there has been confusion after Republican Rep. Doug Lamborn was briefly ordered off the ballot, then ordered back on.
Democrats are trying to extend their 12-year hold on the Colorado governor's mansion with a primary that largely boiled down to two candidates: Rep. Jared Polis and former state treasurer Cary Kennedy. Polis has supported universal Medicare; Kennedy is running on expanding Medicaid.
In the state's Republican gubernatorial primary, state Treasurer Walker Stapleton, a cousin of the Bush family, was the victor Tuesday.
In Mississippi, District Attorney Michael Guest easily defeated former gubernatorial aide Whit Hughes to seize the GOP nomination in the 3rd Congressional District, where Rep. Gregg Harper is retiring.
Mississippi Democrats, meanwhile, were settling a runoff for the chance to take on Republican Sen. Roger Wicker. In that contest, state House Democratic leader David Baria faced businessman Howard Sherman.
In Oklahoma, Republicans were trying to reboot after Democrats gained ground in some local elections. Ten Republicans ran for governor, including Lt. Gov. Todd Lamb and former Oklahoma City mayor Mick Cornett. The Democratic race pitted Drew Edmondson, a former attorney general and the last member of his party elected statewide, against more liberal former state legislator Connie Johnson.
The only House race in Oklahoma that Democrats viewed as potentially competitive was in the 5th District, held by Rep. Steve Russell, R. Former congressional staffer Kendra Horn put up impressive fundraising numbers against five lesser-known Democrats.
Elsewhere in Oklahoma, five Republicans were competing to replace former congressman Jim Bridenstine, who left the deep-red 1st District to lead NASA.