Politics

There are primary elections Tuesday in Kentucky, Alabama, Georgia, Oregon, Idaho and Pennsylvania. These contests will be a further test of President Donald Trump ‘s grip on Republican voters.

In Kentucky, Trump is trying to oust Rep. Thomas Massie, who has been a thorn in his side for years. Trump handpicked challenger Ed Gallrein after Massie broke with him over issues including the release of the Jeffrey Epstein files. The first polls there closed at 6 p.m. ET.

In Georgia, Republicans are choosing a challenger to take on Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff. Trump has not endorsed a candidate, which could lead to a runoff on June 16. There’s also a bruising Republican primary for governor. Polls close at 7 p.m. ET.

In Alabama, Republican voters will choose a U.S. Senate candidate to replace Tommy Tuberville, who is running for governor. Polls close at 8 p.m. ET.

In Pennsylvania, Democratic voters will pick their nominees to flip four Republican-held seats seen as critical for the party to retake the U.S. House. The races will be a test of Gov. Josh Shapiro’s influence. Polls close at 8 p.m. ET.

In Oregon, Democratic Gov. Tina Kotek will face nearly two dozen challengers. Voters will also decide whether to raise gas taxes to pay for improvements to the state’s roads and bridges. Voting concludes at 11 p.m. ET.

In Idaho, voters are picking their party’s nominees for governor and U.S. Senate. Voting concludes at 11 p.m. ET.

The Latest:

U.S. Rep. Andy Barr, who was endorsed by Trump, beat Daniel Cameron, a former state attorney general who leaned into his Christianity on the campaign trail.

The winner in November will replace U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell, who is stepping down in a generational changing of the guard for Republicans.

Trump swayed the race not just through his endorsement but by offering a third challenger, Nate Morris, an ambassadorship just over two weeks before Election Day. Morris, who fashioned himself as the MAGA candidate, withdrew from the race and encouraged his backers to support Barr.

Barr was first elected in 2012 in the 6th Congressional District. He is expected to win the general election in the Republican-dominated state.

Eleven polling places in Georgia’s Cobb County, in the Atlanta suburbs, will be staying open late because of issues that arose during the day.

Blake Evans, who oversees elections for the secretary of state’s office, said the precincts were staying open because of problems with the electronic poll pads that are used to to check in voters. The extensions range from six minutes at one location to an hour at another, according to a judge’s order.

Deputy Secretary of State Matt Tyser said they are waiting on an order from a Fulton County judge to extend voting at a precinct in Sandy Springs, just north of Atlanta. That’s because a “law enforcement issue” that was unrelated to the election forced the closure of the polling place for several hours.

Most polls in Georgia are set to close at 7 p.m. ET.

Most of the polls in the state closed at 6 p.m. ET, including in the 4th District where U.S. Rep. Thomas Massie is up against Ed Gallrein in the Republican primary that’s garnered national attention.

The president picked Gallrein to compete against Massie, who’s frustrated Trump partly by pushing for the release of the Jeffrey Epstein files.

Western Kentucky is in the Central Time Zone and polls there close at 7 p.m. ET.

Five of Oregon’s six congressional districts are held by Democrats.

Its 5th District, considered the most competitive, was flipped by Republicans for the first time in decades in 2022 but reclaimed by Democrats in 2024. The district stretches from southern Portland across the Cascade Range to Bend.

The incumbent, Democratic Rep. Janelle Bynum, is running against a primary opponent who has not reported raising any money.

Two candidates, a county commissioner and a political consultant, are running in the district’s GOP primary in the hope of trying to win the seat back for Republicans in November.

Both Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro and Republican Stacy Garrity are running unopposed in their primaries.

Shapiro is heavily favored to win reelection this fall over Garrity, the state treasurer.

Republicans acknowledge Shapiro’s electoral strength, and may hope that Garrity can at least make it a close contest to help protect the party’s other candidates on the ballot in contests for Congress and the state Legislature.

Tuberville could face former U.S. Sen. Doug Jones, a Democrat, if both men secure their parties’ nominations.

The two last competed in the 2020 Senate race, when Tuberville easily defeated Jones, who was then the incumbent. Tuberville was boosted by a Trump endorsement and his high profile from his years as a football coach.

Jones, a former U.S. attorney, won a 2017 special election for U.S. Senate over Republican Roy Moore. Jones remains the last Democrat to win a statewide race in Alabama.

When Geoff Duncan was Georgia’s lieutenant governor, he resisted Trump’s efforts to overturn Joe Biden’s victory in the state in 2020. He’s since left the Republican Party, and he’s running for governor as a Democrat.

His campaign has involved a lot of apologizing to win over voters who may be turned off by his previously conservative positions.

It’s an interesting example of how traditional partisan lines have been scrambled since Trump rose to power a decade ago. Many Republicans who have crossed the president have retired or been defeated in primaries. Only a few of them have attempted to switch parties like Duncan.

Incumbent Tina Kotek is expected to win the Democratic primary and advance to November’s general election.

Elected to her first term as governor in 2022 after years in the Legislature, Kotek pledged to tackle homelessness, mental health and education. Despite approving funding and programs aimed at those issues, the state has continued to see rising homelessness and flagging student test scores that have failed to return to pre-pandemic levels.

Kotek also has sparred with the Trump administration, which sought to deploy the National Guard to Portland last fall during its immigration crackdown for the stated purpose of protecting federal property and personnel.

After the state and city sued to block the deployment, a federal judge found that protests at Portland’s U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement building didn’t meet the conditions for using the military domestically under federal law.

The president supported an opponent to Massie, just as he has done elsewhere.

On May 5, several Indiana state senators who defied Trump on redistricting lost their primaries to candidates backed by the president.

On May 16, Sen. Bill Cassidy lost his primary in Louisiana. Rep. Julia Letlow, who Trump endorsed, and state Treasurer John Fleming will compete in a runoff.

Cassidy had voted to convict Trump during an impeachment trial over the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.

Massie angered Trump by voting against his signature tax legislation over concerns of adding to the national debt, pushing for the release of the Jeffrey Epstein files and opposing his decision to go to war with Iran.

His positions, Massie insists, reflect the America First promises Trump initially made on the campaign trail.

In a Kentucky district where the president won by 35 points two years ago, Massie told The Associated Press that this primary is “by far the most challenging reelection I’ve ever faced.”

Voters have sent Massie back to Congress ever since his first election in 2012, embracing his stalwart independence and jaunty personality. Back in 2020, they brushed off Trump’s social media demand to throw Massie out of the Republican Party because he was a “third rate Grandstander.”

Their names may seem familiar.

The Democratic field in Kentucky includes former state lawmaker Charles Booker and former Marine pilot Amy McGrath. McGrath beat Booker and several other candidates in the 2020 Democratic primary to face McConnell.

Democrats have not won a U.S. Senate race in Kentucky since 1992.

Pennsylvania’s governor is also a potential 2028 presidential candidate. With his own primary uncontested, he’s been spending money and support on Democrats running for U.S. House and the state Legislature.

Shapiro is on track to break his own campaign spending record and, in a step to help races up and down the ballot, has plunged more than $900,000 so far this election cycle into the state Democratic Party’s accounts.

The election year is an opportunity for Shapiro to show his political strength in a premier battleground state should he decide to run for president in 2028.

U.S. Sen. Chris Coons, D-Delaware, said Trump is continuing a “campaign of retribution” against his political enemies.

He suggested that the latest example is Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth campaigning — “during a war” — against U.S. Rep. Tom Massie ahead of Kentucky’s primary on Tuesday.

“That continues to prevent Republicans from having the courage to speak out on matters of principle, which I think is putting all of us at risk,” Coons told reporters in the U.S. Capitol on Tuesday.

Massie angered Trump by opposing his signature tax legislation over concerns about the national debt, pushing for the release of the Jeffrey Epstein files and opposing his decision to go to war with Iran.

They are being asked whether to approve a 6-cent-a-gallon gas tax increase passed by the Democratic-controlled Legislature last fall.

They’ve been casting ballots as prices at the pump have skyrocketed because of the war with Iran.

Democrats increased the tax and other fees to help pay for road improvements and plug a hole in the state’s transportation budget. Republicans responded by launching a successful referendum campaign to refer the tax and fee increases to the ballot, saying they drive the cost of living even higher.

Democrats say the main cause of skyrocketing gas prices is Trump’s decision to go to war with Iran. But they’ve acknowledged the difficult timing of the ballot measure, which has also complicated national Democrats’ affordability messaging in midterm campaigning.

Kentucky will release the first results of the night.

In the 2024 primaries, the AP reported the first Kentucky votes six minutes after most polls closed at 6 p.m. ET. The last vote update of the night was at 9:47 p.m.

Georgia will be next, with polls closing at 7 p.m. ET. In the 2022 state primaries, results were available at 13 minutes after polls closed. The last vote update of the night was at 3:29 a.m.

Polls in Alabama and Pennsylvania close at 8 p.m. ET, and both states started releasing votes at roughly the same time in the 2024 primaries — at 8:01 p.m. and 8:03 p.m., respectively. Both stopped counting for the night around 2 a.m.

Idaho and Oregon are expected to begin releasing votes just as voting concludes at 11 p.m. ET. In their last state primaries, Oregon began releasing votes right at 11 p.m. and Idaho at 11:09 p.m. Idaho’s last update of the night was at 4:51 a.m., while Oregon’s last update was at 5:11 a.m.

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May 19 (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump will sign a pair of executive orders on Tuesday, among which is a step back from a previous proposal requiring banks to collect citizenship information from customers, Semafor reported, citing a White House official. 

The final version of one of the executive orders will instead direct Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to advise financial institutions on ways undocumented immigrants might open accounts or receive loans, the Semafor report said. 

The White House was earlier expected to issue an order requiring banks to collect data on their customers’ citizenship or immigration status, a directive senior industry executives had warned would be costly and disruptive.

The order will also direct Bessent and other regulators to propose changes to Bank Secrecy Act regulations that empower financial institutions to seek additional information when needed, strengthen customer due-diligence requirements and enhance consumer identification requirements, according to Semafor. 

The second executive order is intended to foster closer cooperation among financial institutions, fintech companies and federal regulators, Semafor added. 

The order requires the Federal Reserve to review and reassess its criteria for determining which non-bank financial entities and uninsured depository institutions can access its payment services and accounts, the report said. 

Reuters could not immediately verify the Semafor report. The White House did not respond to a request for comment. 

Existing know-your-customer rules require verifying identity and basic data like Social Security numbers but do not require checking citizenship or immigration status.

Bankers warned that verifying documents for new customers could be very burdensome and nearly impossible for existing ones, Reuters reported in April, suggesting that most banks might limit online account openings.

The requirement posed significant enforcement risks for banks if authorities pursued lenders for inadequate document checks, the report said. 

(Reporting by Chandni Shah in Bengaluru; Editing by Mark Porter)

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May 18 (Reuters) – The U.S. Senate voted on Monday to confirm Steve Pearce, a former oilman and congressman from New Mexico, to lead the Bureau of Land Management.

• Pearce was one of 49 nominees for federal positions that were confirmed in one Senate bloc vote of 46-43.

• The BLM, a division of the Interior Department, manages more than a tenth of the nation’s surface area.

• Pearce is the former owner of an oilfield services company and supports President Donald Trump’s goal to increase fossil fuel development on public lands.

• Democrats and conservation groups opposed Pearce’s nomination in part because he has advocated for sales of federal lands to pay down the deficit.

• Oil and gas trade group Western Energy Alliance praised Pearce’s confirmation, calling him a champion of multiple uses of public lands, including oil and gas drilling and protecting landscapes.

(Reporting by Nichola Groom; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)

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CRESTWOOD, Ky. (AP) — Republican voters in northern Kentucky will choose between U.S. Rep. Thomas Massie and challenger Ed Gallrein in Tuesday’s House primary, another test of President Donald Trump’s power over his party after he handpicked Gallrein to take on the incumbent.

The primary race turned white hot in the final stretch. Massie brought in a phalanx of other Republicans, including Rep. Lauren Boebert, in an attempt to show voters that they could support both him and Trump. Trump ratcheted up his social media attacks on Massie, calling him “an obstructionist and a fool,” and Gallrein shared a stage with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Monday.

Trump has tightened his grip on the Republican Party in his second term, successfully purging those who deviate from his agenda, but Massie is one of the last and most outspoken holdouts. A Massie defeat on Tuesday would serve as one of the most powerful demonstrations yet of Trump’s influence over Republican voters.

The matchup between the congressman, who has been in office since 2012, and a first time candidate running on his loyalty to Trump has become the most expensive U.S. House primary in history.

Massie challenged the president last year to release the Jeffrey Epstein files, which became a political drag for the White House. He has also criticized the war in Iran and refused to vote for Trump’s signature tax legislation over concerns that it would increase the national debt.

Trump visited Kentucky to boost Gallrein in March. The president has had a string of success defeating dissenters in his party, pushing to oust Sen. Bill Cassidy in Louisiana and several Indiana state senators who defied him on redistricting.

The winner of Tuesday’s primary is expected to take the general election in the deeply red 4th Congressional District, which stretches along the state’s northernmost border.

Republicans statewide will also choose their nominee to replace Mitch McConnell, the longtime U.S. Senate leader, in a contest that represents a generational changing of the guard for the party. Rep. Andy Barr, endorsed by Trump, faces Daniel Cameron, a former state attorney general.

Massie’s challenge is to win over voters who generally think favorably of Trump, the same man telling them to vote for Gallrein. It’s not the first Republican primary Trump has tried to sway, but Massie’s overt rebelliousness has been a particular challenge to the president.

Gallrein, a retired U.S. Navy SEAL, embraced the role Trump gave him, focusing his pitch to voters on his personal history and unwavering loyalty to the president. Massie, he argued, betrayed Trump and the party.

Hegseth made a visit to the district Monday to boost Gallrein and lambast Massie, a break from tradition that came while the nation is at war. Hegseth said he was speaking “as a private citizen.”

Some voters were already fed up with Massie bucking the party.

George Scherzer, who lives in the small town of Crestwood, Kentucky, supported Massie in past elections but didn’t like the congressman’s lack of support on some of the president’s agenda, including last year’s tax and spending bill, known as the One Big Beautiful Bill.

“Some of his votes just did not make sense to me,” he said.

Massie has argued that voters do not have to choose between Trump and him, noting that he voted with his party the vast majority of the time. As for the remainder, he said those were on proposals that violated his America First principles such as adding to the national debt and getting into military entanglements, such as the war with Iran.

Massie has voted against U.S. aid to Israel and has faced accusations of antisemitism. He has denied the charges, arguing he’s generally against all foreign aid. But the race has drawn in millions of dollars against him from pro-Israel interest groups, including from the Republican Jewish Coalition Victory Fund.

That’s become a stump topic for Massie, who says the attempt to oust him is to send a warning to other lawmakers who oppose the president or aid to Israel.

In a pitch to Kentucky Republicans, Boebert posted photos both of her with Massie and with Trump on X, and wrote, “I support both of these men.” Replying to Boebert’s message on X, Massie said, “she likes both Trump and me! Yes it’s possible!!”

Trump lashed out at Boebert on Truth Social, asking for a Republican to challenge her even though the filing deadline in her home state of Colorado has already passed. “Anybody that dumb deserves a good Primary fight!” he wrote.

Barr and Cameron have tiptoed around their relationship with McConnell, who they previously worked under.

McConnell criticized Trump over the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol and more recently voted against some of his Cabinet picks. He is stepping down after he becoming the longest serving Senate leader in American history, coinciding with a transformation of the party under Trump.

Many Republicans, while admiring McConnell’s achievements, see him as out of step with the Make America Great Again and America First movements spawned by Trump. Both Barr and Cameron have taken note, and while ingratiating themselves to the president have put some distance between themselves and McConnell.

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PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Oregon voters are facing a familiar theme on their primary ballot Tuesday — well-financed Democratic incumbents looking to slide past little-known challengers while Republicans attempt to nominate candidates who could put up a fight in November in a heavily blue state.

Much of the Election Day drama will center less on candidate races and more on a referendum seeking to repeal a bill passed last fall by the Democratic-controlled Legislature that raised the state gas tax and hiked a series of fees.

The legislation was Democrats’ answer to help Oregon’s transportation budget as the state projects a decline in gas tax revenue from the shift to more fuel-efficient, electric and hybrid vehicles. The gas tax is the largest funding source for fixing roads and upgrading highways.

The referendum, known as Measure 120, lands on the ballot as the cost of gas is spiking nationwide from the war in Iran. The state’s Democratic governor, Tina Kotek, and other lawmakers from her party have acknowledged it will be tough for the ballot measure to pass. A yes vote means voters approve of the gas tax increase while a no vote means they reject it.

“It’s going to lose, so we might as well get on to the work of finding alternatives,” said Democratic state Rep. Paul Evans, anticipating that voters will reject the gas tax increase. “It has been a frustrating year.”

Republicans began circulating a petition to repeal the tax and fee increases soon after Kotek signed the legislation. It didn’t take them long to gather more than three times the number of signatures required to place the measure on the ballot.

With the referendum going before voters at a time when gas prices are skyrocketing, Republicans are trying to turn the tables on national Democrats’ messaging about affordability and lowering the cost of living during this year’s midterm elections.

“Oregonians are paying more today and not getting more in return,” said Republican state Sen. Bruce Starr, who helped lead the referendum campaign. “So are they going to, at the polls, vote to increase the price of gas another six cents? I doubt it.”

The Democrats’ transportation funding bill raised the state gas tax from 40 cents a gallon to 46 cents a gallon while also boosting a payroll tax for transit projects and vehicle registration and title fees. At a Portland gas station recently, some voters said they were sympathetic to the need to raise money for road upkeep while others said a tax increase was just too much to swallow.

“At a time when everything is more costly … nobody wants to pay more for anything,” said Josh Hansen, 39.

Kotek and other Democrats have linked the rise in gas prices to President Donald Trump’s decision to go to war with Iran, yet the party has not organized efforts to support the gas tax increase on the ballot. If the tax and fee increases pass, they would take effect 30 days after approval by voters.

Trump, for his part, recently said he will move to suspend the federal gas tax of 18 cents a gallon, which would need to be approved by Congress.

Kotek is running in the Democratic primary for governor as she seeks reelection. While she faces nine primary opponents, they have reported raising little to no money and don’t have experience in elected office.

Republicans have a crowded primary field of 14 candidates vying to run against her in November. They include state Sen. Christine Drazan, who lost to Kotek in the 2022 general election, and state Rep. Ed Diehl, who helped lead the gas tax referendum campaign.

The primary also includes Chris Dudley, a former NBA player whose career included time with the Portland Trail Blazers and who narrowly lost a previous bid for governor in 2010, and David Medina, a conservative influencer who was among those charged after the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol and pardoned by President Donald Trump last year. Medina faced charges that included obstruction of an official proceeding, a felony, and several misdemeanors that included destruction of government property and disorderly and disruptive conduct.

So far, Drazan and Dudley have reported raising the most money. Dudley notably received a $1 million contribution from Phil Knight, the billionaire co-founder of Nike, which is based in Oregon.

Whoever emerges faces a difficult path to the governor’s office. Democrats appear energized around the country this year, and Oregon hasn’t elected a Republican governor in over 40 years.

Voters also are casting ballots in primaries for U.S. Senate and the state’s six U.S. House seats, five of which are held by Democrats.

Oregon’s 5th Congressional District, considered its most competitive, was flipped by Republicans for the first time in decades in 2022 but reclaimed by Democrats in 2024. The district stretches from southern Portland across the Cascade Range to Bend.

The incumbent, Democratic Rep. Janelle Bynum, has more than $2 million on hand and is running against a primary opponent who has not reported raising any money.

Two candidates, a county commissioner and a political consultant, are running in the district’s Republican primary.

The other U.S. House seats are considered largely safe for the current incumbents.

While the U.S. Senate seat held by Democrat Jeff Merkley also is considered safe for him, seven Republicans are running in the primary to challenge him in the fall.

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MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Alabama Republicans on Tuesday will choose among several U.S. Senate candidates who have stressed their loyalty to President Donald Trump as the party looks for a nominee to succeed Tommy Tuberville, who is running for governor this year.

Tuberville’s decision ignited a rare and fierce battle among Republicans for an open Senate seat that is all but certain to stay red. U.S. Rep. Barry Moore and Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall are among the best-known candidates in a field of seven Republicans.

Trump has endorsed Moore, a three-term congressman and member of the House’s conservative Freedom Caucus, writing on social media that he is “one of my all time favorites” and “a totally reliable MAGA Warrior!”

Marshall is stressing his record as attorney general, including his work with other Republican-led states in filing court actions that challenged former President Joe Biden’s policies and supported Trump.

The Republican candidates also include former Navy SEAL Jared Hudson, business owner Rodney Walker, cardiac surgeon Dr. Dale Shelton Deas Jr., former U.S. Navy submarine commander Seth Burton and Morgan Murphy, who dropped out of the race but remains on the ballot because of a printing deadline.

The crowded field increases the chance that no one will receive a majority of the vote and the nominee will be decided by a June 16 runoff.

On the Democratic side, business owner Dakarai Larriett, business owner Kyle Sweetser, lawyer Everett Wess and chemist Mark S. Wheeler II are seeking the nomination. Any of them would face an uphill climb in deep-red Alabama.

The state’s other Senator, Republican Sen. Katie Britt, is not up for election this year.

Alabama voters will cast ballots in congressional primaries but a redistricting fight has confused many.

Primary voters will cast ballots Tuesday in all seven congressional districts, but the state currently plans to void the results in four districts as it goes forward with a plan to change congressional maps.

Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey has scheduled special primary elections on Aug. 11 for the 1st, 2nd, 6th and 7th Congressional Districts. The change comes after the state got permission to switch to a different congressional map that could help Republicans pick up a House seat in November.

Alabama Secretary of State Wes Allen said the Tuesday votes will be tabulated in the four impacted Alabama congressional districts but will be “void for the purposes of determining the party nominees.” The Aug. 11 primary will determine those nominees in winner-take-all races without a runoff, he said.

The biggest change occurs to the 2nd Congressional District now represented by Democratic Rep. Shomari Figures. The district now stretches from Mobile through Montgomery to the Georgia border.

However, the district lines remain the subject of litigation. The NAACP Legal Defense Find and other groups are seeking to stop the use of the new map. If they are successful, the winner of the Tuesday primary will determine the party nominees.

But if they’re not and the new map goes forward, the Aug. 11 special primary will decide which nominees will appear on ballots in November.

Shayla Mitchell, an organizer with the Alabama Election Protection Coalition, said the situation has fueled voter confusion.

“People assumed that our election was cancelled, which is not true,” Mitchell said.

The November governor’s race could feature a rematch between Tuberville and former U.S. Sen. Doug Jones, who became the last Democrat to win a statewide race in Alabama during a special election in 2017.

Tuberville defeated Jones in 2020, boosted by a Trump endorsement and a recognizable name from his time as a football coach.

Since Tuberville has decided not to run for a second Senate term, the two men could once again face each other in the governor’s race if they secure their parties’ nominations.

The attorney general’s race has turned into a costly and contentious fight.

Former Alabama Supreme Court Justice Jay Mitchell, Blount County District Attorney Pamela Casey and Katherine Robertson, chief counsel for Attorney General Steve Marshall, are battling for the Republican nomination. Robertson and Mitchell have traded a series of barbs and accusations.

An outside group funded an advertisement critical of Mitchell for writing the main court opinion that led to in vitro fertilization clinics in the state temporarily shutting down. The ruling said frozen embryos could be considered “unborn children” and couples could pursue wrongful death claims after their embryos were destroyed in a hospital accident. The 2024 decision relied on an Alabama law from 1872.

Mitchell said he supports IVF and that the ad is distorting the facts of the case.

The winner of the Republican primary will face Jeff McLaughlin, a former state legislator who is running unopposed in the Democratic primary.

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Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Monday railed against one of President Donald Trump’s chief Republican critics in Congress, stepping away from the Iran war and into a Kentucky congressional election that’s testing the president’s political clout.

Hegseth traveled to Kentucky to deliver his remarks, which were designed to undermine Rep. Thomas Massie on the eve of his primary in the state’s 4th Congressional District. Hegseth said he was speaking “as a private citizen” — and not as a member of Trump’s Cabinet.

And yet Hegseth referenced Trump over and over as he praised Massie’s rival, former Navy SEAL Ed Gallrein.

“President Trump needs reinforcements, and that’s what war fighters do. They stand behind leaders and have their back,” Hegseth said. “Too often, Thomas Massie has acted like his job is to stand apart from the movement that President Trump leads, instead of strengthening it. When President Trump needs backup, Massie wants to debate process.”

The defense secretary’s political appearance, which represents an extraordinary break from tradition with the nation at war, comes as Trump looks to demonstrate his continued dominance of the Republican Party, even as he struggles to address heightened concerns about the economy and Iran war less than six months before the midterm elections.

Massie’s primary, perhaps more than others this midterm season, is testing Trump’s clout. The president’s allies have poured tens of millions of dollars into the campaign against Massie in what has become the most expensive congressional primary in U.S. history.

Massie, a rare Republican congressman who has openly clashed with Trump, has criticized the war in Iran and aggressively pushed for the release of the Jeffrey Epstein files.

“They’re desperate. That’s why they’re sending the secretary of war to my district,” Massie said Sunday on ABC’s “This Week.” “That’s why the president’s losing sleep and tweeting about this.”

Ahead of Hegseth’s appearance in Kentucky, the Pentagon issue a statement in response to criticism that the defense secretary was breaking the law by using taxpayer dollars for political purposes.

“Secretary Hegseth is attending this event in his personal capacity. No taxpayer dollars will be used to facilitate his visit,” said Chief Pentagon Spokesman Sean Parnell. “His participation has been thoroughly vetted and cleared by lawyers, including the Department of War Office of General Counsel, and does not violate the Hatch Act or any other applicable federal statute.”

___ Associated Press writer Konstantin Toropin in Washington contributed to this report.

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COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — An effort to reshape South Carolina’s congressional districts will get its first full airing Monday in the state House, as lawmakers launch a lengthy and potentially testy discussion on whether to accede to President Donald Trump’s desires for a U.S. House map that could yield a clean sweep for Republicans.

Tense debates already have played out in Tennessee, Alabama and Louisiana as Republicans push aggressively to leverage a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling on race based gerrymandering. The ruling has opened the way for Republicans to redraw districts with large Black populations that critics charge were designed to make sure Democrats were elected.

In South Carolina, that means targeting a seat long held by U.S. Rep. Jim Clyburn, the only Democrat among the state’s seven representatives in the House.

Clyburn has said he has no intention of retiring, even if his district gets changed. He told reporters last week in Washington that he has addresses in Columbia, Charleston and Santee, adding: “I live in three districts. I’ll decide which one to run in.”

Early voting is scheduled to begin May 26 for South Carolina’s statewide primaries on June 9. In addition to redrawing congressional districts, legislation pending in the state House would move the U.S. House primaries to August. If it clears the House, the legislation then must go to the Senate.

Republican Gov. Henry McMaster, who called lawmakers into a special session on redistricting, said it is important for South Carolina to send as many Republicans to Washington as possible to try to prevent Democrats from taking control of the House and attempting to impeach Trump.

Republicans are ahead in the national redistricting battle thus far. Since Trump agreed with Texas Republicans efforts to redistrict last year, Republicans think they could gain as many as 15 seats from new House maps in Texas, Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio, Florida, Tennessee and Alabama. Democrats, meanwhile, think they could gain six seats from new maps in California and Utah. But litigation is ongoing in some states, and voters will have the final say on who wins.

In addition, the courts have struck down Virginia’s effort to redistrict. A move that likely would have gotten rid of 4 Republican districts.

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WASHINGTON (AP) — Oregon’s Democratic Gov. Tina Kotek and the nearly two dozen challengers hoping to defeat her are among the candidates who will seek their parties’ nominations for state and federal offices in Tuesday’s primary. Voters will also decide a statewide ballot measure that would raise gas taxes to pay for improvements to the state’s roads and bridges.

National politics cast a long shadow over the primary, as is often the case in a midterm election year, when voters historically have punished the incumbent president’s party at the ballot box. Kotek has made President Donald Trump a top foil in her campaign, while the vote on Measure 120 to raise vehicle fees and gas taxes for transportation infrastructure projects takes place against the backdrop of gas prices that have steadily climbed since the start of the Iran war.

Kotek faces nine Democratic primary challengers in her bid for a second term. The Republican primary field features 14 candidates, including Marion County Commissioner Danielle Bethell, state Rep. Ed Diehl, state Sen. Christine Drazan and financial planner and former NBA player Chris Dudley. Dudley last ran for governor in 2010, when he received about 48% of the vote in the general election.

Incumbents are also running for reelection for U.S. Senate and all six U.S. House seats, with only one member of Congress facing no opposition for renomination.

The key counties in both Democratic and Republican primaries are Multnomah, Washington and Clackamas counties in the Portland area and Lane County, which is home to Eugene. Salem-based Marion County, Jackson County and Deschutes County also contribute significant amounts of vote in both parties’ primaries.

Dudley won the 2010 primary for governor with 39% of the vote against eight candidates. Of the most populous counties, he carried Multnomah, Washington, Clackamas and Washington counties and placed second in Lane County.

Here are some of the key facts about the election and data points the AP Decision Team will monitor as the votes are tallied:

Oregon elections are conducted predominantly by mail. Ballots delivered to a ballot drop box or a county elections office must be received by 8 p.m. local time, which is 10 p.m. ET and 11 p.m. ET. Counties have the option to keep their locations open longer. Almost all of the state observes Pacific time, so the deadline in those areas is 11 p.m. ET. Some of the state observes Mountain time and the deadline there is 10 p.m. ET. Mailed ballots must be postmarked by 8 p.m. local time and received by May 26 to be counted.

The AP will provide vote results and declare winners in contested primaries for U.S. Senate, U.S. House, governor, state Senate and state House, as well as for Measure 120 and the nonpartisan race for state labor commissioner.

Voters must be registered with a political party to participate in that party’s primary. Democrats may not vote in the Republican primary or vice versa. Independent or unaffiliated voters may not participate in either primary.

As of May 4, there were about 3.1 million registered voters in Oregon, including about 988,000 registered Democrats and about 737,000 registered Republicans.

Registered Democrats cast between 420,000 and 456,000 votes in the 2024 primaries, depending on the contest, while registered Republicans cast just shy of 300,000 votes.

Turnout was higher in the 2022 midterm primaries, when Democrats cast between 478,000 and 492,000 votes and Republicans cast between 347,000 and 370,000 votes.

Oregon has conducted vote-by-mail elections since the 1990s. Ballots may also be delivered to drop boxes and county elections offices.

As of Friday, nearly 513,000 ballots had already been cast in Tuesday’s election.

Since Oregon elections are conducted predominantly by mail, results from mail voting are released throughout the night and the following days. A handful of smaller counties release all or most of their results from Election Day voting in their first vote report.

In the 2024 presidential and state primary, the AP first reported results at 11 p.m. ET just as the final polls closed. The last vote update of the night was at 5:11 a.m. ET with about 74% of total votes counted.

The Associated Press does not make projections and will declare a winner only when it’s determined there is no scenario that would allow a trailing candidate to close the gap. If a race has not been called, the AP will continue to cover any newsworthy developments, such as candidate concessions or declarations of victory. In doing so, the AP will make clear that it has not yet declared a winner and explain why.

Recounts in Oregon are automatic in the event of a tie vote or if the vote margin is 0.2% of the total vote or less. The AP may declare a winner in a race that is subject to a recount if it can determine the lead is too large for a recount or legal challenge to change the outcome.

As of Tuesday, there will be 168 days until the 2026 midterm elections.

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Follow the AP’s coverage of the 2026 election at https://apnews.com/projects/elections-2026/.

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By Phil Stewart and Jasper Ward

WASHINGTON, May 18 (Reuters) – Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth campaigned on Monday for a former Navy SEAL who is challenging one of President Donald Trump’s top Republican targets in Congress, in a highly unusual appearance for a U.S. military leader.

At a rally in Kentucky, Hegseth endorsed Republican candidate Ed Gallrein and criticized incumbent Representative Thomas Massie, who has been at odds with Trump over major legislation and led the drive to release government files on the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

The two face off on Tuesday in what has become the most expensive House of Representatives primary in history.

  “Too often, Thomas Massie has acted like his job is to stand apart from the movement that President Trump leads instead of strengthening it,” Hegseth said. 

It is highly unusual for defense secretaries to appear at political events, especially during wartime, as the U.S. military is meant to be apolitical. However, Hegseth has challenged norms since taking the job last year by leading Christian prayer services at the Pentagon, comparing news reporters to enemies of Jesus, and seeking to sanction a Democratic senator who had urged service members to reject unlawful orders.

Hegseth, addressing “all the lawyers” listening, said he was attending the event in Kentucky in a personal capacity — an important distinction given legal restrictions on political activities of federal employees.

The Pentagon said Hegseth was not violating the Hatch Act, which prohibits federal employees from using their official capacity to affect elections.

“No taxpayer dollars will be used to facilitate his visit. His participation has been thoroughly vetted and cleared by lawyers,” Sean Parnell, the Pentagon’s chief spokesman, said in a statement.

At the event, Hegseth said Gallrein would support Trump’s agenda and condemned Massie as an obstructionist. 

“When the movement needs unity, especially at the biggest moment, Massie’s willing to vote with Democrats,” he said. 

Massie, in an appearance Sunday on ABC’s “This Week,” said he gets a fundraising boost each time Trump mentions him on social media and speculated that the president is “desperate” to get rid of him.  

Trump has pursued a retribution campaign against Republicans who have crossed him. Senator Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, who earned Trump’s ire for voting to convict Trump in his second impeachment trial in 2021, lost his bid for re-election on Saturday after Trump endorsed a rival.  

(Reporting by Phil Stewart; editing by Andy Sullivan and Alistair Bell)

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