Live election results: Florida in focus as primaries turn to Trump's backyard

Rep. Byron Donalds appears poised to win the Republican gubernatorial nomination in President Donald Trump's home state of Florida, thanks to the president's coveted endorsement in the Aug. 18 race to succeed Gov. Ron DeSantis

. Donalds' opponents include James Fishback, a controversial 31-year-old conservative activist who has called Donalds, who is Black, a "slave to his donors" and a "DEI Republican."

On the Democratic side, polls suggest primary voters are leaning toward David Jolly, a former Republican congressman-turned-Trump-critic. No Democrat has been elected Florida governor since 1994 but Jolly is betting that a predicted blue wave this fall coupled with economic anxieties can break his new party's losing streak.

Florida Democrats are

also engaged in the party's factional fight between its establishment and progressive outsiders. Democratic socialists Oliver Larkin and Elijah Manely are looking to upset Reps. Jared Moskowitz and Debbie Wasserman Schultz, respectively.

The other major Aug. 18 primary takes place in Alaska, where Democrat Mary Peltola is a crucial piece of the party's hopes of gaining a Senate majority. She is looking to oust incumbent Sen. Dan Sullivan, and surveys hint that she has a chance in a state Trump won by 14 percentage points.

Trump again votes by mail despite criticizing it

04:25 PM ET, August 18 2026, Sarah D. Wire and Joey Garrison

President Donald Trump voted by mail in Florida's Republican primary, according to the White House, even as he rails on mail-voting as an "inherently corrupt" method of voting that is akin to cheating.

Trump returned his mail ballot on Aug. 13 for the primary, which features the GOP gubernatorial primary that includes Trump-backed candidate Rep. Byron Donalds.

Read the full article: Trump votes by mail again in Florida primary

When do polls close today?

04:10 PM ET, August 18 2026, James Powel

Here's when polls close across the states with primaries today.

• Florida: Most polls in Florida will close at 7 p.m. ET, though some parts of the state in the Central Time Zone will remain open until 8 p.m. ET.
• Wyoming: Polls in Wyoming close at 9 p.m. ET.
• Alaska: Polls close in most of Alaska at 12 a.m. ET with portions of the Aleutian Islands seeing polls close at 1 a.m. ET

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Live election results: Florida in focus as primaries turn to Trump's backyard