5 summer elections to watch

The Hill

27-05-2025

A series of key primaries will take place over the summer, setting the stage for general election match-ups this November.
Voters will head to the polls to choose nominees for major contests in New Jersey, home to one of only two gubernatorial races this year, and in New York City, the most populous city in the country where voters are potentially poised to choose controversial former Gov. Andrew Cuomo as the Democratic nominee.
Meanwhile, the son of one of the most well-known names in New England is challenging the sitting mayor of Boston.
Here are five elections to watch this summer:
The Garden State experienced one of the largest rightward shifts of any state in the 2024 presidential election, and the gubernatorial race this year will be a test of whether Republicans can continue to make inroads.
The GOP primary appears increasingly likely to renominate Jack Ciattarelli, a former state Assembly member who was the Republican nominee for governor in 2021. After having lost to Gov. Phil Murphy (D) four years ago by 3 points, Ciattarelli has been the clear favorite in polling and picked up President Trump's key endorsement earlier this month.
The Democratic field to replace Murphy, who is term-limited, has been much more open. Six well-established candidates are facing off against each other, and polling had shown the field in a close match-up for months, with a slight lead for Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D-N.J.).
But that has started to shift — Sherrill has taken a double-digit lead over her closest competitor in the most recent few polls. Still, as many as a quarter of respondents have said they're undecided, and Sherrill has only received support from up to a third of voters in polls.
This could give an opening for other Democratic candidates — like Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop, Newark Mayor Ras Baraka and Rep. Josh Gottheimer (N.J.) — with the primary just more than two weeks away.
The nominees for governor of Virginia to succeed outgoing Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) have already been chosen: GOP Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears and Democratic Rep. Abigail Spanberger were the only candidates to run for their respective parties' nominations.
But voters will head to the polls in mid-June to choose nominees for lower-level offices, including lieutenant governor and state attorney general.
The Democratic primary for Virginia's second-highest office features several candidates who have received support from notable Democratic political leaders.
State Sen. Ghazala Hashmi has the support of Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), various Virginia state senators and delegates and EMILY's List, while state Sen. Aaron Rouse has his own group of state senate and delegate endorsements, along with that of Rep. Bobby Scott (D-Va.) and former Rep. Elaine Luria (D-Va.).
Former Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney, who briefly ran for governor, is also seeking the office with support from former Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D), who co-endorsed him and Prince William County School Board Chair Babur Lateef.
Limited polling has shown Stoney, Rouse and Hashmi within range of each other.
Former radio host John Reid is the only candidate running for lieutenant governor as a Republican.
What normally would be an uneventful reelection campaign for the sitting mayor of one of the most liberal cities in the country quickly became a packed race to oust New York City Mayor Eric Adams amid the legal controversies surrounding him.
Cuomo has been the favorite since he entered the race, and no candidate — at least yet — seems poised to be able to take him on. Polling has shown him well ahead of the crowded field for the Democratic nomination. And he's scored a range of endorsements, seemingly repairing relationships with plenty of key stakeholders since he resigned as governor in 2021 after a string of controversies.
State Assembly member Zohran Mamdani has the best case to be the main alternative to Cuomo, running as a progressive and being the only other candidate regularly reaching double digits in polls. But he still has ground to make up to pull off an upset in the ranked-choice voting system.
Whoever wins the Democratic primary, just one month away, will be a clear favorite in the general election, even with Adams running for a second term as an independent.
For the GOP, Guardian Angels founder Curtis Sliwa, who was the 2021 Republican nominee, seems likely to become the nominee again, gaining support from the leaders of the party in all five boroughs.
A solidly blue House seat opened up in March when the late Rep. Raúl Grijalva (D-Ariz.) died following a battle with cancer.
Several candidates have jumped into the Democratic primary for the seat representing Arizona's 7th Congressional District. Whoever wins the primary in mid-July should easily win the general election in September.
One of the most prominent is Adelita Grijalva, the late congressman's daughter and a former member of the Pima County Board of Supervisors, who vowed to uphold her father's values if elected. She's notched endorsements from both of Arizona's senators — Democrats Mark Kelly and Ruben Gallego — as well as Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and some progressives in the House.
Another candidate is former state Rep. Daniel Hernández Jr., who interned for former Rep. Gabby Giffords (D-Ariz.) and is credited with saving her life during an assassination attempt on her. He's received support from Reps. Ritchie Torres (D-N.Y.) and Eric Sorensen (D-Ill.).
The Democratic candidates are set to face off in a debate on June 10, a month before the primary.
Boston Mayor Michelle Wu (D), the city's first female mayor and first mayor of color, is facing a few challengers as she seeks a second term, most prominently the scion of New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft.
Josh Kraft, the former head of the New England Patriots Foundation, launched his campaign in February as a Democrat opposing Wu. He's criticized her handling of issues like affordable housing and education.
Wu has argued that she's invested more in affordable housing than any past mayor and touted consistently declining gun violence since she took office.
Early on, Wu seems to be in a decent position to be reelected. She's secured a range of local endorsements and one poll from last month showed her with a big lead.
Kraft has gained support from former Boston Police Commissioner William Gross and a few unions.
Wu, Kraft and the other candidates will participate in a nonpartisan primary in September in which the top two best-performing candidates advance to the general election in November. Kraft seems likely to advance along with Wu, and eyes will be on their performances in the primary to hint what the final result may be.