ELECTION/GOP/SENATE/TRUMP PEOPLE: “Ron DeSantis, an upstart Republican riding the endorsement of President Trump, surged to win Florida’s gubernatorial primary Tuesday [8-28-18], setting up a starkly ideological fight with a Bernie Sanders acolyte vying to become the first black governor in state history. The contest in the country’s preeminent battleground state — already the costliest governor’s race in the country — will pit two 39-year-old candidates, U.S. Rep. DeSantis and Democratic Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum, who both started the campaign as considerable long shots. In Tuesday’s other marquee contest, the U.S. Senate race in Arizona, Rep. Martha McSally easily bested former state lawmaker Kelli Ward and ex-Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio to win the GOP nomination for the seat being vacated by Republican Jeff Flake. McSally, a two-term congresswoman from Tucson who ran as the favorite of the party establishment, will face Rep. Kyrsten Sinema, who ran away with the Democratic primary, in a contest that could be key to deciding which party controls the Senate. DeSantis, an Iraqi War veteran and three-term congressman from the Jacksonville suburbs, vaulted into competition in Florida after capturing the president’s attention — and subsequent endorsement — as a frequent guest on Fox News. He crushed Adam Putnam, Florida’s agricultural commissioner and the onetime favorite to succeed GOP Gov. Rick Scott, by a commanding 57% to 37%.”
–Mark Z. Barabak and Jenny Jarvie, “Florida yields a Bernie vs. Trump fight for governor; 2 congresswomen vie for Senate in Arizona,” The Los Angeles Times, August 28, 2018 9:30 pm