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Democratic efforts to reframe the midterms around the debate over abortion gathered steam, with the party winning a special election for U.S. House in an evenly divided Upstate New York district Tuesday, where their candidate made the issue a centerpiece of his campaign. And in New York and Florida, Democratic primary voters nominated established candidates for governor and Congress. ... Taken together, the results were a welcome sign for Democratic leaders seeking to rally the party base. (Itkowitz and Weigel, 8/24)

A New York special election seen as the last, best test of the electorate’s midterm leanings confirmed what Democrats hoped and Republicans feared: Predictions of a red wave may be overblown. ... Everything we know about the overturning of Roe v. Wade is that it will likely be a major motivator for Democrats in the fall. What abortion does not appear to be — given Nikki Fried’s wipeout in the Florida gubernatorial primary on Tuesday night — is singularly determinative. (Siders, Fineout and Dixon, 8/24)

A majority of registered voters (56%) say the issue of abortion will be very important in their midterm vote, up from 43% in March. Virtually all of the increase has come among Democrats: 71% of Democratic and Democratic-leaning registered voters rate abortion as very important; fewer than half (46%) said this in March. By contrast, views among Republicans and GOP leaners have shown almost no change since then (41% now, 40% then).The two parties are essentially tied on midterm voting intentions: 44% say that if the election were held today, they would vote for the Democratic candidate in their district or lean toward the Democrat, while 42% would vote for the Republican or lean Republican. (8/23)

A New York Democrat who campaigned on abortion rights and the future of U.S. democracy won a special congressional election in a swing district on Tuesday, a victory that Democrats hope could signal a fundamental shift in national voter sentiment ahead of the November midterm elections. Democrat Pat Ryan defeated Republican Marc Molinaro 51.3% to 48.7%, with 99% of the vote counted, Edison Research said, after a hard-fought contest for an open seat in New York's 19th Congressional District, which spans part of the Hudson Valley and Catskill Mountains region and is known as a bellwether. The district voted for Barack Obama in 2012, Donald Trump in 2016 and Joe Biden in 2020. (Beech and Warburton, 8/24)

The result in the closely watched race, which was considered a tossup, will keep the swing-district seat, which was formerly held by Lt. Gov. Antonio Delgado, under Democratic control. Mr. Ryan sought to highlight abortion rights as the predominant issue in his campaign and contrast his support for protecting abortion rights nationwide with the position of his Republican opponent, Marc Molinaro, who believes that the decision ought to rest with states. (Ashford, 8/24)

U.S. Rep. Charlie Crist won the Democratic nomination for governor in Florida on Tuesday, setting him up to challenge Gov. Ron DeSantis this fall in a campaign that the Republican incumbent sees as the first step toward a potential White House run. ... Crist vowed Tuesday night to make abortion rights a priority. “On Day One of my administration, I will sign an executive order protecting a woman’s right to choose,” he said. (Licon, Peoples and Farrington, 8/24)

As DeSantis’ historic $140 million re-election war chest grows by the day, national Democrats have signaled they won’t invest in Florida as heavily as in the past. The state’s growing Hispanic electorate has been shifting rightward since 2018. And, for the first time ever, there are now more registered Florida Republicans than Democrats — a key indicator of voter intensity. (Caputo, 8/23)

Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) will face Democratic challenger Rebekah Jones, a fired Florida Health Department data scientist who rose to national prominence early in the pandemic, in the state's 1st Congressional District race in November, per AP. (Falconer, 8/24)

Rep. Markwayne Mullin has won the Republican nomination for Senate in deep-red Oklahoma, defeating former state House speaker T.W. Shannon in a runoff Tuesday. Mullin and Shannon are strong backers of Donald Trump and election deniers who have amplified the former president’s false claim that he won the 2020 election. Mullin and Shannon also favor a national ban on abortion in the aftermath of the Supreme Court striking down Roe v. Wade, which guaranteed abortion rights for nearly 50 years. Mullin favors a total ban on abortion with no exceptions. (8/24)

The Pennsylvania Senate race took a heated -- and personal -- turn on Tuesday as an aide to Dr. Mehmet Oz, the Republican nominee and former cardiothoracic surgeon who for years offered medical advice as a popular TV host, was quoted derisively blaming Democratic opponent John Fetterman for his own stroke. (McDuffie, 8/24)

Colorado state Sen. Kevin Priola was a Republican for 32 years. On Monday, he announced that he couldn’t be one any longer. So he defected to the Democrats. There is “too much at stake right now for Republicans to be in charge,” Priola wrote in a two-page letter explaining his decision, adding: “Simply put, we need Democrats in charge.” ... The change in Priola’s party registration does not affect the balance of power in Colorado’s Senate; Democrats already controlled the chamber. (Edwards, 8/23)