Five things to watch in the Georgia, Alabama primaries

Republicans are gearing up for a handful of hotly contested primaries on Tuesday in Georgia, where GOP voters appear poised to buck former President Trump and his endorsed candidate in the state’s primary for governor.

But Tuesday’s primaries — which will additionally take place in Alabama and Arkansas, along with a key runoff in Texas — also carries stakes for progressives and Republicans who broke with Trump over his false claim that the 2020 election was stolen from him. 

Here are five things to watch in the May 24 primaries.

Can Trump evade a tough night in Georgia?

Trump appears on track for a loss in Georgia’s GOP gubernatorial primary between Gov. Brian Kemp and former Sen. David Perdue (R-Ga.). The former president is backing Perdue in the race, but polling shows Kemp leading in the contest by wide, double-digit margins.

With that, the question is whether other candidates Trump has endorsed can give him something to brag about. 

Trump is backing Rep. Jody Hice’s (R-Ga.) primary challenge to Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger as part of his bid to install loyalists in election administration rolls. While Raffensperger isn’t backing down, polling shows a much tighter race.