Networks Tout Primary Day With Tricks in Alaska, Socialists & GOP Scandals in Florida

On Tuesday, ABC, CBS, and NBC used their flagship morning news shows to go all negative toward Republicans ahead of primaries in three states (and a special election in California), gushing over “pretty wild” circumstances in Alaska that could help “a strong challenger” take a Senate seat for Democrats and reveling in the Florida scene with scandals plaguing one House Republican, socialists running in “at least two” House races, and another House seat filled with out-of-staters.

At the same time Disney-owned ABC sued the FCC over the latter’s review of their public airwaves licenses, Good Morning America buttressed the claims made by those arguing their free airwaves shouldn’t be renewed as they were entirely negative with not a single positive statement toward the GOP or negative utterance toward Democrats.

D.C.-based correspondent Jay O’Brien insisted “all eyes” are “on that critical Senate race in Alaska that could help decide who controls Congress” with “Democrats hoping former Congresswoman Mary Peltola can flip that seat blue” because “[s]he’s a moderate who recently rejected an endorsement from Vice President Kamala Harris.”

Notice how his framing flipped when it came to the GOP:

For Republicans, it’s a tale of two Dan Sullivans, the state’s sitting GOP senator, Dan S. Sullivan, is facing a primary challenge from Dan J. Sullivan. Both could wind up on the ballot in November because of the...way Alaska’s primaries work. President Trump has blamed trickery in his words on the part of Democrats for that, but state Democrats and Dan J. Sullivan deny any connection[.]

If one were to honestly believe there weren’t any political games involved, we have a bridge to sell you.

Pivoting to Florida, O’Brien strayed from any mention of socialists running, opting instead for hoping voters will back them in this deep-red state if he sullied the GOP enough.

He spent most of the Florida airtime talking about Mills with a smidgen about the race to replace likely Florida GOP gubernatorial candidate Byron Donalds in Florida’s 19th Congressional District. O’Brien focused entirely on the fact that many of the leading candidates have previously been candidates in other states (click “expand”):

Florida Republican Congressman Cory Mills is facing multiple primary challengers in a district that Democrats are hoping to flip this November. Mills is under investigation by the Justice Department, sources tell ABC News, although it’s unclear the exact nature of that investigation. The House Ethics Committee has also opened a probe for what it calls alleged “sexual misconduct and/or dating violence.” Mills has denied any wrongdoing. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, whose popular with state Republicans, saying plainly, he doesn’t support Mills.

Also in Florida, 10 Republicans are vying to replace Congressman Byron Donalds, who’s running for governor on that ballot, are two former Congressman who resigned in scandal, three candidates who previously ran for Congress in other states like Illinois and New York, and a pardoned January 6th rioter.

The last sentence footnoted a special election in California’s 14th Congressional District: “[T]here’s a special election tonight to fill the seat of former Congressman Eric Swalwell, who resigned from Congress and ended his run for governor, remember, after accusations of sexual assault, which he denies.”

“Alright. Seems like an episode of Game of Thrones,” huffed co-host Michael Strahan.

NBC’s Today focused almost entirely on Alaska, starting with co-host Craig Melvin boasting in a tease of “[t]wo candidates both named Dan Sullivan appearing on the ballot in Alaska’s Republican Senate primary today, leading to fears of voter confusion and accusations of trickery” that now “could impact the balance of power on Capitol Hill.”

Later, chief Capitol Hill correspondent Ryan Nobles hyped the “pretty wild story” in Alaska where, even though it’s “a reliably red state that President Trump has carried three times,” the possibility that a Dan J. Sullivan — not incumbent Senator Dan S. Sullivan — could advance to the November ballot a salivating possibility for their friends on the left.

Nobles hyped this as “made-for-TV plot twist” that made “its way to late-night” in a June skit by NBC’s Jimmy Fallon (click “expand”):

NOBLES: All eyes are on that Senate race, where a Republican incumbent is seeking a third term, but he’s got a strong challenger across the aisle, and another one whose name sounds a little too familiar. This morning, high-profile primary races with national implications as President Trump and his party look to keep their narrow majority. Alaska in the spotlight, where incumbent Republican Dan Sullivan is looking to secure a third term in the Senate.

SENATOR DAN SULLIVAN (R-AK) [on FNC’s One Nation with Brian Kilmeade, 08/16/26]: I always have tough re-elections, but here’s the thing, we’re always ready, right?

NOBLES: But in a made-for-TV plot twist, another Dan Sullivan is also on the ballot, and a retired fifth-grade teacher who also wanted to run as a Republican. State election officials tried to remove the retired teacher over concerns about voter confusion. The Alaska Supreme Court ruling that both Sullivans could appear on the ballot, but ordered election officials to list their respective names like this, so voters know who is who. Sullivan the teacher responding on his website: “I am a qualified candidate who followed the rules and filed to run for office under my legal name.” But the President accusing Democrats of trying to trick Alaskans on Truth Social, saying the effort was designed to “take Votes away from our great Senator of the same name.” The entire Dan debacle, making its way to late night.

JIMMY FALLON [on NBC’s The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, 06/01/26]: It was Dan Sullivan versus Dan Sullivan.

NOBLES: Fallon creating a fake campaign ad that imagined the two candidates trying to clear things up.

FAKE SENATE AD [on NBC’s The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, 06/01/26]: So, on Election Day, don’t vote for Dan Sullivan. Listen to Dan Sullivan, avoid Dan Sullivan, and vote for Dan Sullivan.

After pointing out “the top four candidates advance...regardless of party,” Nobles touted former Congresswoman Mary Pelota as “the first Alaskan native ever elected to Congress” and “virtually neck-and-neck” with the incumbent Sullivan in polls.

He briefly flagged Florida as a place “where three Democratic socialists are running in the primary for House and Senate races against more moderate Democrats.”

Melvin and Nobles wrapped with more negative Republican headlines, thanks to a new Reuters poll (click “expand”):

MELVIN: Let’s get into these new poll numbers for a second, show some headwinds for Republicans heading into the fall midterms. What more can you tell us about those numbers?

NOBLES: Yeah, you know, Craig, the midterms are always a challenge for the party in power, but this new polling shows Republicans are facing serious headwinds. First, the President’s approval rating has fallen to 33 percent. That’s the lowest of his presidency, but also on the key issue of the economy, voters say they trust Democrats over Republicans for the first time in roughly a decade[.]

CBS Mornings stayed away from Alaska, honing in on Florida. Featured co-host Vladimir Duthiers shared off the top that Florida has “a number of Democratic socialists on the ballot” and congressional correspondent Nikole Killion followed with the admission that even though it’s “not exactly a hotbed of Democratic socialism...a few candidates...are trying to build on national gains and hope to pull off a potential upset or two in this reliably red state.”

Once she name-checked both, Killion sloppily brought up the 20th Congressional District through the lens of Elijiah Manley, arguing “he isn’t a Democratic socialist, but is one of the more progressive candidates in a crowded field in an historically black House district[.]”

Left out of that discussion? The fact that longtime South Florida Democrat Debbie Wasserman Schultz is also in the race, hoping to remain in Congress.

She closed with mentions of Donalds and Mills (click “expand”):

KILLION: The races are amongst several that have captured national attention in the Sunshine State. At the top of the ticket, a wide-open race for governor where GOP frontrunner Byron Donalds wants to challenge the Democratic nominee this fall.

DONALDS: There’s a reason people keep coming here because they want common-sense conservatism.

KILLION: This morning, President Trump reaffirmed his support for Donald’s on Truth Social, but another Trump-backed candidate is facing a top primary challenge. Congressman Corey Mills is trying to defend his Orlando-area seat amid a House Ethics investigation for alleged sexual and financial misconduct. He’s denied any wrongdoing[.]

To see the relevant transcripts from August 18, click here (for ABC), here (for CBS), and here (for NBC).