Long lines and delayed results: key takeaways from the latest US primaries

A slew of elections on Tuesday in New York, Kentucky and North Carolina threw out numerous story lines, from successful mail-in ballots to victories for insurgent challengers to more mainstream politicians successfully fending off their rivals.

Here are five key takeaways:

A good night for New York liberals

A long and painful drought of victories ended Tuesday night for the liberal wing of the Democratic party. In New York, liberals appear to have replaced the incumbent congressman Eliot Engel with the progressive darling Jamaal Bowman. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez won her district’s Democratic primary, effectively ensuring her re-election, and in New York’s 17th congressional district, Mondaire Jones won a crowded primary. Some races are still outstanding as of Wednesday afternoon. In New York’s 12th congressional district, the Democratic congresswoman Carolyn Maloney is in real danger of losing her seat to challenger Suraj Patel. The race has not been called yet.

Overall, though, New York was the center of progressive victories and it’s clear the liberal wing of the party shouldn’t be written off, even in the era of Joe Biden.

Not so great for liberals in Kentucky

In Kentucky, Democrat Amy McGrath, the longtime heavy favorite candidate to face the Senate majority leader, Mitch McConnell, found herself in a tougher than expected primary against Charles Booker, the youngest African American legislator in Kentucky’s house of representatives. As of Wednesday afternoon Booker trailed McGrath by double digits. That’s despite a surge of endorsements and support from the larger constellation of progressive groups and activists behind Booker.

Madison Cawthorn wins in North Carolina

Tuesday’s primaries saw upset wins on both the Republican and Democratic side. In North Carolina, Madison Cawthorn, a 24-year-old congressional candidate and political newcomer, beat Republican Lynda Bennett, who had been endorsed by Donald Trump. Cawthorn’s unexpected victory once again calls into question how far the president’s reach now goes even in a Republican primary contest.

Delayed results, long lines and voting problems are the new normal

Delayed election results and election-day problems are becoming the norm. Many of the races on Tuesday weren’t called by Wednesday afternoon. And in Kentucky, the McGrath and Booker campaigns filed an injunction to keep polls open to allow more voters a chance to cast their ballots. The injunction was denied.

In New York, some of the races still aren’t called, even as candidates declared victory. Political strategist are expecting similar delays and a wave of mail-in ballots could mean that the presidential election won’t be called until days after 3 November.

A blow to Trump In Kentucky

Despite a primary challenge from the attorney Todd McMurtry and receiving criticism from Trump himself, the Kentucky Republican Thomas Massie held on to his congressional seat, beating McMurtry by more than 60 points. Like the result in North Carolina, Massie’s victory calls into question whether Trump’s endorsement matters much at all in some Republican primaries. He had criticized the congressman as a “third rate Grandstander” and warned that he would be thrown out of congress, yet Massie won decisively.