Although all eyes are likely on the 2020 U.S. presidential election, several important races are also occurring on Election Day involving some of the rising stars in politics.
Three members of Fortune’s2020 40 Under 40 in government and politics are involved in important races in Texas, Florida, and Missouri.
U.S. Rep. Dan Crenshaw and U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz are hoping to retain their respective House seats in Texas’s 2nd Congressional District and Florida’s 1st Congressional District, respectively. Meanwhile, Missouri state auditor Nicole Galloway is running against Missouri’s incumbent Republican Gov. Mike Parson.
Here’s how they are doing:
U.S. Rep. Dan Crenshaw wins election
Crenshaw has defeated Democratic candidate Sima Ladjevardian and will retain his House seat in Texas’s 2nd Congressional District, according to projections by the Associated Press.
Crenshaw acknowledged his victory via Twitter.
Crenshaw is a former Navy SEAL who was recently in the national spotlight when he made an appearance on Saturday Night Live and accepted an apology from cast member Pete Davidson, who had joked about his appearance.
U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz wins election
Gaetz has defeated Democratic candidate Phil Ehr to retain his House seat in Florida’s 1st Congressional District, according to projections by the Associated Press.
As Fortune noted, Gaetz is “one of only two Republicans to vote to remove marijuana from the Controlled Substances Act, and in 2015, he cosponsored an amendment with Democratic Rep. David Richardson to repeal a Florida ban on adoptions by same-sex couples.”
Gaetz thanked the “great people of Northwest Florida” in his victory speech, via Twitter.
Nicole Galloway loses bid to be Missouri governor
Galloway, the state auditor for Missouri, has been defeated by incumbent Republican Gov. Mike Parson, according to the Associated Press. If Galloway were to have won, she would have been Missouri’s first female governor.
As Fortune noted, Galloway, as state auditor, “recovered $350 million in wasted or stolen taxpayer money and brought 50 criminal counts against corrupt public officials, both Republican and Democratic.”
