But one of Tuesday’s biggest votes doesn’t involve candidates. Instead, Kansans rejected a constitutional amendment that would have declared there was no explicit right to abortion, the first time voters have been able to influence abortion policy since the court ruling. Supreme Court. Dobbs decision earlier this year. The surprisingly wide margin in the otherwise red state is an early sign that the Supreme Court’s decision could totally upend midterms.
The Republican Senate and gubernatorial contests in Arizona remain uncalled, as well as a Trump supporter who has spread electoral conspiracy theories and is pushing to be the chief administrator of future elections in the state.
Voters in Arizona, Kansas, Michigan, Missouri and Washington all headed to the polls. But if contests are tight — especially in Arizona and Washington, where counting all mail-in ballots can take days — some winners won’t be known Tuesday night.
Here is the latest.
Schmitt wins in Missouri
Schmitt’s road to victory in Missouri came to a bizarre end on Monday when Trump endorsed “ERIC” – a reference to both Schmitt and the former governor.
Asset hemmed and hawed to get involved in a race, before finally trying to support both men on Monday.
It’s a victory for Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and his allies. DC Republicans were vying for anyone but Greitens to win the nomination, believing the former governor’s checkered past – he faces charges of abuse and sexual assault from his mistress and wife of ‘So what he denies – would put the siege on the line.
Trudy Busch Valentine, heiress to the Busch beer empire, won the Democratic primary and there’s also an independent seeking a place on the ballot: John Wood, who has the backing of a well-funded super PAC backed by former GOP Sen. John Danforth. But with Schmitt beating Greitens, the Republican will likely be a heavy favorite come November.
Impeachment on the Ballot
A trio of Republicans who voted to impeach Trump in early 2021 also face voters on Tuesday.
Meijer lost to Gibbs in the Republican primary, in a district that turned noticeably bluer in the redistricting. Gibbs ran an inexpensive campaign himself – but the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee swarmed the district in the final weeks of the race to run TV ads ‘attacking him’, with the end goal of hoisting him onto the finish line in the primary GOP. Democrats hope Gibbs will be easier to beat in November than Meijer would be.
And in Washington state, two other Republicans face impeachment-fueled primary opponents: Newhouse and Herrera Beutler. Both have the advantage of running in open, multiparty primaries, where all voters vote and the top two candidates from any party advance. Newhouse is in first place in his district, narrowly edging out a Democratic nominee and outpacing the 2020 GOP gubernatorial nominee by about 7 points. Herrera Beutler is battling for second place in her district with Trump-endorsed Joe Kent.
Setting up large statewide battleground races
Arizona has a trio of major statewide contests on the ballot, with Trump smack in the middle of each one.
Republicans are picking their nominee to take on Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly in one of the nation’s top battleground races this fall. Blake Masters, a protege of tech titan Peter Thiel who also had Trump’s endorsement, is the frontrunner in a field that also includes Jim Lamon, a businessman who has spent millions of his own money trying to keeping pace, and state attorney general Mark Brnovich. . Masters has a narrow lead over Lamon.
At the top of the ticket is the gubernatorial race, which pits former TV presenter Kari Lake against former board of regents Karrin Taylor Robson in the GOP primary. Trump backed Lake early, while limited-term Governor Doug Ducey and former Vice President Mike Pence threw their support behind Robson. Robson led Lake with just under 60% of the votes counted, but that margin could tighten as more Election Day votes are tallied.
Democrats also had a primary, but Secretary of State Katie Hobbs — a statewide incumbent — easily won the nomination.
In the race to replace Hobbs as the state’s Chief Electoral Officer, Republicans are poised to name one of the the most prominent election conspiracy theorists in the country. Mark Finchem, a state lawmaker who won an early Trump endorsement, is the frontrunner in a field that also includes Beau Lane, a short-handed publicity executive from the party’s business wing, with Ducey’s backing. . Finchem passed a broken field.
Another big statewide race is unfolding in Michigan, where Republicans landed on their nominee to take on Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in November. After an incredibly messy primaryTudor Dixon won the GOP nod Tuesday night.
Kansas Voters Reject Abortion Amendment
Kansas voters were the first since the Supreme Court ruling Dobbs decision to vote on a state ballot measure affecting abortion policy, rejecting the “Value Them Both” Constitutional Amendment in Tuesday’s ballot.
The amendment would have explicitly said there was no abortion right in Kansas, after the state Supreme Court ruled in 2019 that there was. Kansas Voters Rejected the amendment by just under two to one, a stunning rebuke that could be the first sign of a major voter backlash to the Supreme Court ruling.
Member clash highlights House battlegrounds
Tuesday includes a titular vs. titular run in Michigan, with Stevens beating Rep. Andy Levin for Democratic Party Nomination in a deep blue quarter after recutting. The race was a proxy war between different ideological wings of the Democratic Party, and it has also been a battleground over Israeli politics, with the super PAC arm of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) spending millions on the race backing Stevens, while Levin has gained support from J Street.
Outside of the Republicans who voted to impeach Trump, Rep. David Schweikert (R-Arizona) could be the Republican incumbent facing the greatest danger tuesday. Schweikert – who has faced ethical complaints over his campaign spending – faces a well-funded primary from businessman Elijah Norton. The district, which narrowly tipped Democrats in the 2020 presidential election, could also be competitive in the fall.
Three other Arizona districts could be competitive in November. The Republican primary winner in Democratic Rep. Tom O’Halleran’s district will be favored in the fall in a seat Trump won by 9 points in 2020, while Republicans also hope to challenge the 4th and 6th districts held by the democrats.
Other competitive districts include one in Kansas, where Democratic Rep. Sharice Davids and Republican Amanda Adkins are directed to a November rematch. And in Washington, Democratic Representative Kim Schrier is watching to see who will come out to face him in November.