Voters in five different states will head to the polling place to decide on candidates for November’s midterm elections.
Notable races include New York’s gubernatorial race, where Democratic Governor Kathy Hochul is seeking to become the states first elected female governor. The Republican primary includes Andrew Giuliani, son of former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, and Rep. Lee Zeldin, R-NY.
In Oklahoma, more than ten Republican candidates are running to serve the remainder of Sen. Jim Inhofe’s six-year term after announcing his retirement.
And in Illinois, redistricting has pitted incumbents against each other. In the state’s new Sixth Congressional District, Rep. Marie Newman and Rep. Sean Casten will be vying for the Democratic nomination. In the 15th Congressional District, Rep. Rodney Davis and Rep. Mary Miller will be facing off for the seat’s Republican nomination.
Roundup:Races to watch in Tuesday’s primaries: NY governor, Illinois U.S. House, Colorado secretary of state
Tonight’s primaries come in the shadow of Roe vs. Wade and Jan. 6 testimony
Tonight’s primaries in New York, Illinois, Colorado, Utah and Oklahoma take place in the wake of momentous events that will affect politics for years to come.
Voters headed to the polls the same day that former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson gave chilling testimony about former President Donald Trump and the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection. She said Trump knew that his supporters could get violent after they marched to the Capitol to protest his election loss to President Joe Biden.
Miss Day 6 of the Jan. 6 hearing?:Trump knew mob was armed and dangerous, bombshell witness says
After Trump attacked Vice President Mike Pence for refusing to help him overturn the election, Hutchinson told the Jan. 6 congressional investigating committee: “As an American, I was disgusted. It was un-patriotic. It was un-American. We were watching the Capitol defaced based on a lie.”
Investigations into Trump’s actions on Jan. 6 could affect elections in the fall and beyond.
This is also the first primary day since the Supreme Court’s decision Friday to strike down the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision, basically allowing states to ban abortions and making the issue a prime political topic.
Democrats have vowed to make re-establishing abortion rights a major issue in future elections.
– David Jackson
Former Congressman Fortenberry gets two years of probation as Nebraskans vote to replace him
Nebraskans in the 1st District headed to the polls for a special election to replace a vacancy left open by long-time Congressman Jeff Fortenberry, who resigned in March following conviction in an investigation that he lied to the FBI over an illegal, foreign donation.
In the Republican-leaning 1st Congressional District race to replace Fortenberry, Republican State Sen. Mike Flood is expected to win Tuesday’s special election over Democrat State Sen. Patty Pansing Brooks. Regardless of who wins Tuesday, both candidates also will face each other in November’s general election for a full term starting in January.
Flood is the former speaker of the Nebraska Legislature and has been endorsed by Ricketts and former GOP Gov. Dave Heineman.
Fortenberry’s resignation went into effect on June 1. The new representative will be in office through January 2023.
Fortenberry received a $30,000 contribution in a 2016 Los Angeles fundraiser from Lebanese-Nigerian billionaire Gilbert Chagoury. Fortenberry didn’t disclose the contribution, and when asked in two separate interviews about the contribution, said he had no knowledge.
A Los Angeles federal judge sentenced him on Tuesday morning to two years probation, 320 hours community service and a fine of $25,000, but he faced a maximum fifteen years in prison.
— Katherine Swartz
Indicted Colorado secretary of state candidate pushes false election fraud claims
Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters continues to outraise her opponents in Colorado’s GOP secretary of state primary despite being indicted on seven felony charges related to election fraud, called on by her own party to suspend her campaign and barred by a judge from overseeing her county’s elections this year.
Peters’ main opponent in Tuesday’s primary is moderate Republican Pam Anderson, a longtime election official and former Jefferson County clerk who rejects former President Donald Trump’s false claims of a stolen election that Peters embraces. Anderson has raised nearly $107,000 since October, compared with $166,000 Peters raised since entering the race in February, according to financial disclosure reports from May 31.
This primary represents the latest chapter of a new fracturing within the GOP, a party torn between adherence to Trump-perpetuated claims of widespread voter fraud and those who reject those baseless claims. What’s left is a tug-of-war between pro-Trump, far-right loyalists candidates and more traditional Republicans for GOP nominations in the primaries.
— Allison Novelo, Julia Mueller and Zoya Mirza, Medill News Service
Read the whole story here:Indicted and rebuked, Colorado secretary of state candidate pushes Trump’s false election fraud claims
Trump’s influence is being tested again in Illinois’ Republican primary
Five-term incumbent Rep. Rodney Davis is facing off against freshman Rep. Mary Miller in a race that has pitted the two incumbents against each other after redistricting. Trump has endorsed Miller and held a rally last Saturday to build support for her in advance of tonight’s election.
At that same rally, Miller called the overturning of Roe v. Wade a “victory for white life.” Her campaign team claims she misspoke, meaning to say “right to life.” Davis criticized Miller, saying in a statement, she “has demonstrated she is not fit for public office.”
The race will be another test of Trump’s political sway against establishment Republicans who have held office before Trump’s rise to power.
Despite not being endorsed by Trump, Davis’ campaign site says he “was proud to work with President Trump.” He served as a co-chairman of Trump’s re-election campaign.
Who is Rodney Davis:An Illinois Republican facing off against the Trump factor
New York starts two-part primary Tuesday
Like a Broadway musical – or an absurdist play – the state of New York is conducting primary elections in two acts this year: gubernatorial and certain state elections on Tuesday, congressional and other legislative races in late August.
Party disputes over redistricting led to the two-part primary setup that could reduce turnout, increase friction between the parties and confuse large numbers of voters, political analysts said.
“It’s a total mess,” said Grant Reeher, director of the Campbell Public Affairs Institute at Syracuse University’s Maxwell School. “It was an embarrassment to the state. … It doesn’t serve the interests of the voters.”
Voters in the know will decide some state elections Tuesday, including State Assembly races and spirited Democratic and Republican primaries for the governor’s office.
— David Jackson
Read the rest here:New York starts two-part primary Tuesday, including Gov. Kathy Hochul
When do the polls close?
Illinois and Oklahoma will close their polls at 8 p.m. ET.
An hour later, polls close in New York and Colorado at 9 p.m. ET.
Utah will close their polls last at 10 p.m. ET.
– Kenneth Tran
