Five states will hold primary elections on Tuesday as some high profile members of Congress seek to fend off challengers from within their parties.
Some of the major races on the docket Tuesday include Democratic Reps. Rashida Tlaib of Michigan, William Lacy Clay of Missouri and Republican Rep. Steve Watkins of Kansas, along with key races in Arizona and Washington state.
Michigan
Tlaib will face off against Detroit City Council President Brenda Jones in the race to represent Michigan’s 13th District.
The two have faced off four times in two years and Tlaib narrowly defeated Jones in a six-person race in 2018, going on to become a well-recognized member of Congress as part of a group of first-term representatives that came to be known as “The Squad,” alongside Reps. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn.; Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y.; and Ayana Pressley D-Mass.
Whoever emerges victorious Tuesday will face the winner of the Republican primary, which is down to Michigan Republican Party Chair David Dudenhoefer, retired mechanical engineer Al Lemmo and retired nurse Linda Sawyer.
In the 3rd District, five Republican candidates will seek to fill the seat vacated by Rep. Justin Amash after he chose to resign after leaving the Republican party and resigning from Congress.
Amash’s potential replacements included Iraq War veteran Peter Meijer, state Rep. Lynn Afendoulis, Sand Lake Village official Tom Norton, Lyons businessman Joe Farrington and lawyer Emily Rafi.
State Rep. Shane Hernandez, businesswoman Lisa McClain and retired Air Force Brig. Gen. Doug Slocum will battle for the Republican nomination to fill the seat to be vacated by Rep. Paul Mitchell in the 10th District, while web director Kimberly Bizon will seek to earn the Democratic nomination for the second time as she faces off against Army Nurse Kelly Noland.
Missouri
The race for Missouri’s 1st District will see longtime incumbent Democratic Rep. William Lacy Clay seeking his 11th term as he goes up against progressive challenger Cori Bush.
Tuesday’s election will be a rematch of when the two faced off in 2018, when Bush lost to Clay by just 28,000 votes, the closest challenge to Clay’s seat since he was first elected.
In the 7th District, Republican U.S. Rep. Billy Long will face primary challenges from Eric Harleman, Kevin Vanstory Steve Chentik and Camille Lombardi-Olive, while Democrat Terese Montseny and Libertarian Camille Lombardi-Olive are running unopposed.
Missouri Gov. Mike Parson is engaged in a four-way battle for the Republican nomination, while five Democrats, one Libertarian and one Green Party candidate also vie for the position.
Voters will also be asked to weigh in on whether the state should expand Medicaid services.
Kansas
In Kansas, Watkins will seek to retain the Republican nomination in the 2nd District while facing challenges from Kansas State Treasurer Jake LaTurner and businessman Dennis Taylor.
Last month, Watkins was charged with three felonies and a misdemeanor in an investigation into whether he voted illegally in a municipal election in 2019. He has described the charges as “hyper political” and “very suspicious.”
The Democratic primary for the 2nd District will see Topeka Mayor Michelle De La Isla face off against progressive candidate James Windholz, while Libertarian candidate Robert Garrard will also vie for the position.
Eleven Republican candidates are also running to replace Sen. Pat Roberts, who is not seeking re-election after first taking office in 1996, with former Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach and U.S. Rep. Roger Marshall leading the field.
Arizona
Democratic Rep. Tom O’Halleran will face off in the 1st District race against progressive Eva Putzova, a onetime Flagstaff city councilor whose platform pushes for Medicare for All, the Green New Deal and tuition-free college.
Farmer and lawyer Tiffany Shedd, who lost to O’Halleran in 2018, will battle attorney Nolan Reidhead as Republicans seek to flip the historically Democratic district.
Republican Sen. Martha McSally, who was appointed to fill John McCain’s seat after he died in 2018, faces a Republican challenge from entrepreneur Daniel McCarthy in the special contest to fill the seat.
Astronaut Mark Kelly is on the ballot for the Democratic nomination in the Senate.
Washington
Gov. Jay Inslee faces a wide field of challengers but is expected to triumph over fellow Democrats Cairo D’Almeida, Gene Hart, Don Rivers and Omari Tahir Garrett, while the primary Republican challengers include Loren Culp, Tim Eyman and Joshua Freed.
Republican Rep. Jaimy Herrera Beutler is projected to face off in a rematch of the 2018 race against college professor Carolyn Long in the 3rd District after winning their last battle by five points.
A seat left open by Democratic U.S. Rep. Denny Heck in the 10th District has drawn interest from state Rep. Beth Doglio, former state Rep. Kristine Reeves and Tacoma Mayor Marilyn Strickland. If elected, Reeves or Strickland would be the first Black lawmakers sent to Congress from Washington state.
Under Washington State’s primary system, the Democratic candidates will share a ballot with the eight Republicans vying for the seat, including Army veteran Nancy Dailey Slotnick and former prosecutor Jackson Maynard.
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