Here are among some of the most notable contests in Tuesday’s primary elections being held in six states.
What to watch:
Arizona
In the governor’s race, former President Donald Trump has backed former television news anchor Kari Lake, who has said that she would not have certified Arizona’s election results in 2020. Lake faces businesswoman Karrin Taylor Robson, who is endorsed by former Vice President Mike Pence and outgoing Gov. Doug Ducey.
Secretary of State Katie Hobbs is strongly favored to win the Democratic nomination for governor.
In the Republican primary for U.S. Senate, Trump has backed tech investor Blake Masters as the candidate to go up against Democratic incumbent Mark Kelly in the fall.
The Republican primary for secretary of state includes Trump-backed legislator Mark Finchem, state Rep. Shawnna Bolick, and state Sen. Michelle Ugenti-Rita. The GOP establishment has rallied around advertising executive Beau Lane in the race.
In the state Legislature, Arizona House Speaker Rusty Bowers faces a Trump-backed candidate in his bid to run for the state Senate.
Michigan
Republican Rep. Peter Meijer is hoping to hold on to his seat after voting to impeach Trump. The former president has endorsed businessman and missionary John Gibbs, who worked in the Trump administration under Housing Secretary Ben Carson.
Missouri
Eric Greitens’s political career appeared over when he resigned as governor in 2018, following his admission to an extramarital affair and accusations of blackmail and campaign finance violations. On Tuesday, the former Navy SEAL officer has a chance at redemption in his Republican primary for the seat held by retiring GOP U.S. Sen. Roy Blunt.
Greitens, Attorney General Eric Schmitt, and U.S. Rep. Vicky Hartzler are the front-runners in a crowded 21-person GOP field that includes U.S. Rep. Billy Long and Mark McCloskey, the St. Louis lawyer who along with his wife held firearms amid Black Lives Matter protests in front of their home.
On Monday, Trump expressed support in a social media post for “ERIC,” meaning either Schmitt or Greitens, without picking between them.
The GOP winner in Missouri, a solidly Republican state, will be favored in November. But Republican leaders have long worried that Greitens could win the primary but lose the general election.
On the Democratic side, the nomination appears to be up for grabs between Lucas Kunce, a Marine veteran and self-proclaimed populist, and Trudy Busch Valentine, an heiress of the Busch beer fortune who has largely self-funded her campaign.
Washington
Two Republican House members from Washington state who voted to impeach Trump face primary challengers endorsed by him.
Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler, who has been in Congress since 2011, has said she voted for impeachment because she had “an obligation to the Constitution.” Trump has endorsed Joe Kent, a former Green Beret.
Rep. Dan Newhouse, a congressman since 2015, said he cast the vote to impeach Trump for inciting and refusing to immediately stop the Jan. 6 Capitol breach. Among his challengers is Loren Culp, a Trump-backed former small-town police chief who refused to concede the 2020 governor’s race to Democrat Jay Inslee.
In Washington, the top two vote-getters in each race, regardless of party, move forward to November.
Kansas
Voters will decide whether to approve a change to the state constitution that could allow the Legislature to restrict or ban abortion despite a 2019 state Supreme Court ruling that abortion access is a fundamental right. It’s the first referendum on abortion by a state since Roe v. Wade’s reversal.
In statewide races, Republican Kris Kobach is running for attorney general as he attempts a political comeback following losses in races for governor and U.S. Senate in previous years.
Ohio
Ohio is holding a primary for state legislative races on Tuesday, three months after its statewide and congressional contests—a split system that resulted from legal wrangling over redistricting.
