Lucy Campbell
Millions of voters across the country are heading to the polls today in crucial primaries in a slew of key gubernatorial, Senate and House races.
Here's a quick rundown of what we're watching:
California
Voters are casting ballots on who should lead the nation's most populous state (and the world's fourth largest economy), where there is no clear leader among candidates vying to advance in the race to succeed term-limited Democratic governor Gavin Newsom. The race for Los Angeles mayor is also on the ballot, along with a series of high-stakes US House contests in the state's newly redrawn congressional districts – which are set to play an outsized and potentially decisive role in the battle for power in Washington in November's midterm elections. My colleague Lauren Gambino has more:
Iowa
Per my colleague Chris Stein, with Trump's approval ratings deep underwater, gas prices high and historical political trends favoring the party out of power, Democrats this year are considering a comeback in Iowa, putting the state at the center of their campaigns to win back control of both the US House and the Senate. That effort for a “once-in-a-generation†breakthrough in the GOP-dominated state is being led by pro-hunting Democrat Rob Sand, who is running for governor. Chris wrote about him below. Democrats also believe they have a shot at winning three of the state's US House seats and a competitive chance at securing a US Senate seat, where the GOP frontrunner recently called Trump's war on Iran a “political liabilityâ€.
New Jersey
One of this year's most closely watched House midterms will take place in the battleground district currently represented by now-infamous Republican Tom Kean Jr, who has drawn public scrutiny and concern after missing more than 100 House votes due to an undisclosed illness. Voters are deciding which Democrat will run against him in November – and the seat is a must-win for the party. The frontrunner, veteran army trauma surgeon and political newcomer Adam Hamawy, has secured endorsements from the likes of Bernie Sanders, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Ilhan Omar. My colleague Joseph Gedeon has more:
New Mexico
Contests in the state include primaries for congressional seats, a US Senate seat and a long list of statewide offices, but the governor's race is the main event. Deb Haaland, who was Joe Biden's interior secretary, is running for the Democratic nomination, which could put her on a historic path for Native American leaders.
Montana
In Montana, a five-way Democratic fight is under way for the retiring Republican senator's seat. Independent Seth Bodnar, former president of the University of Montana, is outraising them all at the moment but they're refusing to step aside, Politico reports this morning.
South Dakota
The race is on for state governor, Sioux Falls mayor, a US Senate and House seat, a Republican primary for local lawmakers. The incumbent GOP governor Larry Rhoden faces three primary challengers in his first run for a full term. He stepped up into the role from the lieutenant governorship when the former governor, the since-ousted Kristi Noem, left to lead the Department of Homeland Security.
The Associated Press contributed reporting
Key events
Dani Anguiano
Republican James Gallagher won the special election in California's first congressional district to complete the term of the representative Doug LaMalfa, who died unexpectedly in January.
Gallagher had a significant lead over his two Democratic competitors in the deeply red region and will serve until the end of the year.
“This is for Doug,†Gallagher told a room full of supporters at an election night event in Chico.
It was the last race to be held under the current boundaries. California's Proposition 50 redrew this district to give Democrats an advantage and made it a competitive for the first time in almost half a century.
Trump set off a wave of new mid-decade redistricting after urging Texas to adopt changes to favor Republicansduring the midterm elections.
Results indicated Gallagher, who was endorsed by Trump, won the special election decisively with 60% of votes and almost 70% of precincts reporting.
Gallagher was also on track to advance to the general election for a congressional term beginning in January. He'll face a tough battle against Democrat Mike McGuire with the district having a solidly blue advantage.
“We're gonna shock the world and win this district,†Gallagher said.
Wiener advances in race for Pelosi’s House seat
Scott Wiener has advanced in his bid to fill the seat Nancy Pelosi will vacate at the end of her term. Wiener has secured more votes than Democratic rival Connie Chan, a San Francisco supervisor, who Pelosi had endorsed.
A Harvard Law School-educated attorney and prolific lawmaker in Sacramento, Wiener has long had his eye on Pelosi's seat. In 2023, he formed an exploratory committee that has already raised $1m for a future congressional run, but had previously insisted that he would only do so if Pelosi decided to step down, my colleague Lauren Gambino reports.
Although no winners have been named in California's gubernatorial primary, some candidates have begun issuing statements acknowledging they won't be moving on to the state's general election.
Speaking to supporters shortly after polls closed, San Jose mayor Matt Mahan said “our mission has only just begun†while acknowledging he will not be moving forward in the race.
“Tonight didn't turn out the way we hoped, and I offer my congratulations to the winners and offer my best wishes for the road ahead,†former Los Angeles mayor Antonio Villaraigosa said in a statement.
Uwa Ede-Osifo
Hours before California polls closed, voters in downtown Los Angeles trickled into a line around the corner of the historic Biltmore tower, a building whose lobby had been converted into a primary polling place.
Tyrone Brown, a Chicago native who has lived in Los Angeles for 10 years, waited in the line to cast a ballot for gubernatorial candidate Xavier Becerra and incumbent mayor Karen Bass.
“No mayor's job is easy,†Brown, 33, said of Bass' tenure, referencing in particular the recent presence of federal immigration agents in the city. He regards her as more qualified for the job than her challenger, council member Nithya Raman. “I think she deserves another term.â€
Suzette Shaw, a 62-year-old Skid Row resident, has not been “happy†with the Democrats at the state and local level. She backed Bass' first term, but has since been disillusioned with public safety issues in her neighborhood.
“We have drug dealers on every block and every corner, primarily here in downtown, especially where I live. I take great issue with that,†she said.
At the same time, Shaw does not want to see Republicans come into power in either the mayoral or governor's race. “I am still undecided,†she said, nearby the entrance of the polling site.
A few blocks away from the tower, sexual health educator Michael Castro, 29, who bore a “I vote†sticker tacked to his shirt, and community health worker Dante Rodriguez, 32, expressed disapproval with Bass' handling of the wildfire response and track record on homelessness. They voted instead for Raman.
The gubernatorial contest was a harder choice because of the crowded contest, said Rodriguez. “We went with – what was his name?†Rodriguez said, recalling billionaire philanthropist Tom Steyer. He has no love for billionaires, but resonated with Steyer's messaging about the environment.
“I wish it was like New York where it's ranked voting because then I think we can have more progressive candidates get in,†he added of the state's top two primary.
Robert Garcia has won the Democratic nomination for California's 42nd congressional district.
An incumbent two-term Democratic LGBTQ+ congressman, immigrant and Donald Trump critic, Garcia is representing new communities thanks to a successful redistricting effort that redrew California's voting maps to favor Democrats. If re-elected in November, Garica would now represent the conservative California community of Huntington Beach, known for banning the Pride flag from city property and fighting the state over pandemic and housing policy.
My colleague Dani Anguiano reports:
Results are beginning to pour in from California:
Mark DeSaulnier has won the Democratic nomination for the state's 10th congressional district
Kevin Mullin has won the party's nomination in the 15th district.
John Garamendi is the Democratic nominee in the 8th district.
Judy Chu is the party's nominee in the 28th district.
And Derek Tran has won the Democratic nomination in the 45th district.
As results roll in from primaries across the country, here are some images of the scene at election night parties and events from the newswires:
Lauren Gambino
Jasmeet Bains, a California state assemblywoman running in a competitive primary for the chance to face Republican Representative David Valadao in November, announced on Tuesday that she would cancel her election night event after a man took people hostage at a bank in Bakersfield.
According to local police, a man had barricaded himself inside a Chase bank in the southern California city of Bakersfield with “several community membersâ€.
“Out of an abundance of caution, and to avoid creating a large gathering of people in close proximity to this incident, we will no longer hold an in-person Election Night event in downtown,†Bains said in a statement, issued shortly before polls closed across the state.
She encouraged residents to “avoid downtown Bakersfield at this timeâ€.
“My thoughts are with all of the families impacted by this concerning situation,†she said.
The Democratic Governors Association has congratulated Deb Haaland on winning her race for the Democratic nomination to become New Mexico's next governor, saying her life story is “one of resilienceâ€.
“She knows the pain New Mexicans are feeling right now, which is why she will never stop fighting to bring down costs and create jobs, strengthen schools, expand affordable health care, and create safer communities,†said association chair and Kentucky governor Andy Beshear.
Haaland celebrated her victory Tuesday evening in Albuquerque's Old Town, where singers from Laguna Pueblo congratulated her and attendants joined in a Tiwa language prayer and traditional hoop dancing.
Polls close in California
Polls have closed in California, where voters are casting ballots on who should lead the nation's most populous state (and the world's fourth largest economy). The race for Los Angeles mayor is also on the ballot, along with a series of high-stakes US House contests in the state's newly redrawn congressional districts – which are set to play an outsized and potentially decisive role in the battle for power in Washington in November's midterm elections.
Alabama can use a redrawn congressional map that eliminates one of the state's two majority-Black districts in this year's midterm elections, the US supreme court ruled in a 6-3 decision today.
My colleague Sam Levine has the full story:
The court's emergency ruling is the most consequential decision it had issued since its landmark ruling in late April that struck down a critical provision of the Voting Rights Act. In that case, Louisiana v Callais, the court's majority made it nearly impossible to win Voting Rights Act claims, saying that plaintiffs had to prove intentional discrimination. But on 26 May, a three-judge panel said the map Alabama wants to use for this year's midterm was enacted with discriminatory intent.
But in an unsigned opinion on Tuesday, the court's conservative justices said the panel had failed to properly reconsider the case in light of the Callais decision and other recent cases weakening the Voting Rights Act.
