In the Republican Senate primary in Colorado, voters rejected U.S. Representative Ron Hanks, who appeared at the Capitol on Jan. 6 and, although he said he did not enter the building, continued to spread false allegations and debunk theories of voter fraud. Businessman Joe O’De will win the nomination to face Democratic Senator Michael Bennett, CNN projects.
And in the primary election for Republican Gov. Greg Lopez, the former mayor of Parker outside of Denver, lost to Heidi Ganal, a board member of the University of Colorado, CNN projects. Unlike Ganal, who sees the Colorado election results as valid, even if he avoids questions about national results, Lopez said he believes Trump won the 2020 election. Ganal will try to oust Democratic Gov. Jared Polis. this fall.
Mississippi also slammed Trump on Tuesday, with Republican Michael Guest defeating contender Michael Cassidy, CNN’s projects. A guest has been attacked by his party for voting to set up an independent commission to investigate the deadly Capitol riot, but – after being run-off – is now on track to win another term.
In Oklahoma, evangelical pastor Jackson Lamayer criticized Republican Sen. James Lankford, whom CNN predicts will win a re-nomination for refusing to support Trump’s lies about the 2020 election.
The shadow of the Supreme Court’s decision last week to reject Rowe against Wade also hung over Tuesday’s election. In the Colorado Senate primary, O’De backed abortion rights in most circumstances, while Hanks advocated a total ban on the procedure. Democrats across the country are also monitoring turnout Tuesday as they assess whether the decision motivated a base that was demoralized by the party’s performance during President Joe Biden’s rule.
The Republican primaries also drew some play from Democratic groups seeking to nominate candidates from Republicans they believe will be less viable in the general election. In the race for the Senate in Colorado, Democrats had tried to increase Hanks, for example. In the race for governor, they hoped Lopez would defeat Ganal.
It was a similar story, but with a different outcome, in Illinois, where former Aurora Mayor Richard Irwin, the first black candidate elected, was the organization’s choice to face Democratic Gov. JB Pritzker. But State Senator Darren Bailey, who had Trump’s support, will win the approval of the Republican Party, CNN’s projects.
Illinois primary
Illinois was home to the largest and most competitive congressional primary.
Two of them are throwing out incumbents who were recruited in the same place during the state reassignment process. Democrats chose Representative Sean Kasten over Marie Newman’s CNN project representative, this time to represent them in the new District 6. Newman was criticized during the campaign for potentially dangerous findings from an ethics investigation. (She denied the allegations against her.) The race was expected to be narrow, in large part because Kasten’s current voters were attracted mainly to different areas.
On the Republican side, in the new 15th District of Southern Illinois, Representative Mary Miller is expected to defeat fellow Republican Rodney Davis, who was considered the more moderate choice of the two. Miller, a freshman, is a Trumpist, a flamethrower who, in a speech to the former president over the weekend, declared the Supreme Court’s decision to “win the lives of whites.” (A spokesman claims she was wrong and wanted to say “right to life.”)
Three more Democratic primary elections, two for open seats and another involving a challenge to a longtime incumbent, were also vying for titles. In the 7th Congressional District of Chicago, Representative Danny Davis will defeat contender Kina Collins, an activist for the prevention of gun violence, according to CNN. Collins, who lost heavily in the Davis Challenge in 2020, had the support of progressive groups led by Democrats of Justice – and the fundraising opportunity that comes with it – this time, but it wasn’t enough.
Progressives have succeeded in gaining influence in the Democratic House parliamentary group by winning the open seat nomination in Illinois’s 3rd District, which includes areas previously represented by Chui Garcia, Raja Krishnamurti and Kasten.
CNN predicts that Republican Delia Ramirez, backed by Garcia, New York Republic Alexandria Ocasio-Cortes, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren will win a four-way race.
Campaigns of the Working Familis Party, Congressional Progressive Caucus, EMILY’s List, Indivisible and J Street spent significant sums in support of Ramirez, helping it outlive Chicago alderman Gil Vilegas, who had the support of moderately supportive outside groups Democratic Majority for Democrats PAC.
In the 1st District of Chicago, Jonathan Jackson, the son of civil rights leader Rev. Jesse Jackson, will win the Democratic nomination to succeed retired MP Bobby Rush, CNN projects. Jackson, like Ramirez, had the support of Garcia, Sanders, and the Progressive Group in Congress.
The first primary day in New York
It was also a major day in New York, the first of two, a nationwide race, after a lengthy rerouting process pushed out racing for Congress in late August.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer appeared without resistance in the Democratic primary, a remarkable, though not surprising, resolution after more than a year of national speculation that he could attract a rival from the left.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul will face voters for the first time at the top of the statewide ticket and will win the nomination, CNN predicts, putting her on track to become the first woman elected to the top post in the state.
Hochul took office last year after the resignation of Andrew Cuomo. She was surrounded in the primary, on the left by New York Public Attorney Juman Williams and on the right by New York spokesman Tom Swansea, but remained a favorite throughout the campaign.
After the vote, the result seemed less certain.
But CNN predicts Hochul’s vice governor, former Republican Antonio Delgado, who took office just over a month ago, will be its vice governor in November. Delgado was Hochul’s second choice for the post, joining last month following the resignation of her first choice, Brian Benjamin, who resigned after being charged with federal corruption charges. (He pleaded not guilty.)
Delgado defeated Anna Maria Archilla, a longtime progressive organizer appointed to head the Working Families Party earlier this year after she stepped down as co-executive director of the Center for People’s Democracy. Archilla, though greatly overestimated by Delgado, ran a more active campaign and deep connections from her New York base to more progressive enclaves in the state after years of advocacy. Diana Reina, a former city council member and vice president of the Brooklyn district, is expected to finish third.
Hochul will face New York MP Lee Zeldin, whom CNN predicts will win the GOP nomination in the general election. Zeldin, who represents eastern Long Island, had the lion’s share of support from the state Republican Party, but had to fight a tense and tentative campaign involving former Trump White House aide Andrew Giuliani, the son of Trump’s ally and former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani; businessman Harry Wilson; and former Westchester County CEO Rob Astorino.
Mississippi runoff
Republicans had three nominations in Mississippi after candidates in each race failed to win a majority in their June 8 primary.
Jackson County Sheriff Mike Ezel will win the nomination in the 4th Mississippi Congressional District, CNN projects, removing the current representative Stephen Palazzo.
Palazzo entered the campaign facing a number of ethical issues, including alleged misuse of the campaign and congressional funds (he denied any wrongdoing) and criticism of its use by proxy. However, he finished first in seven candidates earlier this month.
But the opposition consolidated in Tuesday’s runoff, possibly sending Ezel to Congress from the heavily Republican Gulf region.
In the 2nd constituency, Brian Flowers and Ronald Eller are fighting for a chance to face Democrat Benny Thompson, chairman of the House of Representatives’ January 6 election commission.
This story was updated with additional developments on Tuesday.
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