The primary election season burst into action on Tuesday as five states headed to the polls, setting the stage for crucial congressional races in November and serving as a test of former President Donald Trump’s hold on the Republican Party.
Voters cast their ballots in Arizona, Michigan, Missouri, Kansas, and Washington, with some races still too close to call as election night dragged into the morning. All eyes were on three House Republicans seeking reelection after facing widespread criticism from Trump supporters for voting for the former president’s impeachment last year.
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Here are the biggest results from Tuesday night’s primaries:
Eric Schmitt beat Eric Greitens for GOP nomination for Senate in Missouri
State Attorney General Eric Schmitt clinched the Republican nomination for Senate in Missouri, edging out one of his top contenders, former Gov. Eric Greitens, who resigned in 2018 after allegations emerged of sexual misconduct, an extramarital affair, blackmail, and campaign finance violations.
Trump called Schmitt on Tuesday night to congratulate him on the win, according to Schmitt’s campaign. Trump issued an eleventh-hour endorsement in the race on Monday night, throwing his support behind “Eric” — although he stopped short of saying which Eric he was backing. Both Schmitt and Greitens accepted the endorsement as their own and thanked the former president in statements late Monday.
Schmitt will face Democratic nominee Trudy Busch Valentine, a nurse and heiress to the Busch beer fortune, on the ballot in November.
Kansas voters rejected ballot initiative to restrict abortion rights
Voters in Kansas overwhelmingly voted in favor of maintaining abortion rights enshrined in the state’s constitution, rejecting an amendment that sought to remove the right to the procedure in the first vote on the subject since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June.
The amendment proposed overturning a 2019 decision by the state’s Supreme Court that found the Kansas Constitution includes a right to bodily autonomy, which the court justices ruled includes abortion. The initiative would not have outright banned abortion, but it would have set the stage for state lawmakers to do away with it.
House Republican who voted for Trump’s impeachment ousted
Rep. Peter Meijer (R-MI) was ousted from his seat by Trump-backed John Gibbs, a referendum on the Never Trump wing of the party after he was one of just 10 House Republicans to vote for the former president’s impeachment last year.
Meijer soon became one of Trump’s top targets in the midterm elections, not only for his impeachment vote but also for his support of the creation of the Jan. 6 committee and vote to hold former Trump adviser Steve Bannon in contempt of Congress for defying a subpoena from the panel. However, some high-profile Republicans such as House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) and House Minority Whip Steve Scalise (R-LA) backed Meijer’s reelection efforts.
Democrats seized on the intraparty divide, spending money on ads to boost Gibbs in the primary so that he would win the GOP nomination. The move was part of the party’s larger efforts to meddle in Republican primary elections to boost candidates they believe are more likely to lose in the general election.
Trump-backed Blake Masters emerged from GOP primary
Political newcomer Blake Masters won the GOP nomination for Senate in Arizona, emerging from a crowded field of Republican candidates as the party vies to unseat Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ) in November.
The Trump-backed candidate leaned on the former president’s support throughout his campaign, proudly pointing to Trump as an inspiration for his election bid. Masters surged in the polls after receiving Trump’s endorsement.
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Masters will face Kelly in the battleground state’s general election, marking one of the most high-stakes races that could determine control of Congress come November.
Kansas secretary of state defended seat amid challenge from election deniers
Kansas Secretary of State Scott Schwab won renomination in his reelection bid, fending off a field of GOP challengers who sought to unseat the incumbent who ran a campaign defending the integrity of the 2020 election despite Trump’s claims it was riddled with voter fraud.
The election was just one of several down-ballot races Trump has sought to influence, particularly as secretaries of state are responsible for overseeing statewide elections.
