What happened during the primaries? This is where I will look back at the 2018 midterm primaries and various events surrounding them.
I would like to address my views about what transpired during the primary season in another post. For now, let’s just look at what has happened to the political landscape and how the Democrats are doing so far in the age of Trump.
Note: I will be discussing the results of partisan primaries in 49 states (Louisiana does not have a regular primary), but the results listed here will not account for all of the candidates in each race. Depending on the state, some political parties (like the Green and Libertarian Parties) do not hold partisan primaries in each race; they may decide on nominees for certain races at their state conventions or candidates will have to be written in. Also, races featuring Democrats and Republicans might not have required primaries if the parties only had one candidate in contention. I will list all candidates in certain races in another post.
Now, let’s get to the timeline.
Timeline
Here is what happened during primary season 2018:
March 2018
March 2018 said this year’s first primaries, in Texas and Illinois.
- 03.05.2018: Who Is Beto O’Rourke?
- 03.06.2018: Texas Primary Results
- 03.15.2018: Going After the Greens Now
- 03.20.2018 Primaries in Illinois
03.05.2018: Who Is Beto O’Rourke? He’s the Top Democratic Challenger for Ted Cruz’s Seat
A day before Texas held its midterm primary elections, NPR ran a perspective on Beto O’Rourke, the Democratic congressman who was competing with two other Democrats for the chance to unseat U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz. O’Rourke, a tall, lean 45-year-old man, had visited 226 of the state’s 264 counties and had raised $2.3 million in the first 45 days of 2018. Cruz had only raised $800,000 during the same period.
Although O’Rourke was the clear favorite to win the Democratic nomination (he led by 50 points according to the recent polls) and there was quite a bit of enthusiasm among his followers, O’Rourke would have tough sledding come the general election. O’Rourke is trying to compete in red state, which Trump won by 9 points in 2016. Also, most people — a 40% of voters in Texas — had no idea who the congressman was.
What would give O’Rourke the greatest chance to win in November? The congressman’s positions were clearly anti-Trump, but his strengths lie in his “unabashed liberalism and earnest delivery.” I also think that his decision to visit all of Texas’ 264 counties is a good idea because old-fashioned campaigning still remains effective.
03.06.2018: Texas Held Its Primaries.
On Tuesday, March 6, 2018, there were partisan primaries for the governorship, one U.S. Senate seat, and 36 House seats. (Twenty-five of those House seats are currently held by Republicans.) A few high-profile primary races in Texas had clear-cut winners, but many were headed to runoffs.
An aspect of the Texas primaries that received the most attention, though, was the way in which the Democratic establishment was handling various races. In some races, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee was trying to push out certain candidates. One such candidate was Laura Moser, against whom the DCCC released opposition research. She was still leading her race.
Beyond that drama, the Democrats are targeting three seats that are held by Republicans:
- The seat in Rep. John Culberson’s suburban Houston district
- The seat in Rep. Pete Sessions’ North Dallas district
- The seat held by Will Hurd, which is in a district that includes the San Antonio suburbs, just outside El Paso.
Texas’ Governor’s Race
Gov. Greg Abbot easily won the Republican primary against two challengers, winning 90.40% of the vote. Abbot had to wait to find out who his Democratic challenger would be. Former Dallas County Sheriff Lupe Valdez garnered the most votes on the Democratic side, but since he only received 42.89% of the vote, he and Andrew White were headed to a May 22 runoff.
Senate Race
U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz also sailed to an easy Republican nomination. He will face U.S. Rep. Beto O’Rourke, who blew past his two Democratic challengers, in the general election.
Congressional Races
District 1: Shirley McKellar defeated Brent Beal to win the Democratic Nomination and incumbent Louie Gohmert won the Republican nomination. The two will face Libertarian Jeff Callaway in the general election.
District 2: Todd Litton emerged from a field of 8 Democrats (3 withdrew) on March 6. Republicans Daniel Crenshaw and Kevin Roberts went to a runoff. Litton and the Democratic nominee will join Libertarian Patrick Gunnels in the general election.
District 3: Republican State Sen. Van Taylor won the Republican nomination outright. Lorie Burch and Sam Johnson were headed to a runoff for the Democratic nomination. The Democratic nominee and Taylor will face Libertarian Christopher Claytor and Independents Roger Barone and Robert Mason.
District 4: Democrat Catherine Krantz, Republican incumbent John Ratcliffe, and Libertarian Ken Ashby advanced to the general election.
District 5: Dan Wood ran unopposed in the Democratic primary. He will face the Republican who wins the May 22 runoff.
District 6: Libertarian Jason Harber and Independent Gregory Brady advanced to the general election. Democrats Jana Lynne Sanchez and Ruby Faye Woolridge in and Republicans Ronald Wright and Jake Ellzey headed to the May 22 runoff.
District 7: Incumbent John Culbertson, a Republican, beat Edward Ziegler to win the Republican nomination on March 6. Laura Moser and Lizzie Pannill Fletcher advanced to the runoff. The Democratic nominee and Culberson will meet Ronald Kimmons from the Reform Party in the general election.
District 8: Democrat Steven David ran unopposed to win the Democratic nomination. He will face incumbent Kevin Brady (a Republican; his opponents withdrew) and Libertarian Chris Duncan.
District 9: Democrat Al Green ran unopposed and he will face Libertarian William Hayward.
District 10: Incumbent Michael McCaul, won the Republican nomination. He will face Libertarian Mike Ryan and the Democratic nominee. Mike Siegal and Tawana Cadien advanced to the Democratic runoff.
District 11: Democrat Jennie Lou Leeder will face Republican incumbent Mike Conaway and Libertarian Rhett Rosenquest Smith.
District 12: Vanessa Adia ran unopposed to win the Democratic nomination. Incumbent Kay Granger ran unopposed to win the Republican nomination. The two will face Libertarian Jacob Leddy.
District 13: Democrat Greg Sagan will face off against Republican incumbent Mac Thornberry and Libertarian Calvin DeWeese.
District 14: Democrat Adrienne Bell will face Republican incumbent Randy Weber and Libertarian Don Conley III.
District 15: Democratic incumbent Vicente Gonzalez faced no challengers in his primary so he will face uncontested Republican Tim Westley and Libertarian Anthony Cristo in the general election.
District 16: Veronica Escobar emerged from a crowded Democratic primary. She will face Rick Seeberger in the general election.
District 17: Republican incumbent Bill Flores will face Democratic candidate Rick Kennedy and Libertarian Peter Churchman in the general election.
District 18: Incumbent Sheila Jackson defeated Richard Johnson to win the Democratic nomination. She will face uncontested Republican Ava Pate, Libertarian Luke Spencer (LOL), and Independents Lori Bartley, Vince Duncan, and Jessica Peterka in November.
District 19: Incumbent Jodey Arrington, a Republican, will face Democrat Miquel Levario in November.
District 20: Democrat Joaquin Castro, the incumbent, will face Jeffrey Blunt in the general election.
District 21: Libertarian Lee Santos was the only person to advance to the general election on March 6. Democrats Joseph Kosper and Mary Wilson advanced to the May 22 runoff. Matt McCall and Chip Roy emerged from a crowded Republican field to advance to the runoff.
District 22: Incumbent Pete Olson won the Republican nomination outright. He will face Libertarian John McElligott, Independent Stephanie Williams, and the Democratic nominee. (Sri Preston Kulkarni and Letitia Plummer advance to the runoff.)
District 23: Incumbent Will Hurd won the Republican nomination outright. He will face Libertarian Ruben Corvalan and the Democratic nominee. (Gina Ortiz Jones and Rick Treviño advanced to the runoff.)
District 24: Incumbent Kenny Marchant won the Republican nomination and will face Democrat Jan McDowell and Libertarian Mike Kolls.
District 25: Incumbent Roger Williams ran unopposed in the Republican primary. He will face Libertarian Desarae Lindsey and the Democrat nominee. (Julie Oliver met Chris Perri in the runoff.)
District 26: Republican incumbent Michael Burgess will face Democrat Lindsey Fagan and Libertarian Mark Boler.
District 27: Libertarian Daniel Tinus was the only candidate to advance on March 6, 2018. Democrats Eric Holguin and Raul “Roy” Barrera advance to a runoff, as did Republicans Michael Cloud and Bech Bruun in a runoff. Incumbent Blake Farenthold (R) has given up this seat.
District 28: Democratic incumbent Henry Cuellar and Libertarian Arthur Thomas IV were the only ones on the ballot. They will meet in the general election.
District 29: State Sen. Sylvia Garcia emerged from a robust Democratic field on March 6 to win the party’s nomination. She will face Libertarian Cullen Burns and the Republican nominee (Phillip Aronoff and Carmen Maria Montiel advanced to a runoff.)
District 30: Incumbent Eddie Bernice Johnson won her primary. The Democrat will face Libertarian Shawn Jones in the general election.
District 31: Incumbent John Carter won the Republican nomination. He will face Libertarian Jason Hope and the Democratic nominee. (M.J. Hegar and Christine Mann advanced to the runoff.)
District 32: Incumbent Pete Sessions defeated Paul Brown in the Republican primary. Sessions will face Libertarian Melina Baker and Democrat Colin Allred, an attorney who defeated Lillian Salerno in a runoff.
District 33: Incumbent Marc Veasey defeated Carlos Quintanilla in the Democratic primary. He will face uncontested Willie Billups (Kurt Schwab withdrew) and Jason Reeves, a Libertarian.
District 34: Incumbent Filemon Vela, a Democrat, will face Republican Rey Gonzalez in the general election.
District 35: Incumbent Lloyd Doggett ran uncontested in the Democratic primary. He will face Republican David Smalling and Clark Patterson in the general election.
District 36: Brian Babin, the incumbent, ran uncontested in the Republican primary. He will face Democrat Dayna Steele.
Moser Advanced to the Runoff
One highlight of Texas’s March 6, 2018, primaries was the advancement of Laura Moser to the May 22 Democratic runoff in the state’s 7th Congressional District. Moser was the writer-turned-activist who was targeted by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee in favor of Lizzie Fletcher, who also advanced to the runoff. Progressives and labor groups opposed Fletcher because she was a corporate lawyer whose firm represented a janitorial services company that blocked a group of workers from unionizing and sued a local chapter of the Service Employees International Union.
The Democrat who advances in this race will get the chance to unseat John Culbertson, a nine-term Republican who has run unopposed in at least one election cycle. Democrats have an increased focus on this district because Hillary Clinton carried it by 2 points (49%-47%) in the 2016 presidential election.
03.15.2018: Nothing to See Here … People Are Just Going After the Greens (Again).
In what looked like a propaganda piece for Raw Story, Martin Cizmar wrote about Timothy Adams, who registered with the Green Party in Montana and entered the race against “centrist” Democrat John Tester for the U.S. Senate. Cizmar wrote that Adams used to be an employee of the state’s Republican party had “previously made headlines by filing elections complaints against Democrats.” Cizmar also cited a story from AP News that stated that Adams heads Montanans Against Higher Taxes, “which is ostensibly an anti-tax group, but which is mostly focused on railing against the state’s higher education system.”
03.20.2018 Primaries Were Held in Illinois.
Illinois held its midterm primaries on Tuesday, March 20, 2018. I will include the results for the governor’s race and races in the state’s 18 House districts.
Illinois Governor’s Race
JB Pritzker won the Democratic nomination. He will face incumbent Bruce Rauner, who defeated Jeanne Ives in the Republican primary.
U.S. House of Representatives
District 01: Bobby Rush (the Democratic incumbent) and Jimmy Lee Tillman (Republican) both ran in their respective primaries unopposed.
District 02: Robin Kelly, the incumbent, defeated Marcus Lewis in the Democratic primary. She will face David Merkle, who was first past the pole in the Republican primary.
District 03: Dan Lipinski, the incumbent, defeated Marie Newman in the Democratic primary. He will face Arthur Jones, who ran in the Republican primary unopposed.
District 04: Chuy Garcia carried over 66% of the vote in the three-person Democratic primary. Garcia will face Mark Lorch in the general election. Lorch ran unopposed in the Republican primary.
District 05: Mike Quigley, the incumbent, carried over 62% of the vote in the Democratic primary. He will face Tom Hanson, who ran unopposed in the Republican primary.
District 06: Peter Roskam, the incumbent, ran unopposed in the Republican primary. He will face Sean Casten, who was first past the pole in the Democratic primary.
District 07: Danny Davis (the incumbent) defeated Anthony Clark in the Democratic primary and Craig Cameron defeated Jeffrey Leef in the Republican primary.
District 08: Raja Krishnamoorthi (the Democratic incumbent) and JD Diganvker (Republican) both ran in their primaries unopposed.
District 09: Jan Schakowsky, the incumbent, ran unopposed in the Democratic primary. Schakowsky will face John Elleson, who emerged from a four-person Republican primary.
District 10: Brad Schneider, the incumbent, ran unopposed in the Democratic primary. He will face Douglass Bennett, who closely won a three-person Republican primary.
District 11: Bill Foster, the incumbent, ran unopposed in the Democratic primary. Nick Stella defeated Connor Vlakancic in the Republican primary.
District 12: Mike Bost (the incumbent) defeated Preston Nelson in the Republican primary and Brendan Kelly defeated David Bequette in the Democratic primary.
District 13: Rodney Davis, the incumbent, ran unopposed in the Republican primary. Betsy Dirkensen won the Democratic primary.
District 14: Randy Hultgren, the incumbent, ran unopposed in the Republican primary. Lauren Underwood emerged from an 8-person Democratic primary by winning 57.4% of the vote.
District 15: John Shimkus, the incumbent, ran unopposed in the Republican primary and Kevin Gaither defeated Carl Spoerer in the Democratic primary.
District 16: Adam Kinziner (the incumbent) defeated Jim Marter in the Republican primary. Sara Dady won the Democratic nomination.
District 17: Cheri Bustos (the Democratic incumbent) and Bill Fawell (Republican) ran unopposed in their respective primaries.
District 18: Darin LaHood, the incumbent, easily defeated Donald Rients in the Republican primary. Junius Rodriguez won a plurality of votes in the Democratic primary.
April 2018
The only election held in April 2018 was the special election for Arizona’s 8th Congressional District, but there was some news about other primaries.
04.11.2018: Erick Erickson Shares One Republican Congressman’s Rant About Donald Trump.
Erick Erickson shared some choice quotes from a Republican congressman who talked to him while they were at a Safeway grocery store. The congressman wanted to vent because while he was one of Donald Trump’s largest defenders, he secretly hated the president and wanted him gone. The congressman unleashed a profanity-laced tirade, which was edited for decency.
Here’s what the congressman thinks about Trump:
It’s like Forrest Gump won the presidency, but an evil, really f*cking stupid Forrest Gump. He can’t help himself. He’s just a f**king idiot who thinks he’s winning when people are b*tching about him. He really does see the world as ratings and attention. I hate Forrest Gump. I listen to your podcast and heard you hate it too. What an overrated piece of sh*t movie. Can you believe it beat the Shawshank Redemption?
The bottom line was that there were some Republicans who might be willing to impeach Donald Trump, but they would be more likely to comply if Democrats were to take both chambers of Congress or Trump fired Robert Mueller as special counsel. Personally, I don’t feel much solace in this. It’s pretty funny to read how frank this unnamed congressman was being, but only voters and activists will have a meaningful effect on ousting Trump, his whole cabal, and indicting far-right policies.
04.23.2018: Dems Invested in Batty Repub in WV.
In a move that evoked the Pied Piper Strategy, the Democratic Party’s establishment funneled money through a super PAC in order to make sure that incumbent U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin would have the weakest Republican challenger possible in his race in West Virginia. Although Manchin had a primary challenger, the party assumed he would easily win the Democratic nomination and thus looked ahead to the general election.
The super PAC, called Duty and Country, spent about $600,000 in order to boost Don Blankenship, a coal mine owner who went to prison in 2016 because his code violations led to the deaths of 29 miners. The super PAC spent $460,000 against Rep. Evan Jenkins and $30,000 against WV Attorney General Patrick Morrisey.
At the same time, the Republican establishment was spending money against Blankenship. Their shadow PAC is called Mountain Families PAC in order to hurt the former coal baron.
04.24.2018: Special Election in Arizona
On April 24, 2018, Arizona held a special election for the state’s 8th Congressional District. The seat was vacated by Rep. Trent Franks, but it remained in Republican hands as Debbie Lesko defeated Hiral Tipirneni. Since the two women won their respective primaries in February, they will face each other once again in November.
May 2018
May featured a slate of primaries and runoffs. On May 8th, Indiana, North Carolina, Ohio, and West Virginia held their primaries. Idaho, Nebraska, Oregon, and Pennsylvania held their primaries on May 15th. Arkansas, Georgia, and Kentucky held their primaries on May 22nd, the same day as the Texas runoff.
There was also big news involving races in California, Connecticut, New York, and Vermont. Two Democrats received huge endorsements and one independent announced his intentions to run for reelection.
- May 3: A White Supremacist Leads All Republicans in California
- May 4: Barack Obama’s Endorsement
- May 8: Primaries in IN, NC, OH, and WV
- May 15: Primaries in ID, NE, OR, and PA
- May 17: Bernie Sanders’ Announcement
- May 19-22: Hillary Clinton’s Endorsements
- May 22: Primaries in AR, GA, KY, and TX Runoff
- May 24: Tom Perez’s Endorsement
- May 25: Feinstein and Nunes
05.03.2018: A White Supremacist Leads All Republicans in California for U.S. Senate Seat
As the California Republican Party was heading to its convention in San Diego, a bit of concerning news cropped up. According to an April 27, 2018, SurveyUSA poll, Republican Patrick Little had more support than any other candidate in the contest to run for the U.S. Senate Seat currently held by Dianne Feinstein. Sen. Feinstein led all candidates with a 39% share, but Little came in second with 18% of respondents choosing him. The closest Republican to Little polled at 8%.
Little’s support is concerning because he is clearly anti-Semitic. He has denied that the Holocaust happened, he has called Adolf Hitler “one of the greatest leaders in history,” he has said that America is “Israel’s whore,” he said that Donald Trump “has caved to the Jewish supremacists who control this country,” and he has said that he wants to “remove the Jews from power.” Furthermore, Little has received an endorsement from former KKK grand wizard David Duke.
Of course, Republican leaders had disavowed Little, but they have to be concerned because Trump’s election has emboldened some of the worst among us. Also, California has a “jungle primary” system, where the top two vote-getters will advance to the general election, regardless of their party affiliation.
May 4, 2018: Barack Obama Endorses Dianne Feinstein
On Friday, May 4, 2018, Former President Barack Obama endorsed Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s bid for a sixth term. Feinstein is a centrist who has a long political history in California. She and Obama have a long professional relationship that began with their time in the U.S. Senate and although Feinstein was an early supporter of Hillary Clinton’s 2008 presidential bid, Feinstein hosted a key meeting between Obama and Clinton at her Washington, D.C. home.
Obama’s endorsement was a rare intervention on his part, but Feinstein is facing stiff competition from the left flank of the Democratic Party. One of her top competitors is state Sen. Kevin de León, but Alison Hartson and David Hildebrand are more progressive.
May 8 Primaries
After two months without primaries, Indiana, North Carolina, Ohio, and West Virginia held theirs. Some of the races that gained the most attention pitted progressive favorites against candidates favored by the Democratic establishment. (I don’t care for some of the results. Overall, this was a pretty bad day for progressives.)
Indiana Primaries
Greg Pence, the vice president’s brother, won the Republican nomination for the chance to claim his brother’s old seat in the House of Representatives. Greg Pence was able to benefit from campaign funds that came from people close to his brother.
In the Indiana Republican primary for the U.S. Senate, Mike Braun emerged in a tough 3-way fight for the chance to challenge Democrat Joe Donnelly, who is in his first term and one of the most vulnerable Democrats this year.
Back to May 8 Primaries
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North Carolina Primaries
Robert Pittenger held the dubious distinction of being the only incumbent to suffer a primary defeat on May 8. The third-term Republican lost to Mark Harris, a conservative pastor who gained attention for denouncing same-sex marriage. Harris will face off against Democratic nominee Dan McCready, who was outraising Pittenger and held a $1.2 million to $70,000 cash-on-hand advantage to Harris as of April 2018.
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Ohio Primaries
Departing Congressman James Renacci easily won the Republican nomination for the U.S. Senate. He will face incumbent Sen. Sherrod Brown. Since Renacci’s House seat was open, Anthony Gonzalez competed against State Representative Christian Hagan for it in the Republican primary. Gonzalez emerged victorious after a last-minute financial boost from establishment Republicans.
In a Republican primary for the House seat vacated by Pat Tiberi, State Senator Troy Balderson defeated Melanie Leneghan. Balderson had the support of Tiberi and the House’s Freedom Caucus preferred Leneghan.
In the Ohio governor’s race, Richard Cordray defeated former U.S. Rep. Dennis Kucinich in the Democratic primary. Cordray worked in the Obama Administration as the head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau for the better part of a decade and he received an endorsement from Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Massachusetts). He will face off against Republican Mike DeWine.
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West Virginia Primaries
WV Attorney General Patrick Morrisey won the Republican nomination. Despite coming close in polls leading up to Election Day, Republican mining baron Don Blankenship came in third, right behind Evan Jenkins. Blankenship blamed his loss on Donald Trump, who was ultimately pressured to tweet a message to voters discouraging them from voting for Blankenship. The mining baron estimated that he lost as many as 10 percentage points because of Trump.
Incumbent Sen. Joe Manchin fended off challenger Paula Jean Swearingin in the Democratic primary.
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May 15 Primaries
This week was a sharp contrast to the previous one because there were a few notable progressive victories in these primaries. After a rough beginning, these results gave some observers some hope heading into the general election.
Idaho
Idaho held primaries for the gubernatorial race, as well as primaries for the state’s 1st and 2nd Congressional Districts.
In the gubernatorial race, Paulette Jordan won the Democratic primary. She will face Brad Little in the general election.
Democrat Cristina McNeil will face Republican Russ Fulcher in November for the 1st Congressional District seat. Democrat Aaron Swisher will compete for the 2nd Congressional District seat again Mike Simpson, who ran unopposed in the Republican primary.
Back to May 15 Primaries
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Nebraska Primaries
Nebraska featured primaries for the gubernatorial race, a U.S. Senate race, and races for the state’s 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Congressional Districts.
In November, Democrat Jane Raybould will face off against incumbent Gov. Deb Fischer, a Republican.
Jessica McClure won the Democratic primary for the 1st Congressional District seat held by Republican Jeff Fortenberry, who ran unopposed in his primary.
In District 2, Kara Eastman defeated Brad Ashford in the Democratic primary. She will face incumbent Don Bacon, who ran unopposed in the Republican primary, in November.
In the 3rd Congressional District, Paul Theobald ran unopposed in the Democratic primary. He will face incumbent Adrian Smith, who emerged from a crowded Republican primary.
Back to May 15 Primaries
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Oregon Primaries
Oregon featured a gubernatorial race and primaries for five congressional districts.
Incumbent Governor Kate Brown won the Democratic primary and she will face Republican Knute Buehler in the general election.
In District 1, Democrat Susanne Bonamici, the incumbent, will face Republican John Verbeek in the general election.
In District 2, Jamie McLeod-Skinner won the Democratic primary and incumbent Greg Walden won the Republican primary.
In District 3, Earl Blumenauer won the Democratic primary with over 90.7% of the vote. He will run unopposed in the general election.
In District 4, incumbent Peter DeFazio won the Democratic primary with 92.3% of the vote. He will face Republican Arthur Robinson in November.
In District 5, incumbent Kurt Schrader won the Democratic primary with 87% of the vote. He will face Mark Callahan, who won the Republican primary with 62.6% of the vote, in the general election.
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Pennsylvania Primaries
Pennsylvania held primaries for the governorship, a U.S. Senate seat, and seats in 18 congressional districts.
The races in Pennsylvania were interesting to watch because the state had to redraw its district lines after a Pennsylvania Supreme Court decision on gerrymandering. The state’s House delegation currently has 10 Republicans and 6 Democrats, but the redistricting has provided new opportunities for Democrats.
The congressional races also drew interest because of the number of women running. While 75% of the candidates were male, there was at least one woman running in 13 of the state’s 18 congressional districts, with seven (6 Democrats and 1 Republican) running in the 5th Congressional District alone. Many of the women on the ballot advanced to the general election.
Here are the results:
Gubernatorial Race
Incumbent Gov. Tom Wolf ran opposed in the Democratic primary. He will face Republican Scott Wagner in the general election.
U.S. Senate Race
Incumbent Sen. Bob Casey ran unopposed in the Democratic primary. He will face Republican Lou Barletta in November.
Congressional Races
District 1: Scott Wallace emerged from the Democratic primary and he will face incumbent Brian Fitzpatrick, who defeated Dean Malik in the Republican primary. While Wallace received fewer votes than Fitzpatrick (27,652 to 31,374), more people voted in the Democratic primary (48,946 to 46,825). Will this translate to a Democratic win in the general election?
District 2: Incumbent Brendan Boyle beat Michele Lawrence in the Democratic primary, garnering 64.5% of the vote. He will face David Torres, who ran unopposed in the Republican primary.
District 3: Incumbent Dwight Evans defeated Kevin Johnson in the Democratic primary, garnering 80.8% of the vote. Evans will face Bryan Leib, who ran unopposed in the Republican primary, in the general election.
District 4: Madeleine Dean won the Democratic primary and she will face Dan David, who ran unopposed in the Republican primary, in the general election.
District 5: Mary Gay Scanlan won the Democratic primary and she will face Pearl Kim, who ran unopposed in the Republican primary, in the general election.
District 6: Democrat Chrissy Houlahan and Republican Greg McCauley both ran unopposed in their respective primaries so they will face each other in November.
District 7: Susan Wild won the Democratic primary and will face Republican Marty Nothstein in November. Nothstein received 16,059 to Wild’s 15,032, but more people voted in the Democratic primary overall (45,119 to 31,793).
District 8: Matt Cartwright ran unopposed in the Democratic primary and he will face Republican John Chrin in November.
District 9: Democrat Denny Wolf and Republican Dan Meuser will face off in November.
District 10: Incumbent Scott Perry ran in the Republican primary unopposed and he will face Democrat George Scott in the general election.
District 11: Jess King ran in the Democratic primary unopposed and will face incumbent Lloyd Smucker, who defeated Chet Beiler in the Republican primary.
District 12: Incumbent Tom Marino won the Republican primary with 67.1% of the vote and he will face Marc Friedenberg, who won the Democratic primary with 50.4% of the vote.
District 13: Brent Ottaway ran unopposed in the Democratic primary and will face John Joyce, who emerged from a crowded Republican primary, in November.
District 14: Bibiana Boerio won the Democratic primary and will face Republican Guy Reschenthaler in the general election.
District 15: Democrat Susan Boser beat Wade Jodun in the Democratic primary, with 74.5% of the vote to his 25.5%. Boser will face incumbent Glenn Thompson who ran in the Republican primary unopposed.
District 16: Mike Kelly ran unopposed in the Republican primary. He will face Ron DiNicola, who won the Democratic nomination with 60.2% of the vote.
District 17: Democrat Conor Lamb and Republican Keith Rothfus are both incumbents who are now running in the same district. They both ran in their partisan primaries unopposed.
District 18: Incumbent Mike Doyle defeated Janis Brooks in the Democratic primary with 75.9% of the vote to her 24.1%. Doyle will run unopposed in the general election.
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May 22 Results
On Tuesday, May 22, 2018, there were partisan primaries held in Arkansas, Georgia, and Kentucky, while there were some runoffs held in Texas.
This day also featured a slate of progressive victories, headlined by Stacey Abrams in Georgia. A total of 7 candidates endorsed by Our Revolution won their primaries, a day after a hit piece from Politico painted a picture that the organization was “in disarray.”
Those shown in the GIF were:
- Abrams, who is running in Georgia’s gubernatorial race.
- Paul Walker, who is running for a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives (in Kentucky’s 1st District)
- Maureen Skinner, who is running for the Arkansas State Senate (District 35)
- Adrian Wallace, who is running for the Lexington, KY City Council (At-Large)
- Lisa Ring, who is running as a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives (in Georgia’s 1st District)
- Sheikh Rahman, who is running for the Georgia State Senate (in District 5)
- Shelley Hutchinson, who is running to become a George State Representative (District 07)
Follow the links to jump to specific results.
Arkansas Primaries
In Arkansas, there were races for Governor and Districts 1-4 for the United States House of Representatives:
Jared Henderson defeated Leticia Sanders in the Democratic primary for Governor by winning 63.4% of the vote to Sanders’ 36.6%. In the general election, Henderson will face incumbent Gov. Asa Hutchinson, who easily defeated Jan Morgan in the Republican primary by winning 69.7% of the vote to Morgan’s 30.3%.
In District 1, Chintan Desai won the Democratic nomination and Rick Crawford, the incumbent, won the Republican nomination.
In District 2, Clarke Tucker won the Democratic nomination with 15,494 votes (56.74%) and French Hill, the incumbent, won the Republican nomination.
In District 3, Joshua Mahony won the Democratic nomination and Steve Womack, the incumbent, won the Republican nomination with 29,110 votes (84.30%).
In District 4, Hayden Shamel won the Democratic nomination and Bruce Westerman, the incumbent, won the Republican nomination with 26,289 votes (82.02%).
Back to May 22 Primaries
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Georgia Primaries
In Georgia, there were races for governor and 14 House districts.
In the gubernatorial race, Stacey Abrams easily dispatched of Stacey Evans on the Democratic side, winning 76.5% of the vote (423,191) to Evans’ 23.5% (130,259). Abrams will face Casey Cagle in the general. Cagle emerged from a field of six Republicans, garnering 38.9% of the vote.
In District 1, Lisa Ring won the Democratic nomination over Barbara Seidman, with 20,522 votes (67.49%) to Seidman’s 9,864 (32.51%). Earl “Buddy” Carter, the incumbent, ran unopposed for the Republican nomination.
In District 2, Democrat Sanford Bishop Jr. and Republican Herman West, Jr. each won their party’s nomination by running unopposed.
In District 3, Chuck Enderlin won the Democratic nomination and Drew Ferguson, the incumbent, won the Republican nomination.
In District 4, Hank Johnson, the incumbent, won the Democratic nomination and Republican Joe Profit ran unopposed.
In District 5, Democrat John Lewis, the incumbent, is running unopposed.
In District 6, Lucy McBath and Kevin Abel advanced to the July 24 runoff for the Democratic nomination. The winner will face Karen Handel, who ran unopposed in the Republican primary.
In District 7 Carolyn Bourdeaux and David Kim advanced to the runoff for the Democratic nomination. The winner will face incumbent Rob Woodall, who defeated Shane Hazel to win the Republican nomination.
In District 8, incumbent Austin Scott is running unopposed.
In District 9, Josh McCall defeated Dave Cooper in the Democratic primary. McCall will face Doug Collins, who ran unopposed for the Republican nomination.
In District 10, Tabitha Johnson-Green won the Democratic nomination and incumbent Jody Hice won the Republican nomination.
In District 11, Democrat Flynn Broady and Republican Loudermilk ran unopposed in their primaries.
In District 12, Francys Johnson won the Democratic nomination and incumbent Rick Allen won the Republican nomination.
In District 13, incumbent David Scott ran unopposed in the Democratic primary and David Callahan garnered 93% of the vote in the Republican primary.
In District 14, Democrat Steven Foster and Republican Tom Graves, the incumbent, both ran unopposed in their primaries.
Back to May 22 Primaries
Back to May 2018
Kentucky
Kentucky featured races for six seats in the U.S. House of Representatives.
District 1: Paul Walker defeated Alonzo Pennington in the Democratic primary. Republican James Comer, the incumbent, ran unopposed.
District 2: Hank Linderman won a four-way race for the Democratic nomination. He will face incumbent Brett Guthrie, who ran unopposed in the Republican primary.
District 3: Incumbent John Yarmuth ran unopposed in the Democratic primary. He will face Vickie Glisson, who won a three-way race for the Republican nomination.
District 4: Seth Hall won the Democratic nomination and incumbent Thomas Massie, a Republican, ran unopposed.
District 5: Kenneth Stepp defeated Scott Sykes to win the Democratic primary. Stepp will face incumbent Hal Rogers, who easily dispatched of Gerardo Serrano in the Republican primary.
District 6: Amy McGrath emerged from a crowded Democratic primary and will face incumbent Andy Barr, who easily defeated Chuck Eddy to win the Republican primary.
Back to May 22 Primaries
Back to May 2018
Texas Runoff
Greg Abbot easily won the Republican gubernatorial primary in March, so he had to wait to see who his Democratic opponent would be. On May 22, 2018, Lupe Valdez defeated Andrew White to win the Democratic nomination. Valdez received 227,889 votes (52.7%) and White received 204,291 votes (47.3%).
There were also runoffs in 14 of the states’ 36 congressional districts.
District 2: Dan Crenshaw easily defeated Kevin Roberts to win the Republican nomination.
District 3: Lorie Burch defeated Sam Johnson to win the Democratic nomination.
District 5: Lance Gooden defeated Bunni Pounds to win the Republican nomination.
District 6: Jana Lynne Sanchez defeated Ruby Faye Woolridge to win the Democratic nomination and Ron Wright defeated Jake Ellzey to win the Republican nomination.
District 7: Lizzie Fletcher defeated Laura Moser to win the Democratic nomination.
District 10: Mike Siegel defeated Tawana Walter-Cadien to win the Democratic nomination.
District 21: Joseph Kopser defeated Mary Wilson to win the Democratic nomination. Chip Roy defeated Matt McCall to win the Republican nomination.
District 22: Sri Kulkarni defeated Letitia Plummer to win the Democratic nomination.
District 23: Gina Jones defeated Rick Trevino to win the Democratic nomination.
District 25: Julie Oliver defeated Chris Perri to win the Democratic nomination.
District 27: Eric Holguin defeated Roy Barrera to win the Democratic nomination. Michael Cloud defeated Bech Bruun to win the Republican nomination.
District 29: Phillip Aronoff defeated Carmen Montiel to win the Republican nomination.
District 31: Mary Hegar defeated Christine Mann to win the Democratic nomination.
District 32: Colin Allred defeated Lillian Salerno to win the Democratic nomination.
June 2018
June 2018 featured primaries in 17 states. On June 5, Alabama, California, Iowa, Mississippi, Montana, New Jersey, New Mexico, and South Dakota held their primaries. On June 12, Maine, Nevada, North Dakota, South Carolina, and Virginia held their primaries. June 26 featured primaries Colorado, Maryland, Oklahoma and, Utah, along with runoffs for Alabama and South Carolina.
Among the most pivotal elections were those occurring in California, where Democrats hoped to pick up at least 8 congressional seats, about one-third of the total seats (23) they would need to flip the House of Representatives. Progressives were focused on select races in the state, especially the Senate race for Dianne Feinstein’s seat.
Alabama garnered increased interest because of the increased participation of black female candidates. Following the election of Doug Jones to the U.S. Senate and the role that black voters played in his victory, over 70 black women were running for office.
These are the stories I will be focusing on for this month:
- June 3: Orange County
- June 4: A Scam in California’s Gubernatorial Race?
- June 5: Super Tuesday in AL, CA, IA, MS, MT, NJ, NM, and SD
- June 6: Joe Manchin Is a Cuck for Trump
June 3: Orange County
June 4: A Scam in California’s Gubernatorial Race?
June 5 Primaries
On Tuesday, June 5, 2018, voters in Alabama, California, Iowa, Mississippi, Montana, New Jersey, New Mexico, and South Dakota voting in those state’s primaries.
- Alabama
- California
- Iowa
- Mississippi
- Montana
- New Jersey
- New Mexico
- South Dakota
- How Progressives Fared on June 5
Alabama
Alabama featured a governor’s race and primaries for 7 congressional districts.
Governor’s race: Walt Maddox won the Democratic primary and incumbent Gov. Kay Ivey won the Republican primary.
District 1: Robert Kennedy easily defeated Lizzetta McConnell in the Democratic primary and incumbent Bradley Byrne ran unopposed in the Republican primary.
District 2: Tabitha Isner easily beat Audri Scott Williams in the Democratic primary. Incumbent Martha Roby and Bobby Bright advanced to the July 17th Republican runoff.
District 3: Mallory Hagan defeated Adia Winfrey in the Democratic primary. Incumbent Mike Rogers ran in the Republican primary unopposed.
District 4: Lee Auman defeated Rick Neighbors in the Democratic primary. Incumbent Robert Aderholt easily defeated Anthony Blackmon in the Republican primary.
District 5: Peter Joffrion run in the Democratic primary unopposed. Incumbent Mo Brooks defeated Clayton Hinchman in the Republican primary.
District 6: Democrat Danner Kline and Republican Gary Palmer, the incumbent, both ran unopposed in their respective primaries.
District 7: Incumbent Terri Sewell, a Democrat, is running unopposed.
California
Voters in California went to the polls to choose nominees for the general election for various state seats, as well as a Senate race and U.S. House seats in 53 districts. Since California has what is known as a “jungle primary,” only the top two candidates, regardless of party, will advance to the general election in November.
Gubernatorial Results for California
In the gubernatorial race, Democrat Gavin Newsom, the current Lieutenant governor, garnered 33.4% of the vote to lead all candidates. He will go against Republican John Cox, who came in second with 26.2% of the vote. Former Los Angeles Mayor Antonia Villaraigosa, a Democrat, came in third with 13.4% of the vote.
U.S. Senate Results for California
In the race for the U.S. Senate, the Republican-lite fossil known as Dianne Feinstein garnered 43.8% of the vote to lead all candidates. She will face Democrat Kevin de León, the outgoing state senator who came in second and garnered 11.3% of the vote. While Californians might be stuck with an octogenarian plutocrat as Senator, they dodged a bullet because James Bradley, a noted neo-Nazi, came in third, so his run ends there.
Congressional Races in CA
Note: Not all results were immediately in for California, but each race had a clear #1. I might have to update this section to reflect the final results, but this is how was leading as of June 9, 2018.
District 01: Republican incumbent Doug LaMalfa garnered 51.8% of the vote. He will advance to the general election, where he will be met by Democrat Audrey Denny, who garnered 17.4% of the vote.
District 02: Democratic incumbent Jared Huffman garnered 70.2% of the vote. He will advance to the general election, where he will be met by Republican Dale Mensing, who garnered 23.4% of the vote. Democrat Andy Caffrey received 6.4% of the votes cast.
District 03: Democratic incumbent John Garamendi received 53.9% of the vote in his primary. He will be matchup up against Republican Charlie Schaupp, who received 41.9% of the vote. Democrat Kevin Puett received 4.2% of the votes cast in the district.
District 04: Republican incumbent Tom McClintock fought off five challengers to garner 52.1% of the vote. Jessica Morse, a Democrat, came in second with 20% of the vote, so she will also advance to the general election.
District 05: Democratic incumbent Mike Thompson will advance to the general election after coming in first and receiving 79.1% of the vote. He will meet Anthony Mills, an independent who received 9.3% of the vote. Independent Nils Palsson and Green candidate Jason Kishineff received 8.2% and 3.4% of the vote, respectively.
District 06: This district will remain in Democratic hands either way because incumbent Doris Matsui and challenger Jrmar Jefferson, both Democrats, were the only two running for the seat.
District 07: Democratic incumbent Ami Bera and Republican Andrew Grant will advance to the general election. Bera received 51.6% of the vote and Grant received 32.9% of the votes cast.
District 08: Republican incumbent Paul Cook received 41.5% of the vote. He will run against fellow Republican Tim Donnelly, who received 22.6% of the vote.
District 09: Democratic incumbent Jerry McNerney received 53.1% of the vote. He will run against Marla Livengood, a Republican who received 41.1% of the votes cast. Mike Tsarnas from the American Independent Party received 5.8% of the vote.
District 10: Republican incumbent Jeff Denham received 37.7% of the vote. He will meet Josh Harder, a Democrat, in the general election. Harder received 15.7% of the vote in the primary.
District 11: The top two vote-getters in this district were Mark DeSaulnier (the Democratic incumbent) and Republican challenger John Fitzgerald. DeSaulnier received 66.9% of the votes cast and Fitzgerald received 24.8% of the votes. Democrat Dennis Lytton came in third with 5.1% and Independent Chris Wood received 3.1%.
District 12: House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi was the top vote-getter in her district, receiving 68.5% of the vote. She will face Republican Lisa Remmer, who receive 10% of the vote cast in the district. Pelosi had 6 total challengers, the most notable being Stephen Jaffe, who came in fourth with 5.9%.
District 13: Barbara Lee, a Democrat, is running unopposed.
District 14: Incumbent Jackie Spier (Democrat) and Republican Christina Osmena advanced to the general election.
District 15: In a three-person race, incumbent Rep. Eric Swalwell (Democrat) will face Rudy Peters (Republican) in the general election. Swallwell received 68.8% of the vote and Peters received 28%. Independent Brendan St. John came in third with 3.2%.
District 16: Jim Costa (the Democratic incumbent) and Republican Elizabeth Heng advanced to the general election.
District 17: Democratic incumbent Ro Khanna received 59.1% of the vote to advance to the general election. He will face Ron Cohen, a Republican who received 24.8% of the votes cast.
District 18: Anna Eshoo (the Democratic incumbent) received 71.3% of the votes cast in her district. She will face Republican challenger Christine Russell in the general election. Independent John Fredrich received 3.2% of the vote.
District 19: Democrat Zoe Lofgren, the incumbent, is running unopposed.
District 20: Democrat Jimmy Panetta, the incumbent, received 80.2% of the vote. He will face Ronald Kabat, an independent who received 15.8% of the vote. Democrat Douglas Deitch received 4% of the vote.
District 21: Incumbent David Valadao (Republican) and Democrat TJ Cox advanced to the general election.
District 22: Incumbent Devin Nunes (Republican) received 57.9% of the vote. He will face Andrew Janz, a Democrat who received 32% of the vote, in the general election.
District 23: Incumbent Kevin McCarthy (Republican) and Tatiana Matta (Democrat) advanced to the general election. McCarthy received 69.8% of the vote and Matta received 11.7% of the vote.
District 24: Salud Carbajal, the Democratic incumbent, received 52.6% of the vote. Carbajal will face Republican Justin Fareed (who received 36.9% of the vote) in the general election. Republican Michael Woody received 10.5% of the vote.
District 25: Steve Knight, the Republican incumbent, received 52.8% of the vote. He will run against Katie Hill, a Democrat who received 20.2% of the votes cast, in the general election.
District 26: Incumbent Julia Brownley (Democrat) will face Republican Antonio Sabato in the general elections. Brownley received 52.9% of the votes cast and Sabato received 23.1%. Republican Jeffrey Burum received 20.5% of the vote and Democrat John Nelson received 3.5%.
District 27: Democrats Judy Chu (the incumbent) and Bryan Witt advanced to the general election.
District 28: Incumbent Adam Schiff (Democrat) received 72.3% of the votes in his district. He will square off against Johnny Nalbandian (Republican) in the general election. Nalbandian received 22% of the vote and Democrat Sal Genovese received 5.7% of the vote.
District 29: Democratic incumbent Tony Cardenas and Republican Benny Bernal received 67% and 17.8% of the vote, respectively, and will face off in the general election.
District 30: Democratic incumbent Brad Sherman and Republican Mark Reed were the top vote-getters, with 61.4% and 28.5% of the vote, respectively. Democrat Raji Rab finished third with 5.1% and Jon Pelzer, another Democrat, came in fourth with 5%.
District 31: Pete Aguilar, the Democratic incumbent, may face a stiff challenge from his Republican challenger, Sean Flynn. The Republican received 45.9% of the vote will 45.8% of voters chose Aguilar. However, 8.3% of votes went to another Democrat, Kaisar Ahmed.
District 32: Grace Napolitano, the Democratic incumbent, is running unopposed.
District 33: Democrat Ted Lieu, the incumbent finished first with 60.7% of the votes cast. He will face Kenneth Wright, a Republican who came in second with 31.3%. Democrat Emory Rodgers received 8% of the votes cast.
District 34: In a three-way primary, incumbent Jimmy Gomez (Democrat) finished first with 79.4% of the votes cast. He will face Green Party candidate Kenneth Mejia (who received 12.1% of the vote) in the general election. Libertarian Angela McArdle finished third with 8.5% of the vote.
District 35: Democratic incumbent Norma Torres received 51% of the votes cast in her district and Christian Valiente, a Republican who finished with 34.5% of the vote, will meet her in the general election. Former Congressman Joe Baca finished third with 14.5% of the votes cast.
District 36: Democratic incumbent Raul Ruiz (54.7%) and Republican Kimberlin Pelzer (22.9%) advanced to the general election.
District 37: Democratic incumbent Karen Bass and Republican Ron Bassilian advanced to the general election.
District 38: Incumbent Linda Sanchez (Democrat) and Ryan Downing (Republican) advanced to the general election.
District 39: Republican Young Kim and Democrat Gil Cisneros advanced to the general election. This district had a very crowded field, so it’s fair game for both candidates. While Kim received 22% of the vote to Cisneros’ 19.4% and the Republicans collectively received more votes Democrats (46,407 to 37,973), that 8,534-vote gap isn’t insurmountable. Democrats will need to turn out the vote in that district.
District 40: Democrat Lucille Roybal-Allard (the incumbent) and Green Party candidate Rodolfo Barragan advanced to the general election.
District 41: Democrat Mark Takano (the incumbent) and Aja Smith (Republican) advanced to the general election.
District 42: In the four-person race, Republican Ken Calvert (the incumbent) and Democrat Julia Peacock advanced to the general election with 62% and 25.4% of the votes cast, respectively. Democrat Quintero and Independent Matt Woody received 8.2% and 4.5% of the vote, respectively.
District 43: Democrat Maxine Waters (the incumbent) received 71.6% of the votes cast in the primary. She will face Democrat Omar Navarro (14.7%) in the general election.
District 44: Democrats Nanette Barragan (the incumbent) and Aja Brown advanced to the general election after receiving 65.8% and 16.7% of the vote, respectively. Republicans Jazmina Saavedra and Stacey Dash finished with 10.1% and 7.3% of the vote, respectively.
District 45: With 53.2% of the votes cast, incumbent Mimi Walters, a Republican advanced to the general election. So did Democrat Katie Porter, who received 19.8% of the vote.
District 46: Democratic incumbent Lou Correa and Republican Russell Lambert advanced to the general election, with 59.8% and 35.1% of the votes cast, respectively. Ed Rushman came in third with 3% of the vote and Will Johnson received 2.1%.
District 47: Democrat Alan Lowenthal, the incumbent, advanced to the general election with 59.3% of the vote. He will meet Republican John Briscoe, who received 22.1% of the vote. David Clifford, another Republican, received 18.6% of the votes cast.
District 48: Dana Rohrabacher, the Republican incumbent, received 30.4% of the votes cast and he will advance to the general election. The next two closest candidates were Democrats, Hans Keirstead, and Harley Rouda. Both received about 17.2% of the votes cast, but Keirstead edged out Rouda by 45 votes (18,827 to 18,782) with all 415 precincts reporting.
District 49: Republican Diane Harkey and Democrat Mike Levin advanced to the general election with 25.6% and 17.2% of the vote, respectively. This looks like a competitive district for Democrats because all votes cast for candidates from the party outpaced those cast for Republican candidates (56,488 to 54,136).
District 50: Republican incumbent Duncan D. Hunter received 48.7% of the vote. He and Democrat Ammar Campa-Najjar, who received 16.3% of the votes cast, will advance to the general election.
District 51: Juan Vargas, the Democratic incumbent, easily advanced to the general election as 62.8% of the vote went to him in the primary. Republican Juan Hidalgo came in second with 15.5% of the vote.
District 52: Democratic incumbent Scott Peters sailed past all his GOP opponents as he received 57.1% of the vote. He will meet Republican Omar Qudrat, who received 15.4%, in the general election.
District 53: Democrat Susan Davis, the incumbent, received 62.4% of the votes cast in her district. She will go against Republican Morgan Murtaugh, who received 15% of the vote, in the general election.
Voter Roll ‘Glitches’ in Los Angeles County
In Los Angeles County, 118,522 voters’ names were left off of rosters. That meant that 2.3% of the county’s 5.1 million registered voters and 35% of the county’s precincts were affected. Officials including L.A. County Registrar Dean C. Logan blamed the discrepancy on a printing error. The affected voters who showed up to their polling places on June 5 were given provisional ballots.
One of the affected voters was 35-year-old Erin Faulk, who tried to trade in her mail-in ballot for a regular one at her polling place in Glendale. However, she soon found out that her name was left off the voter roster. She ultimately decided to use her mail-in ballot, although she was worried it would be discounted because of her signature.
Henry Winkler, who played Arthur Fonzarelli on Happy Days, was one of the voters in Los Angeles County taken off the voter rolls there.
Recall Vote
On June 5, 2018, voters in Santa Clara County successfully recalled Judge Aaron Persky, who became notorious after handing down a light 6-month jail sentence to dumpster rapist Brock Turner in June 2016. This was the first recall of a California judge in more than 80 years and the first since a judge in Wisconsin was recalled in 1977.
The effort to recall Persky was spearheaded by Stanford University law professor Michele Dauber, who said that the recall showed people “that violence against women is now a voting issue.” Essentially, politicians who ignore repercussions like those being felt because of the #MeToo movement do so at their peril. However, opponents of the recall said the Persky handed down a lawful decision and they warned that the recall could undermine judicial independence. Dauber said such a view took a “dim view of judicial integrity” and pointed out that recalls were rare.
The opponents of the recall are also ignoring the results of a 2015 study conducted by New York University’s law school. The study looked at the behavior of judges in Pennsylvania and Wisconsin and found that elected judges’ decisions were already influenced by elections. Normally, judges hand our harsher, longer sentences when they get closer to Election Day.
Iowa
Iowa’s primaries featured a gubernatorial race and races in four congressional districts.
In the governor’s race, Fred Hubbell won the Democratic primary. He will face incumbent Gov. Kim Reynolds, who ran unopposed in the Republican primary.
District 1: Abby Finkenauer won the Democratic primary and incumbent Rod Blum ran unopposed in the Republican primary.
District 2: Dave Loesack, the incumbent, ran unopposed in the Democratic primary. He will face Christopher Peters, who ran unopposed in the Republican primary.
District 3: Cindy Axne won the Democratic primary. Incumbent David Young won the Republican primary unopposed.
District 4: J.D. Scholten won the Democratic primary and incumbent Steve King won the Republican primary.
Mississippi
Mississippi featured a race for a U.S. Senate seat and primaries for four congressional districts.
Senate Race: Incumbent Roger Wicker easily beat Richard Boyanton in the Republican primary. On the Democratic side, Howard Sherman and David Baria advanced to the June 26th runoff.
District 1: Democrat Randy Wadkins and Republican incumbent Trent Kelly both ran unopposed in their respective primaries.
District 2: Democratic incumbent Bennie Thompson is running unopposed.
District 3: Michael Evans easily won the Democratic primary in the race for the seat in the U.S. House of Representatives that was vacated by Gregg Harper. Evans will have to wait to see who he will face in the general election. Michael Guest received the most votes in the Republican primary, but he didn’t reach 50% so he will meet Whit Hughes in the June 26th runoff.
District 4: Jeramey Anderson run in the Democratic primary unopposed. He will meet incumbent Steven Palazzo, who easily defeated Brian Rose in the Republican primary.
Montana
Montana featured national elections for the Senate and one at-large congressional district.
In the Senate Race, incumbent Jon Tester ran in the Democratic primary unopposed. He will face Republican Matt Rosendale, who emerged from a four-way primary.
In the U.S. House, Montana, District At-Large, Kathleen Williams won the Democratic primary and incumbent Greg Gianforte ran in the Republican primary unopposed.
New Jersey
Voters in New Jersey participated in national races that included the contest for Bob Menendez’s Senate seat and seats in 12 congressional districts.
U.S. Senate Race in New Jersey
Despite being indicted (but not convicted) on corruption charges, incumbent Sen. Bob Menendez defeated Lisa McCormick in the Democratic primary. He will face Bob Hugin, who defeated Brian Goldberg in the Republican primary.
Congressional Races in NJ
District 1: Incumbent Donald Norcross won the Democratic primary and Paul Dilks ran unopposed in the Republican primary.
District 2: Jeff Van Drew won the Democratic primary and Seth Grossman won the Republican primary.
District 3: Democrat Andy Kim and Republican incumbent Tom MacArthur both ran unopposed in their primaries.
District 4: Joshua Welle defeated Jim Keady in the Democratic primary and Republican incumbent Chris Smith ran unopposed.
District 5: Incumbent Josh Gottheimer ran in the Democratic primary unopposed and John McCann defeated Steve Lonegan to win the Republican primary.
District 6: Incumbent Frank Pallone defeated Javahn Walker in the Democratic primary and Richard Pezzullo ran in the Republican primary unopposed.
District 7: Tom Mamlinowski won the Democratic primary and incumbent Leonard Lance won the Republican primary.
District 8: Democratic incumbent Albio Sires and Republican John Muniz ran in their primaries unopposed.
District 9: Incumbent Bill Pascrell defeated William Henry to win the Democratic primary and Republican Eric Fisher ran unopposed.
District 10: Incumbent Donald Payne Jr. defeated Aaron Fraser to win the Democratic primary and Agha Khan ran in the Republican primary unopposed.
District 11: Mikie Sherrill won the Democratic primary and Jay Webber won the Republican primary.
District 12: Democratic incumbent Bonnie Watson Coleman and Republican Daryl Kipnis ran in their primaries unopposed.
New Mexico
New Mexico featured a gubernatorial race and national races for the U.S. Senate and 3 congressional districts.
In the gubernatorial race, Michelle Lujan Grisham won the Democratic primary. She will face Steve Pearce, who ran unopposed in the Republican primary.
In the race for the U.S. Senate, incumbent Martin Heinrich ran unopposed in the Democratic primary and Mick Rich ran unopposed in the Republican primary.
District 1: Debra Haaland emerged from a six-deep field to win the Democratic primary. She will face Janice Arnold-Jones, who ran unopposed in the Republican primary.
District 2: Xochitl Torres Small easily defeated Madeline Hildebrandt to win the Democratic primary and Yvette Herrell won the Republican primary.
District 3: Incumbent and DCCC leader Ben Ray Lujan ran unopposed in the Democratic primary. He will face Jerald Steve McFall, who ran unopposed in the Republican primary.
South Dakota
South Dakota features a gubernatorial race and a congressional race in an at-large district.
In the governor’s race, Billie Sutton ran in the Democratic primary unopposed. She will face U.S. Rep. Kristi Noem, who beat Marty Jackley in the Republican primary.
In the race for Noem’s House seat, Tim Bjorkman ran unopposed in the Democratic primary and Dusty Johnson won the Republican primary.
Note: Gov. Dennis Daugaard is termed out.
How Progressives Fared on June 5
Overall, progressives had their share of victories in primaries held on June 5, 2018. Of course, most of those victories occurred in California, which has the most seats in contention, but there were some victories to be counted in New Mexico.
In New Mexico, Deb Haaland defeated Antoinette Sedillo Lopez and prosecutor Damon Martinez. Sedillo Lopez had the backing of Justice Democrats, the Working Families Party, and Latino Victory. Martinez had support from a political action committee tied to No Labels, a group that seeks to steer Democratic primaries to the right. Despite Sedillo Lopez’s loss, there was excitement for Haaland’s victory because she now has the chance to become the first Native American member of Congress.
New Mexico also saw a string of upsets for members of the Democratic establishment in state House races. Susan Herrera, who had the backing of the Working Families Party, defeated 25-year incumbent Rep. Debbie Rodella. Reps. Carl Trujillo and Bealquin “Bill” Gomez were also upset by progressive challengers.
In California, there were key advancements by progressive candidates.
- In the state’s 45th Congressional District, Katie Porter, who had the support of her mentor Elizabeth Warren, finished ahead of David Min, a former Chuck Schumer staffer.
- Ammar Campa-Najjar, who is backed by progressive groups including Justice Democrats, finished ahead of Josh Butner, who was supported by New Democrats, for the chance to unseat Duncan Hunter in the state’s 50th Congressional District.
- In the state’s 63 Assembly District, Maria D. Estrada (Democrat) advanced to the general election with 7,590 votes (28.2%). She will face off with the incumbent, Democrat Anthony Rendon, who won 12,614 votes (46.8%). Rendon had hoped that he would face the Republican in the race, Adam Joshua Miller, who only received 6,736 votes (25.0%).
- In San Francisco, Mark Leno edged out London Breed in the race to become the city’s next mayor, thanks to ranked-choice voting.
This assembly race I mentioned is important because Rendon is the Speaker of the Assembly and he’s the one who killed the single-payer bill that had passed the state Senate in 2017. Thus, proponents of Medicare for All would like to see Rendon pay a steep political price.
06.12.2018: Primaries Were Held in ME, NV, ND, SC, and VA.
June 12, 2018, featured primaries from Maine, Nevada, North Dakota, South Carolina, and Virginia. At issue were the intra-party battles among Democrats and Republicans. The Democrats were still dealing with a civil war between centrists and progressives (often referred to “moderates and liberals”). In the Republican Party, there was a battle brewing among Trump loyalists and Never Trumpers.
Among the Never Trumpers who were in danger was Rep. Mark Sanford (R-South Carolina), who survived controversy before as governor. In 2009, Sanford disappeared when he was having an extramarital affair, but he was able to stay in office and successfully run a special election for the House in 2013. This time, Sanford was in danger because of his criticism of Trump, who is still highly popular among Republicans.
Trump also loomed in the governor’s race in South Carolina. Current Gov. Henry McMaster, who succeeded Nikki Haley after her appointment as U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, is a Trump loyalist. Since McMaster was among the first elected official to express his support for Trump early in the primary season, Trump was more than happen to repay that loyalty with lavish praise over the weekend (via tweets, of course).
In the Democratic primaries, the main issue isn’t so much about opposing Trump but who is a centrist and who is more progressive; this civil war was most apparent in Nevada races. In the race for governor, Clark County Commissioner Steve Sisolak, who was running as a centrist and has the support of former Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, was the clear front-runner, but he faced Chris Giunchigliani as a liberal alternative. In the race for Nevada’s 4th Congressional District, former Rep. Steven Horsford was seen as the front-runner, although he has lost before to the GOP frontrunner in that race, Cresent Hardy.
Maine’s Primaries
Maine featured a vote for the state’s next governor, a U.S. Senate race, and primaries for two congressional districts. Maine was also trying out a ranked-choice voting system, while voters had a chance to make it a permanent fixture. However, since RCV was being used in this election. some of the results would not be known for days.
In the gubernatorial Race, Janet Mills and Adam Cote were in first and second place in the Democratic primary, respectively. Shawn Moody won the Republican nomination outright.
In the Senate race, Democrat Zak Ringelstein and Republican Eric Brakey ran unopposed in their respective primaries.
In the 1st Congressional District, incumbent Rep. Chellie Pingree ran unopposed in the Democratic primary and Mark Holbrook ran unopposed in the Republican primary.
In the 2nd Congressional District, Jared Golden and Lucas St. Clair are leading in the Democratic primary. Incumbent Rep. Bruce Poliquin ran in the Republican primary unopposed.
Nevada’s Primaries
In Nevada, Attorney General Adam Laxalt, the GOP front-runner in the state’s gubernatorial race, received a bump because Trump tweeted his support for him. Laxalt ultimately won his primary.
South Carolina’s Primaries
Of course, Trump has weighed in on Sanford’s race. Trump tweeted his support for state Rep. Katie Arrington, one of two Republican challengers, less than three hours before polls closed in SC. Trump also said that Sanford was “nothing but trouble.” Sanford later conceded the race to Arrington.
McMaster faced challenges from Catherine Templeton and John Warren. Templeton, a former member of Haley’s cabinet, emerged as McMaster’s “chief antagonist.” Warren, an Iraq War vet, has largely self-financed his own campaign and he ultimately pushed past Templeton to force a Republican runoff.
Virginia’s Primaries
In Virginia, Corey Stewart won the Republican primary in the race for Tim Kaine’s Senate seat, but this is not welcome news for the Republican establishment. Stewart is a Trump loyalist and he spoke out in favor of Confederate statues in 2017.
06.26.2018: Primaries Were Held in CO, MD, NY, OK, & UT; There Were Runoffs in MS and SC.
Tuesday, June 26, 2018, saw primaries in five states (Colorado, Maryland, New York, Oklahoma, and Utah), plus the Mississippi and South Carolina runoffs. Of these primary states, New York is special. June 26 only featured primaries for national seats. (The primaries for state seats will be held on September 13).
Colorado’s Primaries
Colorado featured primaries for the governor’s race as well as 7 House seats.
Governor’s Race
In the gubernatorial race, Jared Polis won the Democratic primary and Walker Stapleton won the Republican primary.
U.S. House of Representatives
District 01: Incumbent Diana DeGette defeated challenger Saira Rao in the Democratic primary. DeGette will face Casper Stockham, who ran in the Republican primary unopposed.
District 02: Joe Neguse defeated Mark Williams in the Democratic primary. Neguse will face Peter Yu, who ran in the Republican primary unopposed.
District 03: Diane Mitsch Bush won a three-way Democratic primary for the change to unseat Scott Tipton, who ran in the Republican primary unopposed.
District 04: Karen McCormick defeated Chas Kohne in the Democratic primary. McCormick will face incumbent Ken Buck, who ran unopposed in the Republican primary.
District 05: Stephany Spaulding, who ran unopposed in the Democratic primary, will challenge incumbent Doug Lamborn, who won the five-way Republican primary.
District 06: In a blow to progressives, Jason Crow defeated Levi Tillemann in the Democratic primary. Crow will face Mike Coffman, the incumbent who ran in the Republican primary unopposed.
District 07: Ed Perlmutter (the Democratic incumbent) and Mark Barrington (Republican) both ran in their respective primaries unopposed.
Maryland’s Primaries
Maryland featured primaries for the governor’s race, a U.S. Senate seat, and 8 House seats.
Governor’s Race
In the gubernatorial race, Ben Jealous emerged from an 8-candidate Democratic primary for the chance to unseat Republican Gov. Larry Hogan, who ran in his primary unopposed.
U.S. Senate
In the Senate race, incumbent Sen. Ben Cardin easily won the Democratic primary, carrying over 80% of the vote. Cardin had 7 challengers, including Chelsea Manning, who finished second with 5.7% of the vote. Cardin will face Tony Campbell, who emerged from an 11-deep Republican field, in November.
U.S. House of Representatives
District 01: Jesse Colvin won the Democratic primary and he will face incumbent Ander Harris, who easily won the Republican primary.
District 02: Incumbent Dutch Ruppersberger easily defeated Jake Pretot in the Democratic primary. He will face Liz Matory, who won the Republican primary.
District 03: Incumbent John Sarbanes easily won the Democratic primary and will face Charles Anthony, who won a plurality of votes in a three-way Republican primary.
District 04: Democrat Anthony Brown (the incumbent) and Republican George McDermott ran in their primaries unopposed.
District 05: Incumbent Steny Hoyer easily defeated Dennis Frits in the Democratic primary. He will face William Devine, who defeated Johnny Rice in the Republican primary.
District 06: David Trone won an 8-way Democratic primary and he will face Amie Hoeber, who carried 68% of the vote in a 4-way Republican primary.
District 07: Incumbent Elijah Cummings easily won the Democratic primary despite four challengers. Cummings will face the winner of a four-way Republican primary. Currently, Richman Davis leads with over 31% of the vote.
District 08: Jamie Raskin, the incumbent, easily won a three-way Democratic primary. He will face John Walsh, who emerged from a three-way Republican primary.
New York’s Primaries
In New York, there were primaries for national seats on Tuesday, June 26, 2018. Involved were races for the U.S. Senate Class 1 and 27 congressional districts.
Coming into the June 26, 2018 election, there were a lot of exciting races in the House, including Rep. Dan Donovan’s matchup against former Rep. Michael Grimm in the Republican primary. Grimm had previously served time in prison for federal tax evasion. A few Democrats were facing challenges from their left in “deep-blue” districts. These included Reps. Joe Crowley, Yvette Clarke, and Carolyn Maloney.
There was also a little bit of drama in New York’s 14th Congressional District. On Election Day, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez tweeted an image of Joe Crowley fliers that clearly violated election laws.
A candidate’s fliers should never be within 100 feet of polling places, but his fliers were next to the entrances of polling places. That clearly gave Crowley an advantage with voters, especially those who may not have heard of Ocasio-Cortez.
Ocasio-Cortez asked her followers in New York’s 14 District to report any instances of Crowley posters that violated the law and take them down.
U.S. Senate
In the Senate Race, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand ran in the Democratic primary unopposed. She will face Chele Farley, who ran in the Republican primary unopposed.
U.S. House of Representatives
District 01: Rep. Lee Zelden ran in the Republican primary unopposed. He will face Perry Gershon, who won a five-way Democratic primary.
District 02: Rep. Peter King ran in the Republican primary unopposed. He will face Liuba Shirley, who defeated DuWayne Gregory in the Democratic primary.
District 03: Rep. Thomas Suozzi ran in the Democratic primary unopposed and is guaranteed a matchup with Republican Dan DeBono.
District 04: Rep. Kathleen Rice (Democrat) and Ameer Benno (Republican) ran in their primaries unopposed.
District 05: This seat will remain in Democratic hands because no Republicans are challenging. Gregory Meeks, the incumbent, defeated his two challengers, Mizan Choudhury and Carl Achille. Choudhury, the young man who issued the challenge while he was in high school, finished in third place.
District 06: Democratic Rep. Grace Meng is running unopposed.
District 07: Rep. Nydia Velazquez, a Democrat, is running unopposed.
District 08: Hakeem Jeffries, a Democrat, is running unopposed.
District 09: Rep. Yvette Clarke faced a stiff challenge from Adem Bunkeddeko but pulled off a win the Democratic primary. She will face Lutchi Gayot, who ran in the Republican primary unopposed.
District 10: Democrat Jerrold Nadler (the incumbent) has a guaranteed matchup with Republican Naomi Levin.
District 11: Max Rose won the Democratic primary with over 64% of the vote. Rose will face incumbent Dan Donovan, who easily defeated Michael Grimm in the Republican primary.
District 12: Carolyn Maloney, the incumbent, defeated Suraj Patel in the Democratic primary. Eliot Rabin run unopposed in the Republican primary.
District 13: Rep. Adriano Espaillat (Democrat) and Jineea Butler (Republican) have a guaranteed matchup in November.
District 14: Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez soundly defeated Rep. Joe Crowley in the Democratic primary. This was the biggest upset since Eric Cantor was defeated in the Republican primary in 2014. Ocasio-Cortez will face Anthony Pappas, who ran in the Republican primary unopposed.
District 15: Democratic incumbent Jose E. Serrano and Republican Jason Gonzalez ran in their primaries unopposed.
District 16: There was only a Democratic primary. Incumbent Eliot Engel easily won despite facing three challengers in Joyce Bricoe, Derickson Lawrence, and Jonathan Lewis.
District 17: Nita Lowey, the Democratic incumbent, ran unopposed in the Democratic primary.
District 18: Democrat Patrick Maloney (the incumbent) and Republican James O’Donnell will have a guaranteed matchup.
District 19: Anthony Delgado emerged from a field of seven Democrats for the chance to unseat Republican incumbent John Faso, who ran in his primary unopposed.
District 20: Rep. Paul Tonko (Democrat) and Francis Vitollo (Republican) ran in their respective primaries unopposed.
District 21: Tedra Cobb emerged from a field of Six Democrats, including former MSNBC contributor Dylan Ratigan, for the chance to unseat incumbent Elise Stefanik. Rep. Stefanik ran in the Republican primary unopposed. Ratigan finished second in the Democratic primary.
District 22: Anthony Brindisi (Democrat) and Claudia Tenney, the Republican incumbent, both ran in their primaries unopposed.
District 23: The Democratic primary features five candidates who are vying for the chance to unseat Republican incumbent Thomas Reed. As of Wednesday morning (June 27, 2018) Max Della Pia lead Tracy Mitrano in the Democratic primary by a hair. Reed ran in his primary unopposed.
District 24: Dana Balter defeated Juanita Perez Williams in the Democratic primary. Balter will face incumbent John Katko, who ran in the Republican primary unopposed.
District 25: Joseph Morelle won a four-way Democratic primary and will face Jim Maxwell, who ran in the Republican primary unopposed.
District 26: Rep. Brian Higgins (Democrat) and Renee Zeno (Republican) ran unopposed.
District 27: Democrat Nate McMurray and Chris Collins, the Republican incumbent, both ran in their primaries unopposed.
Oklahoma’s Primaries
Oklahoma had primaries for the governorship and five House seats.
Governor’s Race
In the gubernatorial race, Drew Edmondson defeated Connie Johnson in the Democratic primary. Edmondson drew 61.4% of the vote while Johnson drew 38.6% of the vote. On the Republican side, Mick Cornett and Kevin Stitt advanced to the August 28 runoff.
U.S. House of Representatives
District 01: Tim Gilpin and Amanda Douglas advanced to the Democratic runoff. Tim Harris and Kevin Hern advanced to the Republican runoff.
District 02: Jason Nichols and Clay Padgett advanced to the Democratic runoff. The winner will face Republican Markwayne Mullin, the incumbent, who won his primary.
District 03: Frankie Robbins defeated Murray Thibodeaux in the Democratic primary. Robbins will face incumbent Frank Lucas, who ran unopposed in the Republican primary.
District 04: Mary Brannon and Fred Gipson advanced to the Democratic runoff. The winner will face Tom Cole, the incumbent, who defeated James Taylor in the Republican primary.
District 05: Kendra Horn and Tom Guild advanced to the Democratic runoff. The winner will face incumbent Steve Russell, who easily won the Republican primary.
Utah’s Primaries
Utah featured primaries for Orrin Hatch’s U.S. Senate seat and four seats in the U.S. House of Representatives.
U.S. Senate
In the Senate race, Jenny Wilson ran in the Democratic primary unopposed. She will face Mitt Romney, who easily defeated Mike Kennedy in the Republican primary.
U.S. House of Representatives
District 01: Lee Castillo defeated Kurt Weiland in the Democratic primary. Castillo will face Rob Bishop, the incumbent, who ran unopposed in the Republican primary.
District 02: Shireen Ghorbani (Democrat) and Chris Stewart (Republican), the incumbent, both ran unopposed in their primaries.
District 03: James Singer ran unopposed in the Democratic primary. He will face the incumbent, John Curtis, who defeated Christopher Herrod in the Republican primary.
District 04: Ben McAdams (Democrat) and incumbent Mia Love (Republican) both ran unopposed in their primaries.
Mississippi’s Runoff
Mississippi featured two runoffs: one for a U.S Senate seat and one for the 3rd Congressional District.
In the Senate race, David Baria defeated Howard Sherman to win the Democratic runoff.
In District 3, Michael Guest defeated Whit Hughes to win the Republican runoff.
South Carolina’s Runoff
South Carolina featured five runoffs: one for the governorship, one in District 2, two in District 4, and one in District 7.
Incumbent Gov. Henry McMaster won the Republican runoff by capturing 53.6% of the vote to John Warren’s 46.4%.
District 02: Sean Carrigan defeated Annabelle Robertson in the Democratic runoff. Carrigan received 53.4% of the vote and Robertson garnered 46.6%.
District 04: Brandon Brown had a 14.2-point victory over Doris Turner in the Democratic runoff by taking 62.1% of the vote. On the Republican side, William Timmons defeated Lee Bright in their runoff while winning 54.3% of the vote.
District 07: Robert Williams pulled out a close victory in the Democratic runoff. Williams received 51.4% of the votes and Mal Hyman received 48.6%.
06.30.2018: There Was a Special Election in Texas.
Blake Farenthold (Republican) vacated the seat in Texas’ 27th Congressional District due to allegations of sexual misconduct. There was a special election held on June 30, and Cloud won it by carrying 54.8% of the vote, so he will finish out Farenthold’s term.
July 2018
There were no primaries held this month, besides the Georgia and Alabama runoffs, but there was plenty of news out of New York.
07.11.2018: The Reform Party Chose Ocasio-Cortez in NY’s 15th District.
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez found out that she also won the Reform Party primary in New York’s 15th Congressional District as a write-in candidate. She declined the nomination, of course, because she already won her primary against Joe Crowley in the 14th District and under New York law, candidates are prohibited from simultaneously running for two separate offices. In November, Ocasio-Cortez will face Republican Anthony Pappas, a professor at St. John’s University. She is expected to win because the 14th District is heavily Democratic, and Hillary Clinton carried it by 57 points in 2016.
The result in the 15th District happened as part of a protest by the Reform Party, which wanted to send a message about how broken New York’s electoral system is. The current incumbent in the district is Democratic Rep. Jose Serrano, who ran uncontested in his primary and has held his seat since 1990.
07.11.2018: There Was a Dustup Over the WFP Line in NY-14.
On the same day Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez found out about her Reform Party nomination for New York’s 15 Congressional District, Lisa W. Foderaro wrote about the race in District 14 for The New York Times. A day later, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez sounded the alarm on Joe Crowley’s inaction following his primary loss to her on June 26, 2018.
Due to New York’s wonky election laws, candidates can be on the ballot if they are written in as a third-party candidate. In Crowley’s case, he won the nomination for the Working Families Party. While he was endorsed during the primary, the party would like to endorse Ocasio-Cortez to give her the best chance to defeat Anthony Pappas in the fall.
Crowley’s Response
Then Crowley responded in a series of 3 tweets. In those tweets, Crowley listed 4 reasons he wouldn’t take his name off the Working Families Party’s line. Crowley said that one of these following 4 things would need to happen for his name to be removed:
- He would need to move out of New York.
- He would have to die.
- He would have to be convicted of a crime.
- He would need to move his name to another position in New York (in a place he didn’t live).
The Truth?
Crowley could have simply declined the nomination, which would have freed up the WFP to endorse Ocasio-Cortez. However, since Crowley opted not to decline the WFP line, the party would have to go through a convoluted process to change their endorsement — or lose the power to endorse anyone at all.
- The simplest route is for the candidate to decline the party line on the ballot. This would allow the party to nominate someone else, which is likely the Democrat who won the primary. Just this year, Ocasio-Cortez declined the Reform Party line in NY-15. Also, Dylan Rattigan, who won the WFP nomination but lost the Democratic primary for the 21st Congressional District seat, declined the party line so the party could nominate the primary winner, Tedra Cobb.
- If a candidate keeps the endorsement, they could work out a deal with the third party to move their name to another race. Another candidate in the 21st Congressional District, Katie Wilson, is helping the WFP do this because she had the party’s endorsement. They are now working on a deal to move her name to another race.
- When the candidate neither accepts or declines the endorsement, the party is stuck and can’t endorse anyone for the general election.
In any event, Crowley’s name will remain on the ballot for the November general election. That is giving those who want to support Ocasio-Cortez headaches.
07.14.2018: The California Democratic Party Endorsed Kevin de León.
On the second weekend in July, the California Democratic Party’s Women’s Caucus held a meeting. That same weekend, the members of the state party’s executive board voted to endorse Kevin de León in the race for Dianne Feinstein’s Senate seat. De León, a state Senate leader who received 12% of the vote in the primary to Feinstein’s 44%, received 65% of the vote from the executive board’s 330 members.
No one was able to receive an endorsement in February, but this July vote was seen as a sharp rebuke to Dianne Feinstein. The sitting Senator has been roundly criticized by her constituents, namely for her centrist approach to her job and the sentiment that she is largely out of touch.
By comparison, de León has more of a progressive record. While in the state Senate, he pushed for an increase to California’s minimum wage to $15 dollars and single-payer health care is among his platform items. He also hosted an ABOLISH ICE CREAM SOCIAL during the weekend in a nod to activists who want to abolish Immigration and Customs Enforcement due to that agency’s long list of abuses.
07.17.2018: Joe Lieberman Suggested that Joe Crowley Pull … a Lieberman.
On July 17, 2018, former Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Connecticut) wrote an op-ed in The Wall Street Journal (which I was able to read for some reason, despite not subscribing to the WSJ) in which he urged Rep. Joe Crowley to run a third-party campaign in New York’s 14 Congressional District. Lieberman said that Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s views were too far from the mainstream and that she presented a threat to democracy. That’s rich coming from a guy who pulled the same type of thing he wants Crowley to do.
In 2006, Lieberman himself ran a third-party campaign after he lost the Democratic primary in Connecticut to businessman Ned Lamont. Lieberman won reelection as an independent, with 33% of the Democratic vote and major support from the state Republican Party, who endorsed him over their weak candidate.
Lieberman ultimately became the fall guy for the ACA being passed without a public option, but he had largely turned his back on the Democratic Party in 2008, when he threw his full-throated support behind then-presidential candidate John McCain. Lieberman also became a lobbyist, whose firm is retained by Donald Trump, and who lobbied in favor of Betsy DeVos’ nomination as Education Secretary.
07.17.2018: The Race in Alabama’s 2nd Congressional District Was set.
In the runoff for the Republican primary in Alabama 2nd Congressional District, Martha Roby soundly defeated Bobby Bright.
07.23.2018: The Blue Wave Is in Danger.
Here are some important polling numbers as we’re still in primary voting season:
Can this be explained by dwindling numbers among self-described Republicans? Maybe not …
As of June 1-13, 2018, about 27% of respondents to a Gallup poll identified as Republicans. That’s a one-point increase from a May 1-10 poll and Republican numbers have been increasing since they dropped in March. Self-described Democrats have stood at 29% for the past 4 months.
07.24.2018: Georgia Held Its Primary Runoffs.
On July 24, 2018, Georgia held runoffs for the governor’s race on the Republican side, the Democratic primary in the 6th Congressional District, and the Democratic primary in the 7th Congressional District.
Governor’s Race: Brian Kemp soundly defeated Casey Cagle.
District 06: Lucy McBath edged out Kevin Abel.
District 07: Carolyn Bourdeaux defeated David Kim.
August 2018
August 2018 was chock full of primaries.
08.07.2018: Primaries Were Held in KS, MI, MO, and WA; Ohio Held a Special Election.
On Tuesday, August 7, 2018, there were primaries in Kansas, Michigan, Missouri, and Washington, as well as a special election in Ohio.
Kansas’ Primaries
Kansas featured primaries for the governorship and four House districts.
Governor’s Race: On the Democratic side, Laura Kelly emerged from a field of five competitors. She garnered 51.5% of the vote, which was over 30 points more than the second-place finisher, Carl Brewer.
On the Republican side, Kris Kobach led incumbent Jeff Colyer by 0.1% at the end of the night. As of August 14, 2018, Kobach still led Colyer by 210 votes.
U.S. House of Representatives
District 01: Alan La Police ran unopposed in the Democratic primary. Roger Marshall defeated Nick Reinecker in the Republican primary by over 57 points.
District 02: Paul Davis ran unopposed in the Democratic primary and Steve Watkins won the Republican nomination.
District 03: Sharice Davids emerged from a six-deep Democratic primary, edging out Brent Welder by less than 4 percentage points. On the Republican side, incumbent Kevin Yoder easily won his primary.
District 04: James Thompson easily defeated Laura Lombard in the Democratic primary. Thompson will once again face Rep. Ron Estes in the general election. (Note: Estes was a write-in, too. About 18% of voters wrote in his name, with the rest voting for him outright.)
Shenanigans in Johnson County?
I believe that was the case, especially in the gubernatorial race. Since Kobach is Kansas’ secretary of state, he will be able to certify the results and block any efforts for a recount in his race. That sounds very fishy to me, considering this is the guy behind Interstate Crosscheck.
In Johnson County, two high-profile races — the Republican primary for governor and the Democratic primary for the House in Kansas’ 3rd Congressional District — hung in the balance due to a delay in vote tabulation. Johnson County had reporting problems due to the delay, and there were no such problems in Kansas’ other counties.
What was the issue? According to Johnson County Election Commissioner Ronnie Metsker, there was an issue with the USB ports connected to the voting machines, which were brand new. The county had just spent $10 million for 2,100 voting machines. Metsker’s office said that it was getting in touch with the vendor to get to the bottom of the issue.
How did the races in question turn out? The last update as of the time of this article was on Wednesday, Aug. 8 at 8.am. According to the count by then, Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach won the GOP nod for governor by only 200 votes and Sharice Davids edged out Brent Welder, 37% to 34%, in the Democratic primary for KS03.
Michigan’s Primaries
Michigan featured primaries for the governor’s race, a U.S. senate, and 14 congressional districts. The voter turnout was pretty high, as the total votes in the gubernatorial primaries surpassed 2.1 million.
Gubernatorial Race
In a heartbreaking loss for progressives, Abdul El-Sayed finished second in the Democratic Primary. Gretchen Whitmer, who was heavily financed by the health care industry, won 52% of the vote. On the Republican side, Bill Schutte was the expected nominee for his party and he emerged from a four-deep primary by carrying 50.7% of the vote.
U.S. Senate Race
Incumbent Debbie Stabenow ran unopposed in the Democratic primary. She will face Republican John James, who beat Sandy Pensler in their primary, 54.7%-45.3%.
U.S. House of Representatives
District 01: Jack Bergman, the Republican incumbent, is running unopposed.
District 02: Democrat Rob Davidson and Republican Bill Huizenga (the incumbent) ran in their primaries unopposed.
District 03: Cathy Albro cruised to an easy Democratic primary victory over Fred Wooden. Albro will face incumbent Justin Amash — who ran in the Republican primary unopposed — in the general election.
District 04: John Moolenaar, the incumbent, ran in the Republican primary unopposed. He will face Jerry Hilliard, who easily won over Zigmond Kozicki in the Democratic primary.
District 05: Daniel Kildee (the Democratic incumbent) and Republican Travis Wines ran in their respective primaries unopposed.
District 06: Matt Longjohn was the first past the post in the Democratic primary. He will face incumbent Fred Upton, who ran in the Republican primary unopposed.
District 07: Gretchen Driskell soundly defeated Steven Friday in the Democratic primary by carrying 85.2% of the vote to his 14.8%. Driskell will face Tim Walberg — who ran in the Republican primary unopposed — in November.
District 08: Elissa Slotkin easily defeated Chris Smith in the Democratic primary and incumbent Mike Bishop easily defeated Lokesh Kumar in the Republican primary.
District 09: Andy Levin emerged from a three-deep Democratic primary by winning 52.5% of the vote. His will face Candius Stearns, who ran in the Republican primary unopposed.
District 10: Paul Mitchell, the incumbent, ran in the Republican primary unopposed. His general election opponent will be Kimberly Bizon, who won a plurality of votes in a three-person Democratic primary.
District 11: Democrat Haley Stevens and Republican Lena Epstein advanced to the general election.
District 12: Incumbent Debbie Dingell (a Democrat) and Jeff Jones (a Republican) both ran unopposed in their respective primaries.
District 13: There was only a Democratic primary for this seat, and Rashida Tlaib won the nomination. For now, the seat will be held by Brenda Jones, who won the special election in the district.
District 14: Brenda Lawrence, the Democratic incumbent, ran in her primary unopposed. She will face Republican Marc Herschfus, who ran in the Republican primary unopposed.
Missouri’s Primaries
Missouri featured primaries for Claire McCaskill’s U.S. Senate seat and 8 congressional districts.
U.S. Senate Race
Incumbent Claire McCaskill easily won the Democratic primary, carrying 82.6% of the vote. She will face Josh Hawley, who carried 58.6% of the vote in the Republican primary. McCaskill is one of the vulnerable Democrats in the Senate and there were 50,000 more votes in the Republican primary than there were in the Democratic primary. The general election should be competitive.
U.S. House of Representatives
District 01: Incumbent Lacy Clay won the Democratic nomination by carrying 56.7% of the vote. In a blow to progressives, one of her challengers, Cori Bush, came in second. Clay might face Robert Vroman in the general election, but the vote totals in the Republican primary are pretty close. On Election Night, Vroman led the Republican field with 34.5%, followed by Edward Van Deventer at 32.9% and Camille Lombardi-Olive at 32.6%. In any event, it looks like Clay will easily win the election because there were nearly 10 times as many voters in the Democratic primary compared with the GOP race.
District 02: Cort VanOstran emerged from a five-person Democratic primary by carrying 41.7% of the vote. He will face incumbent Ann Wagner, who easily defeated Noga Sachs in the Republican primary. This race could be competitive if the vote totals were anything to go by. While the GOP primary had a total of 80,288 votes, the Democratic primary had 108,612 votes.
District 03: Katy Geppert ran unopposed in the Democratic primary and will face incumbent Blaine Luetkemeyer, who easily defeated Chadwick Bicknell in the Republican primary.
District 04: Renee Hoagenson defeated Hallie Thompson by nearly 4% points and Vicky Hartzler, the incumbent, easily defeated John Webb in the Republican primary.
District 05: Emanuel Cleaver, the Democratic incumbent, ran in his primary unopposed. He will face Jacob Turk, who cruised to victory in the Republican primary.
District 06: Henry Martin won a plurality of votes in the Democratic primary. He will face incumbent Sam Graves, who ran unopposed in the Republican primary.
District 07: Jamie Schoolcraft won the Democratic primary and incumbent Billy Long solidly won the Republican primary.
District 08: Democrat Kathy Ellis and Jason Smith, the Republican incumbent, both ran unopposed in their respective primaries.
Washington’s Primaries
Washington featured races for Maria Cantwell’s U.S. Senate seat and 10 congressional districts. Since Washington has a jungle primary, the top two vote-getters in each race will advance to the general election. All ballots are sent in by mail, so it will take a while for them to be tabulated.
The U.S. Senate Race
In the U.S. Senate race, Democratic incumbent Maria Cantwell and Republican Susan Hutchison garnered 55.2% and 24.1% of the vote, respectively, so they advance to the general election.
The U.S. House of Representatives
District 01: Democrat Suzan DelBene (the incumbent) and Republican Jeffrey Beeler advanced to the general election.
District 02: Democrat Rick Larsen (the incumbent) advance to the general election. Since the election results were certified on August 21, it looks like Libertarian Brian Luke will advance because he sat in second place.
On Election Night, fellow Democrat Collin Carlson only led Independent Gary Franco by a hair. Republican Uncle Mover was within a hair of them and Luke was within two points of Mover. Green Party candidate Stoney Bird sat in last place.
District 03: Incumbent Jaime Herrera Beutler (a Republican) and Democrat Carolyn Long advanced to the general election.
District 04: Republican incumbent Dan Newhouse and Democrat Christine Brown were the only two people running in the district, so they will face off in November.
District 05: Cathy McMorris Rodgers, the Republican incumbent, will meet Democrat Lisa Brown in the general election.
District 06: Derek Kilmer, the Democratic incumbent, will face Republican Douglas Dightman in November.
District 07: Pramila Jayapal (the Democratic incumbent) and Craig Keller (a Republican) were the only two running in the district, so they will face off in November.
District 08: Republican Dino Rossi advanced to the general election. Rossi will meet Democrat Kim Schrier in the general election.
District 09: Incumbent Adam Smith, a Democrat, advanced to the general election. On Election Night Doug Basler, a Republican was in second place. Justice Democrat Sarah Smith was in third. A few days later, we learned that Sarah Smith did in fact advance to the general election.
That means this district will have an all-Democratic contest in November.
District 10: Democrat Denny Heck (the incumbent) and Republican Joseph Brumbles advance to the general election.
Ohio’s Special Election
Ohio held a special election for its 12th Congressional District. With 100% of precincts reporting, Republican Troy Balderson led Democrat Danny O’Connor, 50.15% to 49.29%. Although many people were blaming Green Party candidate Joe Manchik for “taking votes away” from O’Connor, the Democrat would still be in second place if all of Manchik’s votes (which accounted for only 0.56% of the total) went to him.
That said, the race wasn’t decided as of Aug. 8 because there were 3,300 outstanding provisional ballots and many more absentee ballots to be counted. However, by August 21, 2018, all precincts reported and Balderson was still in the lead. All precincts had until August 24 to finalize their results.
08.11.2018: Hawaii Held Its Primaries.
On Saturday, August 11, 2018, Hawaii held primaries for the governor’s race, a Class-1 Senate seat, and two congressional districts.
Sources:
2018 Hawaii Election Results (Politico)
[August 11, 2018 Primary Election] Results (State of Hawaii Office of Elections)
This page has links to PDF and text files to statewide and county results for the primary elections held in the state on Saturday, August 11, 2018: https://elections.hawaii.gov/wp-content/results/histatewide.pdf.
Governor’s Race
In the race for Governor, incumbent David Ige won the Democratic nomination. He will face Green Party candidate Jim Brewer and Republican Andria Tupola in the general election. None of the nonpartisan candidates advanced because they did not receive enough votes.
U.S. Senate
In the U.S. Senate race, Mazie K. Hirono ran unopposed in the Democratic primary. She will face Republican Ron Curtis in the general election. None of the Nonpartisan candidates advanced because they didn’t receive enough votes.
U.S. House of Representatives
District 1: Ed case won the Democratic Party nomination; Zachary B. Burd won the Green Party nomination; Michelle Rose Tippens won the Libertarian Party nomination, and; Cam Cavasso won the Republican nomination. None of the nonpartisan candidates advanced because they received too few votes.
District 2: Tulsi Gabbard, the incumbent, overwhelmingly won the Democratic nomination. Her general election opponent will be Brad Evans, who ran in the Republican primary unopposed.
A Note About Party Affiliations in Hawaii
In the state of Hawaii, there are six recognized affiliations, at least based on the recent primaries:
- C – Constitution Party
- D – Democratic Party
- G – Green Party
- L – Libertarian Party
- N – Nonpartisan
- R – Republican
A Note About Non-Partisan Candidates in Hawaii
Nonpartisan candidates who participate in partisan elections in HI must meet one of two criteria in order to appear on the general election ballot. Either they must garner at least 10% of the votes cast or receive as many or more votes than a partisan candidate who won their party’s nomination.
08.14.2018: Primaries Were Held in CT, MN, VT, and WI.
On August 14, 2018, there were primaries held in four states: Connecticut, Minnesota, Vermont, and Wisconsin.
Connecticut’s Primaries
Connecticut’s primaries featured a gubernatorial race, a race for a U.S. Senate seat, and races for five House districts.
Gubernatorial Race
On the Democratic side, Ned Lamont defeated Joe Ganim by winning 81.2% of the vote to Ganim’s 18.8%. Bob Stefanowski won the five-way Republican primary.
U.S. Senate
Chris Murphy, the incumbent, ran unopposed in the Democratic primary. He will face Matthew Corey, who easily defeated Dominic Rapini in the Republican primary.
U.S. House of Representatives
District 01: John Larson (the Democratic incumbent) and Jennifer Nye (Republican) both ran in their primaries unopposed.
District 02: Joe Courtney (the Democratic incumbent) and Danny Postemski (Republican) ran in their primaries unopposed.
District 03: Rosa DeLauro (the Democratic incumbent) and Angel Cadena (Republican) both ran in their primaries unopposed.
District 04: Jim Himes (the Democratic incumbent) and Harry Arora (Republican) both ran in their primaries unopposed.
District 05: Jahana Hayes easily defeated Mary Glassman in the Democratic Primary. Hayes will face Manny Santos, who won a majority of votes in a three-way Republican primary.
Minnesota’s Primaries
Minnesota featured primaries for the governor’s race, two U.S. Senate seats (one special), and 8 House seats.
Gubernatorial Race
Tim Walz won a plurality of votes in the Democratic primary. In November, Walz will face Republican Jeff Johnson, who won a majority of votes in his primary. It should be noted that former governor Tim Pawlenty came in second in the GOP race.
U.S. Senate
There were two seats in play, as a special election was called to fill Al Franken’s seat.
In the regular Senate race, incumbent Amy Klobuchar easily won the Democratic primary, as she received 95.7% of the votes and carried all districts. Klobuchar will face Republican Jim Newberger in November.
In the special election for the U.S. Senate, Tina Smith won 76.1% of the vote in the Democratic primary. Former George W. Bush ethics adviser Richard Painter came in a distant second. Smith will face Republican Karin Housley in the general election.
U.S. House of Representatives
District 01: Dan Feehan defeated Colin Minehart in the Democratic primary. Feehan will face Republican Jim Hagedorn in the general election.
District 02: Angie Craig (Democrat) and Jason Lewis (the Republican incumbent) both ran in their primaries unopposed.
District 03: Dean Phillips defeated Cole Young in the Democratic primary by over 63 points. Phillips will face incumbent Erik Paulsen, who ran unopposed in the Republican primary.
District 04: Democratic incumbent Betty McCollum easily won her primary. She will face Greg Ryan, who ran unopposed in the Republican primary.
District 05: Ilhan Omar won a plurality of votes in a six-way Democratic primary. Omar will face Republican Jennifer Zielinski in the general election.
District 06: Ian Todd ran unopposed in the Democratic primary. Todd will face incumbent Tom Emmer, who easily won the Republican primary.
District 07: Collin Peterson, the incumbent, ran unopposed in the Democratic primary. He will face Dave Hughes, who easily defeated Matt Prosch in the Republican primary.
District 08: Joe Radinovich won 44.2% of the vote to clinch the Democratic nomination. He will face Pete Stauber, who easily defeated Harry Welty in the Republican primary.
Vermont’s Primaries
Vermont held primaries for governor, Bernie Sanders’ U.S. Senate seat, and one at-large House district.
In the governor’s race, Christine Hallquist won a plurality of votes in the Democratic primary. She will face incumbent Governor Phil Scott in the general election. This seat is actually winnable for the Democrats. While Phil Scott is still on the plus side of favorability polls, his popularity has sharply declined since the first few months of 2018. Also, there were more votes in the Democratic primary then there were in the GOP primary and Hallquist received more votes than Scott did to boot.
U.S. Senate Race
In the Democratic primary, incumbent U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders walloped Folasada Adeluola by winning 94.4% of the vote. He will face Republican Brooke Paige, who won a plurality of votes in her primary.
Vermont’s At-Large U.S. House District
Paige is also running in this race and she easily defeated Anya Tynio in the Republican primary. Paige will face Peter Welch, the Democratic incumbent who sailed through his primary.
As Usual …
Bernie Sanders is expected to decline the Democratic nomination.
On Tuesday, August 14, 2018, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I) won the Democratic nomination for Senate by betting Folasade Adeluola. With 10% of the precincts reporting, the race was called after it was determined that Sanders would finish with at least 94% of the vote. At the time of the reporting, it remained to be seen which Republican Sanders would face in the general election, but he is expected to win given his last to Senate races. In 2006, then-Rep. Sanders won 65% of the vote and in 2012, he won about 71% of the vote.
Since Sanders is expected to decline the nomination, that means there will be no Democratic challenger in the general election.
Wisconsin’s Primaries
Wisconsin featured primaries for the governorship, Tammy Baldwin’s U.S. Senate seat, and 8 House districts.
Governor’s Race
Tony Evers took the Democratic nomination in a 10-person race. Evers will face incumbent Scott Walker, who walloped Robert Meyer in the Republican primary. This race may be winnable for the Democrats since Walker’s popularity has taken a hit and more voters participated in the Democratic primary.
U.S. Senate
Incumbent Tammy Baldwin ran unopposed in the Democratic primary. She will face Republican Leah Vukmir in the general election.
U.S. House of Representatives
District 01: Randy Bryce defeated Cathy Meyer in the Democratic primary. He will face Republican Bryan Steil in the general election. It should be noted that Paul Nehlen, a white supremacist, came in third in the GOP primary. This seat might go to Bryce in November, if the votes in both primaries were any indication because well over 1,000 more people voted in the Democratic primary.
District 02: Mark Pocan (the Democratic incumbent) is running unopposed.
District 03: Ron Kind (the Democratic incumbent) and Steve Toft (Republican) both ran unopposed in their primaries.
District 04: Gwen Moore, the incumbent, defeated Gary George in the Democratic primary. Moore will face Tim Rogers, who defeated Cindy Werner in the Republican primary.
District 05: Tom Palzewicz ran unopposed in the Democratic primary. He will face incumbent Jim Sensenbrenner, who easily defeated Jennifer Vipond in the Republican primary.
District 06: Dan Kohl (Democrat) and Glenn Grothman (the Republican incumbent) both ran in their primaries unopposed.
District 07: Margaret Engebretson defeated Brian Ewert in the Democratic primary. In November, Engebretson will face incumbent Sean Duffy, who ran in the Republican primary unopposed.
District 08: Beau Liegeois (Democrat) and Mike Gallagher (the Republican incumbent) both ran in their primaries unopposed.
08.21.2018: Primaries Were Held in Alaska and Wyoming.
On August 21, 2018, only two states, Alaska and Wyoming, held their primaries. These primaries didn’t receive that much attention.
Alaska’s Primaries
Alaska held primaries for the governor’s race and its at-large House District.
Governor’s Race: Mark Begich ran unopposed in the Democratic primary and Mike Dunleavy won the Republican primary.
Alaska’s At-Large House District: Don Young (the incumbent) won the Republican primary and Alyse Galvin won the Democratic primary.
Wyoming’s Primaries
On August 21, 2018, Wyoming held primaries that featured the governor’s race, a U.S. Senate race, and the race for the state’s at-large House district.
Gubernatorial Race: Mary Throne carried 72.9% of the vote in the Democratic primary. She will meet Republican Mark Gordon in the general election.
U.S. Senate Race: Gary Trauner ran unopposed in the Democratic primary. He will challenge incumbent John Barrasso, who carried 64.9% of the vote in the Republican primary.
Wyoming’s At-Large District: Incumbent Liz Cheney easily won the Republican primary. She will face Greg Hunter, who defeated Travis Helm in the Democratic primary.
08.28.2018: AZ, FL Held Primaries; OK Concluded Its Runoffs
On August 28, 2018, Arizona and Florida held their primaries and voters went to the polls in Oklahoma to take part in the primary runoffs.
Arizona’s Primaries
Arizona held primaries for the governor’s seat, the seat held by Jeff Flake (who is retiring), and 9 House seats.
Governor’s Race
David Garcia won a three-person Democratic primary, carrying 48.7% of the vote. In the general election, Garcia will challenge incumbent Gov. Doug Ducey, who easily defeated his Republican challenger, Ken Bennett, in their primary race.
U.S. Senate
Kyrsten Sinema faced little resistance from Deedra Abboud in the Democratic primary. Sinema will go up against Martha McSally, who carried 52.2% of the vote in the Republican primary. McSally, the GOP establishment favorite in the race, emerged from a three-candidate field that included Kelli Ward and Joe Arpaio.
U.S. House of Representatives
District 01: Tom O’Halleran, the incumbent, ran unopposed in the Democratic primary. O’Halleran will be challenged by Wendy Rogers, a Republican.
District 02: Ann Kirkpatrick emerged from a 7-deep Democratic primary, carrying 41.4% of the vote. She will face Lea Marquez Peterson, who won a four-candidate Republican primary.
District 03: Raul Grijalva, the incumbent, ran unopposed in the Democratic primary. He will face Nick Pierson, who won the Republican primary.
District 04: Paul Gosar, the incumbent, ran unopposed in the Republican primary. He will face David Brill, who defeated Delina DiSanto in the Democratic primary.
District 05: Andy Biggs, the incumbent, ran unopposed in the Republican primary. He will face Joan Greene, who defeated Jose Torres in the Democratic primary.
District 06: Heather Ross won a three-person Democratic primary. She will challenge David Schweikert, the incumbent. Schweikert ran unopposed in the Republican primary.
District 07: Ruben Gallego, the incumbent, defeated Catherine Miranda in the Democratic primary. Gallego will not face a challenger in the general election.
District 08: Hiral Tipirneni ran unopposed in the Democratic primary. She will challenge incumbent Debbie Lesko, who defeated Sandra Dowling in the Republican primary.
District 09: Greg Stanton ran unopposed in the Democratic primary. Steve Ferrara easily won over Dave Giles and Irina Baroness Von Behr in the Republican primary by carrying at least 60% of the vote.
Florida’s Primaries
Florida’s midterm primaries featured a governor’s race, a race for Ben Nelson’s U.S. Senate seat, and contests in 27 congressional districts.
Governor’s Race
Andrew Gillum was declared the winner of the Democratic primary on Election night. He emerged from a field of 7 candidates. He will try to become the first ever black governor for his state, but he may face still competition from Ron DeSantis, who won over 56% of the votes in an 8-deep Republican primary.
U.S. Senate
Bill Nelson ran unopposed in the Democratic primary. He will face Florida Gov. Rick Scott, who won 88% of the vote in the Republican primary. At least 1,639,588 votes were cast in the Republican primary.
U.S House of Representatives
District 01: Jennifer Zimmerman defeated Phil Ehr by 21 points in the Democratic primary. Zimmerman will challenge incumbent Matt Gaetz, who received 64.8% of the vote in a 3-deep Republican primary.
District 02: Bob Rackleff defeated Brandon Peters in the Democratic primary. Rackleff will challenge the incumbent Neal Dunn, who ran unopposed in the Republican primary.
District 03: Yvonne Hayes Hinson received over 59% of the votes in the Democratic primary. She will challenge Ted Yoho for his seat. Yoho easily defeated Judson Sapp in the Republican primary.
District 04: Gee Selmont (Democrat) and John Rutherford, the Republican incumbent, both ran in their primaries unopposed.
District 05: Al Lawson, the incumbent, solidly defeated Alvin Brown in the Democratic primary. Virginia Fuller, who ran unopposed in the Republican primary, will challenge Lawson for his seat in November.
District 06: Nancy Soderberg (Democrat) and Michael Waltz (Republican) both emerged from three-deep primaries.
District 07: Incumbent Stephanie Murphy easily defeated Chardo Richardson in the Democratic primary. Mike Miller will be her Republican challenger.
District 08: Sanjay Patel (Democrat) and Bill Posey, the Republican incumbent, both ran in their primaries unopposed.
District 09: Wayne Liebnitzky ran unopposed in the Republican primary. Liebnitzky will challenge Darren Soto for his seat. Soto defeated Alan Grayson in the Democratic primary.
District 10: Val Demings, the incumbent, easily defeated Wade Darius in the Democratic primary. Demings will not face a single challenger in the general election.
District 11: Dana Cottrell (Democrat) and Daniel Webster, the Republican incumbent, both ran in their primaries unopposed.
District 12: Chris Hunter easily won the Democratic primary. Hunter will challenge Gus Bilirakis, the Republican incumbent, in November. Bilirakis ran unopposed in the Republican primary.
District 13: Charlie Crist (the incumbent) ran unopposed in the Democratic primary. His Republican challenger will be George Buck, who defeated Brad Sostack in their primary.
District 14: Kathy Castor, the Democratic incumbent, ran unopposed in her primary. She will face no challengers in the general election.
District 15: Kristen Carlson won the Democratic primary. She will face Ross Spano, who won a plurality of votes in a five-candidate Republican primary.
District 16: David Shapiro, who defeated Jan Schneider in the Democratic primary, will challenge Vern Buchanan in November. Buchanan, the Republican incumbent, ran unopposed in his primary.
District 17: April Freeman defeated Bill Pollard in the Democratic primary by receiving 77% of the vote. Freeman will face Greg Steube, who received 62.4% of the vote in the Republican primary.
District 18: Brian Mast, the incumbent, won 77.7% of the vote in a 3-person Republican primary. Mast’s Democratic challenger is Lauren Baer, who defeated Pam Keith in their primary.
District 19: David Holden, who soundly defeated Todd Truax in the Democratic primary, will challenge Francis Rooney in November. Rooney, the incumbent, ran unopposed in the Republican primary.
District 20: Alcee Hastings, the incumbent, easily defeated Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick in the Democratic primary. Hastings will not face a Republican challenger in the general election.
District 21: Lois Frankel, the incumbent, ran unopposed in the Democratic primary. She will not face a single challenger in November.
District 22: Ted Deutch, the incumbent, easily defeated Jeff Fandl in the Democratic primary. Deutch’s Republican challenger will be Nicolas Kimaz, who won 41% of the vote in his primary.
District 23: Incumbent Debbie Wasserman Schultz ran unopposed in her primary. She will face Joe Kaufman and Tim Canova in the general election. Kaufman won the Republican primary with 44.7% of the vote.
District 24: Frederica Wilson, the incumbent, defeated Ricardo De La Fuente in the Democratic primary. Wilson will not face a Republican challenger in November.
District 25: Mary Barzee Flores (Democrat) and Mario Diaz-Balart, the Republican incumbent, both ran unopposed in their primaries.
District 26: Carlos Curbelo, the incumbent, easily defeated Souraya Fass in the Republican primary. Curbelo’s Democratic challenger will be Debbie Mucarsel-Powell, which defeated Demetries Grimes in their primary.
District 27: Donna Shalala emerged from a five-deep Democratic primary. She will face Maria Salazar, who won a 9-candidate Republican primary.
Oklahoma’s Runoffs
On August 28, 2018, Oklahoma held runoff elections for the governorship and four House districts.
Republican Gubernatorial Runoff: Kevin Stitt defeated Mick Cornett.
U.S. House District 1: Tim Gilpin defeated Amanda Douglas in the Democratic runoff. Gilpin will face Kevin Hern, who defeated Tim Harris in the Republican runoff.
U.S. House District 2: Jason Nichols defeated Clay Padgett in the Democratic runoff.
U.S. House District 4: Mary Brannon defeated Fred Gipson in the Democratic runoff.
U.S. House District 5: Kendra Horn defeated Tom Guild in the Democratic runoff.
September 2018
September saw the last primaries of the 2018 midterms, and all were held on separate days.
09.04.2018: Primaries Were Held in Massachusetts.
Massachusetts held primaries for the governorship, a Class 1 U.S. Senate seat, and 9 congressional districts on September 4, 2018.
Governor’s Race
In the governor’s race, Jay Gonzalez defeated Bob Massie in the Democratic primary. Gonzalez will face incumbent Gov. Charlie Baker, who defeated Scott Lively in the Republican primary. Both Gonzalez and Baker received over 64% of the vote in their respective primaries, but there was far more participation on the Democratic side. The Democratic primary drew 487,472 total votes and the Republican primary drew 241,546 total votes (the counts as of the morning of Sept. 5, 2018).
U.S. Senate Race
Incumbent U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren ran unopposed in the Democratic primary. She will face Geoff Diehl, who carried over 54.8% of the vote in the Republican primary.
U.S. House of Representatives
District 01: Richard Neal, the incumbent, easily defeated Tahirah Amatul-Wadud in the Democratic primary. Neal will not face a Republican challenger in November.
District 02: Jim McGovern, the incumbent, ran unopposed in the Democratic primary. In November, McGovern will face Tracy Lovvorn, who soundly defeated Kevin Powers in the Republican primary.
District 03: Rick Green ran unopposed in the Republican primary. He might face Daniel Koh, who currently leads in the 10-person Democratic primary.
District 04: Joe Kennedy, the incumbent, defeated Gary Rucinski in the Democratic primary by carrying over 93% of the vote. Kennedy will not face a Republican opponent in the general election.
District 05: Incumbent Katherine Clark ran unopposed in the Democratic primary. She will face John Hugo, who soundly defeated Louis Kuchnir in the Republican primary.
District 06: Seth Moulton (the Democratic incumbent) and Joseph Schneider (Republican) both ran in their respective primaries unopposed.
District 07: Councilwoman Ayanna Pressley defeated incumbent Mike Capuano in the Democratic primary. Pressley will not face a Republican challenger in the general election.
District 08: Stephen Lynch (the incumbent) easily won the Democratic primary. Lynch won over 70% of the vote. His challengers included Brianna Wu (who first gained prominence in 2012 as the GamerGate controversy was swirling) and Christopher Voehl. Lynch will not face an opponent in the general election.
District 09: Bill Keating (the incumbent) easily defeated Bill Cimbrelo in the Democratic primary. Keating will face Peter Tedeschi, who ran unopposed in the Republican primary.
09.04.2018: Ayanna Pressley Upsets Mike Capuano, but Is She a Real Progressive?
On Tuesday, September 4, 2018, Ayanna Pressley made history as she defeated 10-term incumbent Mike Capuano in the Democratic primary for the seat in Massachusetts’ 7th Congressional District. Pressley previously made history when she became the first woman of color elected to Boston’s City Council, but this win against Capuano was extra special. Coming into Election Day, Capuano led in the polls and he had the support of elected Democrats in Massachusetts and Washington, including the Black Congressional Caucus.
The best part of the win is that the seat will remain in Democratic hands. No Republican is running for the seat.
However, shortly after her victory, a few progressive commentators on YouTube pointed to a clip of Pressley from 2016.
Pressley supported Hillary Clinton, who was to the right of Sanders and many Democratic and young voters. The most troubling point of this quote, though, was how Pressley used the term “mansplaining,” a term used by SJWs, and focused so much on gender.
09.06.2018: Primaries Were Held in Delaware.
On September 6, 2018, Delaware held its primaries. Delaware’s primaries featured races for a Class-1 Senate seat and the state’s at-large House district.
Senate Race: Tom Carper, the incumbent, defeated Kerri Harris in the Democratic primary. Robert Arlett won the Republican nomination.
Delaware’s At-Large House District: Scott Walker defeated Lee Murphy in the Republican primary.
09.09.2018: NY Democratic Party Accuses Cynthia Nixon of Being Anti-Semitic.
On September 9, 2018, just four days before state primaries in New York, the NY Democratic Party sent out mailers that charged that gubernatorial challenger Cynthia Nixon was anti-Semitic. In comparison, the language in the mailers held up incumbent Gov. Andrew Cuomo as a champion of Jewish causes. Cynthia Nixon was running as a Democrat and thus directly challenging Cuomo in the primary.
In response to the mailer, Nixon sent out two tweets calling out the NY Democratic Party and Gov. Cuomo. Nixon, who is raising her children as Jewish and attends Congregation Beit Simchat Torah with her wife, noted that her children’s grandparents were Holocaust survivors.
New York City Mayor Bill DeBlasio also weighed in on Twitter. He called what the state Democratic Party did “downright Trumpian” and called for the party to compensate Nixon’s campaign.
The state party said that the mailer was “wrong and incomplete.” Cuomo denied have (prior) knowledge of the mailer, but it was later revealed that Cuomo staffers signed off on it.
On September 12, the New York Post reported that Larry Schwartz, a top aide to Gov. Cuomo, was responsible for the mailer. The Post had talked to sources within the state Democratic Party and Cuomo’s camp all but confirmed Schwartz’s involvement. Cuomo’s campaign tried to name David Lobl, a longtime staffer, as the author of the mailer, but Democratic sources said that Lobl was tasked to look into Cynthia Nixon’s possible antisemitism, which he ultimately disproved. It was far more likely that Schwartz was behind it.
09.11.2018: Primaries Were Held in New Hampshire.
On September 11, 2018, New Hampshire held primaries for the governorship and 2 House districts.
Governor’s Race
Molly Kelly soundly defeated Steve Marchand in the Democratic primary. Kelly will challenge incumbent Gov. Chris Sununu, who ran in the Republican primary unopposed.
U.S. House of Representatives
District 01: Chris Pappas won the Democratic primary and Eddie Edwards won the Republican primary.
District 02: Ann Kuster, the incumbent, ran unopposed in the Democratic primary. She might face Steven Negron, who led in the Republican primary on election night.
09.12.2018: Primaries Were Held in Rhode Island.
On September 12, 2018, Rhode Island held its primaries. Rhode Island featured primaries for the governorship, a Class-1 U.S. Senate seat, and 2 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Gubernatorial Race
Gina Raimondo, the incumbent, easily won the Democratic primary. She will face Allan Fung in the general election. Fung won over 56% of the vote in the Republican primary, but Raimondo is expected to win re-election due to the turnout in both primaries. Whereas there were over 32,976 total voters in the Republican primary, there were already 116,909 total votes counted by the morning of Sept. 13, with 415/416 precincts reporting.
U.S. Senate Race
Sheldon Whitehouse, the incumbent, easily defeated Patricia Fontes in the Democratic primary. Whitehouse will face Robert Flanders in the general election. Flanders routed Rocky De La Fuente in the Republican primary. Like Raimondo, Whitehouse is expected to win re-election due to the turnout disparity. Over 30,000 people participated in the Republican primary, but over 115,000 people participated in the Democratic primary.
U.S. House of Representatives
District 01: David Cicilline, the incumbent, defeated Christopher Young in the Democratic primary. Cicilline will meet Patrick Donovan in the general election. Both Cicilline and Patrick Donovan carried at least 78% of the vote in their respective primaries. Donovan defeated Frederick Wysocki in the Republican primary.
District 02: Jim Langevin (the Democratic incumbent) and Salvatore Caiozzo (Republican) both ran unopposed in their respective primaries.
09.13.2018: New York Finally Held Its Statewide Primaries.
On September 13, 2018, New York held primary elections for statewide seats, which included the governorship, the attorney general, the lieutenant governor, and seats in the state legislature.
Gubernatorial Race
Andrew Cuomo defeated Cynthia Nixon in the Democratic gubernatorial primary. Cuomo’s Republican opponent in the general election will be Marcus Molinaro, who ran unopposed in his primary. Howie Hawkins, the Green candidate, also run unopposed in his primary, as did Larry Sharpe, the Libertarian candidate in the race. Stephanie Miner, an unaffiliated candidate, also qualified for the general election.
Lieutenant Governor
Kathy Hochul, the incumbent, defeated Jumaane Williams in the Democratic primary. She will face Julie Killian, who ran unopposed in the Republican primary.
The other gubernatorial candidates have running mates.
- Jia Lee is Howie Hawkins’ running mate on the Green ticket.
- Andrew Hollister is Larry Sharpe’s running mate on the Libertarian ticket.
- Michael Volpe and Stephanie Miner are running together as independents.
Attorney General
In New York’s Attorney General race, Letitia James won the Democratic primary against four other candidates by carrying 40.6% of the vote. Keith Wofford (Republican) ran in his primary unopposed and so did Michael Sussman (Green). Nancy Sliwa (Reform Party) and Christopher B. Garvey (Libertarian) also qualified for the general election.
The Bad News for Progressives
On Election Day in New York, progressives were looking at five candidates in the statewide elections:
- Cynthia Nixon (running for Governor)
- Jumaane Williams (running for Lt. Governor)
- Zephyr Teachout (running for Attorney General)
- Julia Salazar (running for the state Senate seat in District 18)
- Alessandra Biaggi (running for the seat in the 34th State Senate District)
The top three listed lost.
Cynthia Nixon’s loss was especially crushing because she lost by over 30 points. It was also noted that Cuomo won in New York’s 14th Congressional District by over 30 points, as well.
Zephyr Teachout may have lost her race in large part because of Sean Maloney’s presence in it. Some people have speculated that Maloney only ran to take votes away from Teachout.
Some Good News for Progressives
Apparently, most of the IDC was extinguished.
Voter Suppression in NY
On Election Day, there were numerous reports of voting problems.
Apparently, Nomiki Konst had to vote via provisional ballot:
Michael Sainato said that his girlfriend was told that her name was not on the voter rolls and she was being denied a provisional ballot:
Chris Hayes said that at least 5 people in his inner circle had voting problems in New York:
Conclusion
So, there you have it. Here is the landscape heading into November’s elections. There were a few notable upsets in the primaries, but most of the incumbents defending their seats have the advantage leading into the general election. Since the primaries effectively ended in September, I believe I’ll need an extra post to cover any extra news pertaining to the races before Election Day.
In the next few days, I also plan to talk about a possible blue wave this year and what will likely stand in the way of it coming to fruition. Stay tuned for that and the other posts in this series.
Related
- These 2018 Midterms Are Tests Because They Will Be Hard
- 2017 Rewind: A Prelude to the Midterms
- Jan.-Feb. 2018: Are You Ready for Some Midterms?
- Extra Midterm News: Will There Be an October Surprise?
- Will We See a Blue Wave in 2018?
- Election Day 2018: Who Won?
- Midterm Wrap-up [Might be retitled later]
Shmaltz and Menudo 