Primaries are being held in seven states on Tuesday, with the November matchups in 78 congressional seats being determined – a huge indicator of how the control of the House will go in November.
Ten of these seats are in California, where results will likely not come on Tuesday night since the state conducts its elections by mail. The state also advances the top two vote getters to run in November, meaning some match ups could result in two Democrats facing off or two Republicans.
One of the California Republicans facing a primary challenge is Rep. David Valadao, one of the 10 House Republicans who voted to impeach former President Donald Trump. Two Republicans are challenging Valadao in the primary, former city Councilman Chris Mathys and Education Board Trustee Adam Medeiros, but Trump has not endorsed either of them.
State Assemblyman Rudy Salas is expected to be the Democratic nominee against Valadao, if he makes it,attempting to flip back a seat that was held by a Democrat until 2020.
Democratic Reps. Katie Porter, Josh Harder and Mike Levin are on the target list for national Republicans and are waiting to see who their challenger this November will be. Of the three, Levin may face the toughest race, since his district leans Democratic by only two points, according to data from Dave’s Redistricting App.
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There are several statewide races happening in California, including primary challenges against Gov. Gavin Newsom and Sen. Alex Padilla, who was appointed to finish out Vice President Kamala Harris’ term. But there are also two high-profile local elections happening in Los Angeles and San Francisco. Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti is term-limited, and Rep. Karen Bass and real estate developer Rick Caruso leading the contenders. A UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies poll from late May showed Bass at 38% and Caruso at 32%, but if no candidate gets 50% of the vote, the top two contenders will go to a runoff in November.
In San Francisco, progressive District Attorney Chesa Boudin faces a recall vote, with the few polls on the race suggesting he is in danger of losing his seat.
Meanwhile in South Dakota, Republican Gov. Kristi Noem, won the Republican nomination for governor after facing a primary challenge from the right. She will face Democrat Jamie Smith in November, who ran unopposed on Tuesday. Incumbent Sen. John Thune, who is seeking his fourth term, also defeated his primary challengers.
In Iowa, Sen. Chuck Grassley, who is 88, has served in the Senate since 1981, survived his primary challenge from Iowa state Senator Jim Carlin.
Republicans have set their sights on Democratic New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham. Television meteorologist Mark Ronchetti won the Republican primary over several challengers to take on Lujan Grisham in November. Lujan Grisham ran unopposed for the Democratic nomination.
As the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol prepares for public hearings this month, Democratic select committee Chair Rep. Bennie Thompson won his primary, according to the Associated Press.
Primaries were also held in New Jersey. Democratic Rep. Tom Malinowski, whose district was redrawn to be more Republican-friendly and won in 2020 by just 1 point, won his primary.
