Four states go to the polls Tuesday night in matchups that include a race to take on a swing-state governor, a member of the progressive “Squad” with several primary challengers and an opportunity to elect a woman for the first time in Vermont’s at-large congressional district.
Tuesday’s primaries take place a day after the FBI searched former President Donald Trump’s primary residence in Florida, at Mar-a-Lago, as part of a probe into documents that may not have been preserved as required by the Presidential Records Act.
Since the search, Trump has launched fundraising efforts off “Biden’s FBI RAIDS.” Republicans blasted the search, and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy vowed to retaliate if the GOP takes back the House in November.
Wisconsin, the site of the Republican National Convention in 2024, is one of the four states holding primaries on Tuesday. The state was one of the battleground states that Trump won in 2016 but swung to President Joe Biden in 2020. Trump has repeatedly called for state legislators to “decertify” Wisconsin’s 2020 election results, which is not legally possible.
Morry Gash / AP
Trump has backed Tim Michels in the gubernatorial primary and rallied for him on Friday in Waukesha. At that rally, Michels vowed to dissolve the state’s elections commission, a move that his main primary challenger, Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch, also supports. Former Vice President Mike Pence and former Republican Gov. Scott Walker have backed Kleefisch.
The winner will take on Democratic incumbent Gov. Tony Evers, who did not face a primary challenge.
In the race to take on incumbent Republican and Trump ally Sen. Ron Johnson, the major Democratic candidates dropped out as the primary drew closer, effectively clearing the field for Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes.
Rep. Ilhan Omar, a member of the progressive Squad, is defending her seat against four primary challengers in Minnesota’s 5th Congressional District.
Vermont is possibly poised to elect its first female member of Congress. Four women – two Democrats and two Republicans – are on the ballot on Tuesday, facing off against a man in each race.
