Christian Smith
Primaries in Oregon, Georgia, Kentucky and Idaho on Tuesday will decide the general election matchups in a small handful of key House races, while voters in California will also choose the candidate to finish out the remainder of the former House speaker’s term. House Kevin McCarthy (R) at the bottom. chamber.
At the top of the ticket in Kentucky and Oregon, President Biden and former President Trump are expected to collect the most delegates in their respective primaries, less than six months before their Election Day rematch. Also in Oregon, two high-profile House Democratic primaries are pitting establishment-backed candidates against progressives, in a test of the left’s strength.
Polls will close in various states between 6pm and 11pm Eastern Time. Here are six of the top races to watch:
Oregon 5th District Democratic Primary
Oregon’s 5th Congressional District passed into Republican hands midterm, and Democrats this year are trying to unseat incumbent Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer (R) and win back the seat, which could be among the key races that will decide control of the Chamber this fall.
The House Democrats’ national campaign arm has endorsed state Rep. Janelle Bynum (D) in a jab at Jamie McLeod-Skinner, who was the unsuccessful Democratic nominee in 2022 and is running again this year.
McLeod-Skinner defeated then-Rep. Kurt Schrader (D-Ore.) – who had President Biden’s support – in the midterm primary, but lost to Chavez-DeRemer by two points overall.
This time, the party is waiting that Bynum, who has defeated Chavez-DeRemer before in two state legislative races, will have better luck.
Strategists expect a tight primary as Bynum and McLeod-Skinner fight to take on the Republican incumbent. No extensive primary research was carried out, but an April survey paid for by Bynum’s campaign shows the state lawmaker with a slight lead in the district, which stretches from Bend in central Oregon to Multnomah and Clackamas counties outside Portland.
Oregon 3rd District Democratic Primary
Oregon’s 3rd Congressional District seat is solidly blue, but the race has still drawn national attention as Democrats vie for the success of retiring Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.), whose departure opens the seat for the first time in almost three decades.
Leading candidates for the seat include Multnomah County Commissioner Susheela Jayapal, the sister from U.S. Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wa.). If she is successful, the pair will become the second group of sisters to serve together in the lower house, after Loretta and Linda Sanchez. made history as sister legislators from California.
But state Rep. Maxine Dexter gave Jayapal a run for her money — literally, as she raised more than half a million dollars last quarter. Dexter’s main rivals, including Jayapal, have said some of that money comes from a PAC linked to the American Israel Political Action Committee (AIPAC). And Jayapal’s allies also claimed that Republican meddling boosted Dexter.
“Republican mega-donors spent millions to defeat my sister @SusheelaJayapal – all because she is a proud and effective progressive,” Pramila Jayapal said in an Instagram. publish.
Regardless of who wins, Democrats are almost certain to keep the seat in their hands in November, making the race primarily a test for the establishment and progressive wings of the party.
Progressive DA race in Portland
The progressive district attorney who He took office in Multnomah County, Oregon, amid the 2020 social justice protests in Portland, faces a major challenge from a competitor promising to be tougher on crime.
District Attorney Mike Schmidt was elected in a landslide victory amid the COVID-19 pandemic and a push for criminal justice reforms. During the demonstrations that shook Portland following the death of George Floyd at the hands of police, he announced in 2020 that his office I wouldn’t go after many protesters who were arrested.
But since then the Beaver State has seen growing frustration with public safety amid drug decriminalization effortsincreasing the number of homeless people.
Schmidt is now being challenged by one of his own deputies, Nathan Vasquez, whose platform stress what “[even] ‘Petty’ crimes such as theft, vandalism and littering, public use of illicit drugs and public drug use all contribute to a community’s overall feeling of safety and well-being.”
Fani Willis’ main challenge in Georgia
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis (D) is leading the prosecution of former President Trump in a case centered on efforts to interfere with the 2020 election results in Georgia.
She is also running for reelection and faces a primary challenge from attorney Christian Wise Smith, who ran and lost to Willis four years ago.
It’s the first time Willis has appeared before voters since launching his investigation into Trump’s actions in the state. Revelations of a romantic relationship between Willis and one of Trump’s top prosecutors hindered the process for weeks, but Willis was allowed to remain in his role.
Willis is generally expected to win on Tuesday. With that said, if Smith were to pull off a comeback, it could have notable ramifications on the high-profile case. Asked earlier this year whether he would continue to pursue Willis’ case against Trump, Smith he said “This issue is important to us here in Fulton County and to many people across the country.”
The winner of the Democratic primary will face Republican candidate Courtney Kramer, a lawyer who worked in the White House Counsel’s Office under Trump, in the fall.
Superior Court of the State of Georgia, Supreme Court disputes
Another key player in the Trump case in Georgia is running for re-election this year: Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAffee.
A former prosecutor who was appointed to the bench by Republican Governor Brian Kemp in 2022, McAffee faces challenger Robert Patillo in the race. If McAffee loses, his caseload could go to his successor.
Meanwhile, former Democratic Rep. John Barrow (D-Ga.) is hoping to turn the state Supreme Court race around in a contest that took place against the backdrop of the Peach State’s six-week ban. wheelbarrow is running against state Supreme Court Justice Andrew Pinson, a Kemp appointee who once clerked for Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas.
The Democrat believes the procedure is a right, while Pinson argued that the former lawmaker is “running a hyperpartisan campaign.”
Special election to fill McCarthy’s seat in California
Voters in California on Tuesday will weigh in on a special election to fill former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s (R-Calif.) reliably red seat in the Golden State’s 20th District.
McCarthy announced plans to exit the lower chamber after his historic removal ended a brief tenure in the House’s top job. He he wrote in a Wall Street Journal article that he was leaving the House “to serve America in new ways. I know my work has just begun.”
Now County Sheriff Mike Boudreaux (R) will face each other on Tuesday against Republican state lawmaker Vince Fong in a runoff to reclaim McCarthy’s seat for the remainder of his term — and then the pair will fight again to win a full term in November.
Trump and McCarthy supported Fong, positioning him as the favorite to win the seat.
