Lucy Campbell<\/p>\n
Millions of voters across the country are heading to the polls today in crucial primaries in a slew of key gubernatorial, Senate and House races.<\/p>\n
Here\u2019s a quick rundown of what we\u2019re watching:<\/p>\n
California Iowa New Jersey New Mexico Montana South Dakota The Associated Press contributed reporting<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Key events<\/p>\n Knocking on strangers\u2019 doors on a warm May afternoon in Trenton, New Jersey<\/a>, Adam Hamawy did not seem fazed when more than a few went unanswered.<\/p>\n It\u2019s his first time running for office, but this is an area where he has experience. After returning from a medical mission in Gaza<\/a> in 2024, Hamawy went to Washington to describe the crisis \u2013 which he viewed as a US-funded genocide \u2013 to lawmakers, only to encounter \u201ctoo many doors that were closed, that didn\u2019t even want to listen\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cI could only define it as a genocide, because I saw the bodies of the people that came in,\u201d the veteran army trauma surgeon and political newcomer reflected, while walking between houses. \u201cAnd it wasn\u2019t an accident. You can\u2019t have an accident, every single day for three years.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Rob Sand, the best known Democrat in Iowa, is running to lead a state that Republicans<\/a> have come to dominate under Donald Trump, and Democrats believe his candidacy for governor could be the breakthrough needed to win key Iowa offices in the November midterm elections.<\/p>\n With Trump\u2019s approval ratings deep underwater<\/a>, gas prices high<\/a> and historical political trends favoring<\/a> the party out of power, Democrats this year are considering a comeback in Iowa, putting the state at the center of their campaigns to win back control of both the US House of Representatives and the Senate. On Tuesday, voters will cast ballots in primary elections that set the stage for months of what is likely to be fevered campaigning by candidates of both parties.<\/p>\n \u201cI think this is a once-in-a-generation opportunity for us to be able to win here in Iowa. I mean, this is a state that has completely hit the bottom,\u201d said Josh Turek, a state representative who is one of two Democrats<\/a> vying to represent Iowa in the US Senate.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Voters in six states have been casting their ballots in the US midterm election primaries. Here are some of the images from polling stations that have dropped on the news wires today:<\/p>\n A voter fills out their ballot as Prairie Oak Lodge is used as a polling place in Marion, Iowa. Photograph: Stephen Maturen\/Getty ImagesColton Kapicka, 18, gets some help from his mother, Kelly Kapicka as he marks his ballot while voting in his first election, in Sacramento, California. Photograph: Rich Pedroncelli\/APA sheriff\u2019s deputy and his dog inspect ballots at the LA county ballot processing center in City of Industry, California. Photograph: William Liang\/APElection workers process ballots during the California primary election in City of Industry, California. Photograph: Daniel Cole\/ReutersShare<\/a><\/p>\n Fabiola Cineas<\/p>\n A wave of Democratic doctors, scientists and public health professionals across the country are seeking office in the midterm elections in a rebuke to Donald Trump<\/a> and Robert F Kennedy Jr\u2019s health policies.<\/p>\n They share a diagnosis of what ails American governance \u2013 disinformation, funding cuts and the rollback of research, among other things \u2013 and the belief that their clinical and scientific training equips them to treat it.<\/p>\n They have watched the Trump administration\u2019s health policies play out in their exam rooms, their labs and the communities they serve, and they want to stop the bleeding.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Explained: what is California’s ‘jungle primary’?<\/p>\n Uwa Ede-Osifo<\/p>\n In California<\/a>, voters can select any candidate among the long list of gubernatorial hopefuls, regardless of which party they have registered with.<\/p>\n The system was put in place under former governor Arnold Schwarzenegger<\/a>, who supported the open primary, or \u201cjungle primary\u201d, as a way to create more competition in races that Democrats won year after year. Schwarzenegger, who left office in 2011, was the last Republican elected to statewide office in California.<\/p>\n In a crowded race like this year\u2019s gubernatorial primary, the system could cause some unexpected results \u2013 such as the possibility that emerged earlier this year of two Republicans<\/a> advancing to the general election in deep blue California.<\/p>\n That situation now appears unlikely, but the possibility has prompted some Democrats<\/a> to push to overhaul the way the state votes.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Lucy Campbell<\/p>\n Millions of voters across the country are heading to the polls today in crucial primaries in a slew of key gubernatorial, Senate and House races.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s a quick rundown of what we\u2019re watching:<\/p>\n California Iowa New Jersey New Mexico Montana South Dakota The Associated Press contributed reporting<\/p>\n
Voters are casting ballots on who should lead the nation\u2019s most populous state (and the world\u2019s fourth largest economy), where there is no clear leader among candidates vying to advance in the race to succeed term-limited Democratic governor Gavin Newsom. The race for Los Angeles mayor is also on the ballot, along with a series of high-stakes US House contests in the state\u2019s newly redrawn<\/a> congressional districts \u2013 which are set to play an outsized and potentially decisive role in the battle for power in Washington in November\u2019s midterm elections. My colleague Lauren Gambino has more:<\/p>\n
Per my colleague Chris Stein, with Trump\u2019s approval ratings deep underwater<\/a>, gas prices high<\/a> and historical political trends favoring<\/a> the party out of power, Democrats this year are considering a comeback in Iowa, putting the state at the center of their campaigns to win back control of both the US House and the Senate. That effort for a \u201conce-in-a-generation\u201d breakthrough in the GOP-dominated state is being led by pro-hunting Democrat Rob Sand, who is running for governor. Chris wrote about him below. Democrats also believe they have a shot at winning three of the state\u2019s US House seats and a competitive chance at securing a US Senate seat, where the GOP frontrunner recently called Trump\u2019s war on Iran a \u201cpolitical liability\u201d<\/a>.<\/p>\n
One of this year\u2019s most closely watched House midterms will take place in the battleground district currently represented by now-infamous Republican Tom Kean Jr, who has drawn public scrutiny and concern after missing more than 100 House votes due to an undisclosed illness. Voters are deciding which Democrat will run against him in November \u2013 and the seat is a must-win for the party. The frontrunner, veteran army trauma surgeon and political newcomer Adam Hamawy, has secured endorsements from the likes of Bernie Sanders, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Ilhan Omar. My colleague Joseph Gedeon has more:<\/p>\n
Contests in the state include primaries for congressional seats, a US Senate seat and a long list of statewide offices, but the governor\u2019s race is the main event. Deb Haaland, who was Joe Biden\u2019s interior secretary, is running for the Democratic nomination, which could put her on a historic path for Native American leaders.<\/p>\n
In Montana, a five-way Democratic fight is under way for the retiring Republican senator\u2019s seat. Independent Seth Bodnar, former president of the University of Montana, is outraising them all at the moment but they\u2019re refusing to step aside, Politico reports this morning.<\/p>\n
The race is on for state governor, Sioux Falls mayor, a US Senate and House seat, a Republican primary for local lawmakers. The incumbent GOP governor Larry Rhoden faces three primary challengers in his first run for a full term. He stepped up into the role from the lieutenant governorship when the former governor, the since-ousted Kristi Noem, left to lead the Department of Homeland Security.<\/p>\n
Voters are casting ballots on who should lead the nation\u2019s most populous state (and the world\u2019s fourth largest economy), where there is no clear leader among candidates vying to advance in the race to succeed term-limited Democratic governor Gavin Newsom. The race for Los Angeles mayor is also on the ballot, along with a series of high-stakes US House contests in the state\u2019s newly redrawn<\/a> congressional districts \u2013 which are set to play an outsized and potentially decisive role in the battle for power in Washington in November\u2019s midterm elections. My colleague Lauren Gambino has more:<\/p>\n
Per my colleague Chris Stein, with Trump\u2019s approval ratings deep underwater<\/a>, gas prices high<\/a> and historical political trends favoring<\/a> the party out of power, Democrats this year are considering a comeback in Iowa, putting the state at the center of their campaigns to win back control of both the US House and the Senate. That effort for a \u201conce-in-a-generation\u201d breakthrough in the GOP-dominated state is being led by pro-hunting Democrat Rob Sand, who is running for governor. Chris wrote about him below. Democrats also believe they have a shot at winning three of the state\u2019s US House seats and a competitive chance at securing a US Senate seat, where the GOP frontrunner recently called Trump\u2019s war on Iran a \u201cpolitical liability\u201d<\/a>.<\/p>\n
One of this year\u2019s most closely watched House midterms will take place in the battleground district currently represented by now-infamous Republican Tom Kean Jr, who has drawn public scrutiny and concern after missing more than 100 House votes due to an undisclosed illness. Voters are deciding which Democrat will run against him in November \u2013 and the seat is a must-win for the party. The frontrunner, veteran army trauma surgeon and political newcomer Adam Hamawy, has secured endorsements from the likes of Bernie Sanders, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Ilhan Omar. My colleague Joseph Gedeon has more:<\/p>\n
Contests in the state include primaries for congressional seats, a US Senate seat and a long list of statewide offices, but the governor\u2019s race is the main event. Deb Haaland, who was Joe Biden\u2019s interior secretary, is running for the Democratic nomination, which could put her on a historic path for Native American leaders.<\/p>\n
In Montana, a five-way Democratic fight is under way for the retiring Republican senator\u2019s seat. Independent Seth Bodnar, former president of the University of Montana, is outraising them all at the moment but they\u2019re refusing to step aside, Politico reports this morning.<\/p>\n
The race is on for state governor, Sioux Falls mayor, a US Senate and House seat, a Republican primary for local lawmakers. The incumbent GOP governor Larry Rhoden faces three primary challengers in his first run for a full term. He stepped up into the role from the lieutenant governorship when the former governor, the since-ousted Kristi Noem, left to lead the Department of Homeland Security.<\/p>\n