RESOLVING THE LEDGER
This is one outlet's own report from The Independent — the article as it was filed.
Alaska, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri South Carolina and Wisconsin are just some of the states braced for crucial House, Senate and gubernatorial primaries this month
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U.S. primary season kicks back into gear in August after a quiet July, with a number of key races across the country set to decide who goes head-to-head in this year’s all-important midterm elections on November 3.
The primaries give people the opportunity to vote for who they think should represent their party in each state.
While President Donald Trump himself is not on the ballot, this fall’s vote will inevitably be interpreted as a referendum on his second term.
His approval ratings are languishing at record lows as citizens routinely tell pollsters they are unhappy with his performance in the Oval Office, expressing particular unease over the Iran war and his perceived lack of focus on the affordability crisis they face.
Trump’s endorsement remains coveted by conservatives in a month that also threatens to expose fundamental tensions within the Democratic Party as establishment-anointed candidates face challenges from progressives seeking to offer a clear alternative to the status quo by hauling their side to the left.
Here’s a look at some of this month’s crucial contests.
Democrats see an opportunity to flip a Republican-held Senate seat in the northwestern state, with primaries scheduled for August 18 in which the four best-placed candidates will advance, regardless of party.
Former Alaska Democratic Rep. Mary Peltola is seen as her side’s best chance at unseating incumbent GOP Sen. Dan Sullivan, who also faces the incredible prospect of being toppled by a rival from within his own party who also happens to be named Dan Sullivan .
The Democratic primary between Haley Stevens and Abdul El-Sayed for the chance to replace the state’s retiring Sen. Gary Peters takes place on August 4 and pits the party’s centrist establishment against its progressive left-wing.
Stevens has the endorsement of Peters, former House speaker Nancy Pelosi and Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer but El-Sayed has the support of New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders.
The winner of the August 4 primary will go on to face Republican Rep. Mike Rogers in November for the chance to succeed Peters.
Democratic Sen. Tina Smith is also retiring, with centrist Rep. Angie Craig up against progressive Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan in their party’s primary on August 11.
Recent polling suggests the winner is likely to be up against former NFL reporter Michele Tafoya on the Republican ticket, who is currently comfortably ahead of ex-baseball player Royce White and the former service members Tom Weiler and Adam Schwarze.
Following the sudden death of Lindsey Graham last month, his sister Darline Graham Nordone was sworn in to complete his term and is now running in an August 11 special primary to seek a full term .
Republican Reps. Russell Fry and Ralph Norman and local businessman Mark Lynch, all of whom failed to unseat Graham in June’s primary, will now challenge the incumbent for an unexpected second shot at securing a place on November’s ballot papers, where they will be up against Democrat Annie Andrews.
Democratic Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz currently represents the Sunshine State’s 25th district but has decided to try to switch in response to Republican redistricting.
However, that has meant ruffling feathers in Broward County, which has historically been represented by a Black candidate.
Wasserman Schultz finds herself the only white challenger in her party’s August 18 primary, which places her against activist Elijah Manley, rapper Luther Campbell, ex-county mayor Dale Holness and Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, who held the seat until being hit by fraud charges, which she denied, earlier this year.
Progressive Democrat Cori Bush is mounting a comeback to try to beat incumbent Rep. Wesley Bell, who unseated her two years ago with support from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee – opposed to Bush over her staunch criticism of Israel.
She now believes the tide of public opinion has shifted sufficiently to give her a fresh chance in their August 4 primary, the winner of which is widely expected to hold the solidly blue seat come November.
Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly is stepping down as her second and final term draws to a close, with Republicans sensing an opportunity in a state that, Kelly’s tenure aside, is normally considered deep red.
State Sens. Cindy Holscher and Ethan Corson and Overland Park Mayor Curt Skoog are fighting it out in their party’s August 4 primary while the Trump-endorsed Ty Masterson, president of the Kansas Senate, leads a crowded GOP field with half a dozen candidates in the running.
Like Kelly in Kansas, incumbent Gretchen Whitmer is term-limited out of office. However, she is likely to re-emerge in pursuit of the Democratic Party presidential nomination in 2028.
Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson leads the race to replace her at the head of a crucial battleground state after former Detroit mayor Mike Duggan suspended his campaign in May.
Trump has backed Rep. John James to win out in the Republican field.
Democratic incumbent Tim Walz, who rose to national prominence as Kamala Harris’s doomed presidential running mate in 2024, announced in January he would not seek a third term and would “never run for an elected office again.”
Walz endured a difficult second term, hit by a major fraud scandal and the shooting of two Minneapolis citizens by federal immigration forces as part of Trump’s illegal immigration crackdown.
However, veteran senator and former presidential candidate Amy Klobuchar looks primed to win her party’s nomination to succeed him at August 11’s primary.
Trump has nominated Mike Lindell, the MAGA pillow tycoon and 2020 election conspiracy theorist, to try to snatch the seat...
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