Wisconsin’s Republican gubernatorial primary was the most watched race of the night. It has become a battle between former President Donald Trump and former Vice President Mike Pence for the direction of the Republican Party. Trump-backed businessman Tim Michels faces former Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kliefisch, who is backed by Pence, as well as former Gov. Scott Walker, for whom she spent eight years as the state’s No. 2.
Here are three takeaways from Tuesday’s primaries in Wisconsin, Minnesota, Vermont and Connecticut:
State Senate President Pro Tempore Becca Balint’s victory in the Democratic primary for Vermont’s lone House seat puts her on track to become the state’s first woman in Congress, according to CNN.
Balint, who was endorsed by Sen. Bernie Sanders, defeated Lt. Gov. Molly Gray, a more moderate candidate backed by retiring Sen. Patrick Leahy.
The House seat opened as a result of Leahy’s retirement. Congressman Peter Welch, who has held the seat since 2007, won the Democratic Senate primary for Leahy’s seat, CNN predicted.
Balint will enter the November general election as the overwhelming favorite to win the seat.
A former teacher, Balint had the support of other leading progressive groups and politicians. Gray attracted the support of more moderate state leaders, including Leahy, who did not issue a formal endorsement but said he voted for her. Former Governors of Vermont. Howard Dean and Madeline Kunin also supported Gray.
But in a race that provided few notable policy differences between the leading candidates, Balint’s success in claiming the progressive mantle — she was also backed by Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey of neighboring Massachusetts — likely helped her among primary voters who tend to leaned even further to the left than even the average Vermont Democrat.
The Wisconsin Senate race is set
Wisconsin’s general election for the Senate has been quietly underway for weeks. But on Tuesday night, it began in earnest.
Republican Sen. Ron Johnson easily won his re-election primary, while Democratic Senate candidate and Wisconsin Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes won his bid to unseat the Republican.
The race unofficially began two weeks ago when the top three Democrats running against Barnes dropped out of the race and endorsed the lieutenant governor.
The Johnson vs. Barnes race is likely to be one of the most closely watched campaigns of the 2022 cycle, pitting a Republican who has drawn the ire of Democrats for his ties to former President Donald Trump and his embrace of a series of conspiracy theories against the Democrat , who has held several progressive positions that Republicans believe are out of step with most Wisconsin voters.
Although Johnson and Barnes are political opposites, they have already begun using strikingly similar language to define the other, calling each other “out of touch,” fringe and someone out of alignment with the state’s voters.
Wisconsin is one of two Senate seats this cycle currently held by Republicans in a state that President Joe Biden won in 2020. The state has been a political hotbed since the 2011 battles over union bargaining rights, which led to the state’s electorate being polarized well before Trump’s 2016 election.
Lobster survives surprise claw bite
Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar survived a primary challenge Tuesday, CNN predicted — but just barely, and the narrow result could encourage critics of the progressive member of the “squad” to try again in two years. Omar, who is running for a third term in Minnesota’s 5th Congressional District, held off a primary challenge from former Minneapolis City Councilman Don Samuels and three other Democratic primary candidates.
Samuels ran as a pro-police critic of Omar’s calls to “defund the police.” Samuels and his wife successfully sued the city of Minneapolis to force it to increase police staffing levels to the 741 officers required by the city’s charter.
Momentum behind what was widely seen as a long-term challenge built after Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey endorsed Samuels last week. He was also supported by construction unions, several suburban mayors and more moderate DFL leaders. His close call could inspire another attempt to oust Omar in 2024.
Omar’s victory comes a week after two other liberal members of the “squad,” Missouri Rep. Cory Bush and Michigan Rep. Rashida Tlaib, also fended off primary challenges.
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