The presidential primaries that Joe Biden and Donald Trump have already won will come closer to their end on Tuesday.
Voters in two states, Kentucky and Oregon, will get a chance to have their say, symbolic decisions that will ensure a few more delegates to the national conventions and a check on where the Democratic and Republican bases line up against their standard bearers.
Even after they clinched the nominations and their rivals withdrew, Biden and Trump continued to face dissent within their own parties. Biden has faced protests over his handling of the war between Israel and Hamas, while Trump continues to see thousands of people voting for a long-vanquished rival Nikki Haley.
After Tuesday, eight presidential nominating contests will remain: Democrats in Idaho, the District of Columbia, Guam and the Virgin Islands, and both parties in Montana, New Jersey, New Mexico and South Dakota.
Voters in Kentucky, Oregon, Georgia and Idaho will also hold state primaries Tuesday to choose nominees for the U.S. House of Representatives and other elections. And in California’s Central Valley, voters will choose a Republican to replace former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy. Republicans Vince Fong and Mike Boudreaux will face off in the special runoff election to complete McCarthy’s term, and will face a rematch for the next full two-year term in November.
In Georgia, Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, who is leading Trump’s prosecution in a 2020 election interference case, faces challenger Christian Wise Smith in the Democratic primary. Smith is an attorney and author who ran against Willis four years ago.
The judge in the case is also eligible for re-election. Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee is running against Robert Patillo, an attorney and radio host, in the nonpartisan race. McAfee is a former prosecutor who was appointed in 2022 by Republican Governor Brian Kemp.
Oregon’s 5th Congressional District is home to one of the best Democratic primaries in the country, pitting Jamie McLeod-Skinner, a progressive candidate who ousted a moderate Democratic incumbent two years ago, against Janelle Bynum, a state lawmaker who some say top Democrats is a leader. stronger candidate. The winner will face Republican Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer in the general election, a race both parties are highlighting.
In the Portland-based 3rd Congressional District, Democrats will choose a candidate to replace retiring Rep. Earl Blumenauer in a safe Democratic seat. The candidates include Susheela Jayapal, sister of progressive champion U.S. Rep. Pramila Jayapal. Susheela Jayapal faces two other well-funded Democratic challengers: state Rep. Maxine Dexter and Gresham City Councilman Eddy Morales.
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Cooper reported from Phoenix.
