After Republicans in the House of Representatives have been dealing with competitive primaries for weeks, it is now a Democrat who could be in trouble on Tuesday.
The primary in New York’s 16th District saw the most ad spending ever for a House primary, with Democratic Rep. Jamaal Bowman – a member of the progressive ‘squad’ and a fierce Israel critic – is facing dozens of attacks.
According to ad tracking firm AdImpact, the historic spending includes $14.8 million in ads from United Democracy Project, a super PAC affiliated with the American Israel Public Affairs Committee.
Pro-Israel groups are supporting Bowman’s opponent, Westchester County Executive George Latimera centrist who has served in local politics for decades and is an unapologetic supporter of Israel.
And while voters in the district said they were focused on other issues such as jobs and the environment, the unprecedented spending has made the primary a closely watched proxy battle in the broader battle between Democrats heading into this election played during the war between Israel and Hamas. bicycle.
The Bowman-Latimer brawl has also attracted other prominent names. Hillary Clinton, a Westchester County resident, endorsed Latimer, as did former Rep. Mondaire Jones, DY, a former Bowman ally and fellow Black Caucus congressman who has since rejected Bowman’s criticism of Israel.
Jones, whose move angered progressives, is expected to win the Democratic nomination in a neighboring swing district, giving him a chance to face freshman Republican Rep. Mike Lawler in the fall. The New York primaries will also take place in several competitive districts that will be crucial in the battle for the House of Representatives.
Meanwhile, Bowman brought in progressive reinforcements this weekend. On Friday, Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., campaigned with Bowman in southern Westchester County, and Sanders and neighboring Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., ran against Bowman in the Bronx on Saturday.
“They are spending more money than has ever been spent in American history,” Bowman said during the meeting with Sanders and Ocasio-Cortez. “But they are the money. We are the powerful. They are the money; we are the many. And they won’t stop us. Does not matter what. We will not be held back.”
In addition to New York, Utah and Colorado will also hold primaries on Tuesday, and South Carolina will hold primaries.
Colorado shuffle
Republican Party Rep. Ken Buck’s decision to resign in March has shaken this year’s Colorado primaries. Voters in Buck’s deep-red 4th District will also choose his replacement in a special election Tuesday.
Republican Greg Lopez, former state director of the Small Business Administration and former mayor of Parker, is favored to win the special election in the 4th District given the district’s Republican leanings. Former President Donald Trump won by 19 points in 2020, according to calculations by the Daily Kos Elections.
Lopez has run for office several times, including after unsuccessfully running for governor in 2022 and 2018. He is a staunch conservative and has taken a number of far-right positions, including not supporting exceptions to an abortion ban and sowing doubt about the 2020 election results.
Lopez is not running for a full term, so he would only serve about six months if he wins on Tuesday. He is running against Democrat Trisha Calvarese, a speechwriter.
There is also a primary Tuesday to choose nominees for this fall’s general election in the 4th District. Republican Rep. Lauren Boebert decided to switch districts and run for the seat Buck is vacating, rather than seek reelection in the 3rd District, which she narrowly won in 2022. Boebert, who has Trump’s support, is expected to secure the GOP nomination Tuesday.
Boebert’s move has also led to a crowded Republican Party primary in the more competitive 3rd District, which Trump won by nine points in 2020. The race was the target of some last-minute spending by the Congressional Leadership Fund, a House-affiliated super PAC. GOP leadership, against one of the Republican candidates.
The Congressional Leadership Fund launched a TV ad targeting former state Rep. Ron Hanks after Democrats appeared to interfere in the primaries to boost him, according to The Colorado Sun, possibly betting he will be easier to beat in November would be. Hanks has denied the 2020 election results and marched on the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021. He also ran unsuccessfully in the Republican Senate primaries in 2022.
Democrat Adam Frisch, the former Aspen city councilman who nearly defeated Boebert, cleared the primary field on his side of the aisle. Frisch also appears to be putting his finger on the scale in the Republican primaries by launching a TV ad targeting attorney Jeff Hurd, one of the top Republican candidates. The spot could hurt Hurd’s standing among conservative voters by suggesting that Hurd’s positions on abortion and Trump are unclear; Hanks acts as an unapologetic conservative on this issue.
Another Republican exit from the House of Representatives has shaken up the Republican Party’s primary in the deep-red 5th District, where Rep. Doug Lamborn is retiring. Trump has endorsed Republican Party Chairman Dave Williams, while House Speaker Mike Johnson of Louisiana and other Republicans in Congress have endorsed Jeff Crank, a political consultant and former radio host.
More Trump approval tests
Utah Republicans will effectively choose next year who will replace retiring Republican Senator Mitt Romney, one of the party’s biggest Trump critics.
Trump is backing Riverton Mayor Trent Staggs, who also received the support of Utah Republicans during their April convention. Despite Trump’s support, the race is closely fought between four well-funded candidates. Former Utah House Speaker Brad Wilson was the top fundraiser, thanks in part to lending his campaign $3 million.
But Rep. John Curtis has been boosted by a wave of outside ad spending, more than $6.6 million, by a group called Conservative Values for Utah and by another, a pro-cryptocurrency super PAC called Defend American Jobs that has been active in other GOP primary races across the country. The ads consisted largely of a mix of spots highlighting Curtis and others criticizing Staggs, who got a boost from $700,000 in ad spending from Protect Freedom PAC, a group tied to Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky. Jason Walton, a businessman who lent his campaign $2.5 million, is also running.
The winner of the Republican Party’s primaries will face Democrat Caroline Gleich in the fall and become the heavy favorite to replace Romney in the red state.
Curtis’ decision to run for Senate opened a primary in the 3rd District. Utah County entrepreneur Case Lawrence and Roosevelt Mayor J.R. Bird are the top fundraisers in the race, which also includes Sen. Mike Kennedy, State Auditor John Dougall and former GOP Chairman Stewart Peay.
Trump picks are also running in two other House races — one in a swing seat in Colorado and one in a Republican stronghold in South Carolina.
Trump is endorsing state Rep. Gabe Evans, who is running against former state Rep. Janak Joshi in Colorado’s competitive 8th District, where Republicans want to dethrone freshman Democratic Rep. Yadira Caraveo. She won her first term in 2022 by just 1 percentage point.
And in South Carolina’s Third District runoff, Trump is trailing Pastor Mark Burns, who hopes to replace retiring Rep. Jeff Duncan. Burns and nurse Sheri Biggs advanced to a runoff after this month’s congressional primaries, when no candidate won a majority of votes.
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
