Midterm elections this year are set to be “historically significant,” according to Fox News. Twelve states are holding their primaries this week, with five of them happening on Tuesday: Idaho, Kentucky, Oregon, Pennsylvania and North Carolina.
Here’s what’s happening:
Idaho
- Republican Gov. Brad Little is facing a primary challenge from his lieutenant governor, Janice McGeachin. McGeachin is a conservative who has been backed by former President Donald Trump, The Associated Press reported.
- Fox News describes the relationship between Little and McGeachin as “fraught.” On two separate occasions while Little was out of state, McGeachin attempted to issue executive orders to block COVID-19 mandates. Once he returned to Idaho, Little rescinded these orders.
- Idaho is seeing another primary challenge for the position of attorney general. Five-year incumbent Lawrence Wadsen and former U.S. Rep. Raul Labrador will both be running for the position, according to The Associated Press.
- Three Republicans are running to be the chief elections officer: Dorothy Moon, Mary Souza and Phil McGrane. Moon and Souza have made claims that Biden did not fairly win the election in 2020, while McGrane has acknowledged the win, according to CBS News.
Kentucky
- The seat for the chair of the House Budget Committee will be up for grabs for the first time in 16 years, due to the retirement of U.S. Rep. John Yarmuth — Kentucky’s only Democrat in Congress, per The Associated Press.
- Rand Paul, who has held his seat in the Senate since 2011, is up for election to his ticket again during Tuesday’s elections, ABC News reported.
Oregon
- The gubernatorial race in Oregon has been described as a moderate vs. progressive face-off by The Associated Press. The two leaders in the race are Tina Kotek, a liberal and former Oregon speaker of the house, and Tobias Reed, who proclaims himself to be a centrist and “political outsider,” The Associated Press states.
- Oregon will also see several congressional races, which have shaped up to be one of the most expensive primaries on the Democratic congressional side, per Fox News. Sixteen candidates are running for Oregon’s Congress, including Carrick Fynn, who is supported by a cryptocurrency kingpin.
Pennsylvania
- The seats for governor and Senate will be decided on Tuesday. Mehmet Oz, more commonly known as Dr. Oz, is running to succeed Republican Sen. Pat Toomey, who is retiring from the Senate. Oz, who has been backed by Trump, is facing tight competition from David McCormick and Kathy Barnette, according to Fox News.
- In the Democratic primary, Lt. Gov. John Fetterman is still in the lead, despite the fact that he suffered a stroke and spent several campaigning days in the hospital, per NBC News.
North Carolina
- Up for Senate is Republican Rep. Tedd Budd, who is backed by Trump. North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory, former Rep. Mark Walker and eight other candidates are running against Budd for the Senate seat, Fox News reported.
- Cheri Beasley — a former state Supreme Court Justice — is expected to get the Democratic nomination for Senate, according to CBS News.