After House Republicans have faced competitive primaries for weeks, it is now a Democrat who could be in trouble on Tuesday.
The primaries in New York’s 16th district drew the most advertising spending ever for a House primary, with Democratic Rep. Jamaal Bowman – a member of the progressive “squad” and an outspoken critic of Israel – facing dozens of attacks.
Historical spending, according to ad tracking firm AdImpact, includes $14.8 million on ads from the United Democracy Project, a super PAC linked to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee.
Pro-Israel groups support Bowman’s opponent, Westchester County Executive George Latimer, a centrist who has served in local politics for decades and is an unabashed supporter of Israel.
And although voters in the district have said they are focused on other issues such as jobs and the environment, the unprecedented spending has turned the primary into a closely watched proxy fight in the Democrats’ broader intraparty battle that has unfolded during the war between Israel and Israel. and Hamas in this election. cycle.
The Bowman-Latimer fight also attracted other prominent names. Westchester County resident Hillary Clinton supported Latimer, as did former Rep. Mondaire Jones, D-N.Y., a former Bowman ally and also a member of the Congressional Black Caucus who has since criticized Bowman’s criticism of Israel.
Jones, whose action infuriated progressives, is expected to win the Democratic nomination in a neighboring district for the chance to face freshman Republican Rep. Mike Lawler in the fall. The New York primaries will also mark clashes in several competitive districts that will be key to the fight for the House.
Meanwhile, Bowman brought in progressive reinforcements over the 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., were stumped by Bowman in the Bronx on Saturday .
“They are spending more money than has ever been spent in American history,” Bowman said at the rally with Sanders and Ocasio-Cortez. “But they are the money. We are the powerful. They are the money; we are many. And they won’t stop us. No matter what. We will not be stopped.”
In addition to New York, Utah and Colorado will also hold primaries on Tuesday, and South Carolina will hold a primary runoff.
Colorado shuffle
Republican Rep. Ken Buck’s decision to resign in March rocked this year’s Colorado primary. Voters in Buck’s deep-red 4th District will also choose his replacement Tuesday in a special election.
Republican Greg Lopez, former state director of the Small Business Administration and former mayor of Parker, is the favorite to win the special election in the 4th District, given the district’s Republican lean. Former President Donald Trump won by 19 points in 2020, according to calculations by Kos Daily Elections.
Lopez has run several times, including an unsuccessful run for governor in 2022 and 2018. He is a staunch conservative and has taken some extreme right positionsincluding not supporting any exceptions to the abortion ban and casting doubt on the 2020 election results.
Lopez is not running for a full term, so he will only serve about six months if he wins on Tuesday. He is competing against Democrat Trisha Calvarese, a speechwriter.
There is also a Tuesday primary 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 re-election in the 3rd District, which she narrowly won in 2022. Boebert, who has Trump’s endorsement, is expected to secure the Republican nomination Tuesday.
Boebert’s action also led to a crowded GOP primary in the more competitive 3rd District, which Trump won by 9 points in 2020. The race has been the target of some last-minute spending by the Congressional Leadership Fund, a super PAC aligned with House Republican Party Leadership, against one of the Republican candidates.
The Congressional Leadership Fund was launched a TV advert targeting former state representative Ron Hanks after Democrats appeared to be meddling in the primary to support him, according to the Colorado Sun, possibly betting that he would be easier to beat in November. Hanks denied the 2020 election results and marched to the US Capitol on January 6, 2021. He also ran unsuccessfully in the 2022 Republican Party Senate primary.
Democrat Adam Frisch, the former Aspen City Council member 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 Party primaries by launching a TV advert targeting attorney Jeff Hurd, a leading Republican Party candidate. The post could harm Hurd’s standing among conservative voters by suggesting that Hurd’s positions on abortion and Trump are unclear; Hanks has acted like an unapologetic conservative on these issues.
Another Republican departure from the House has shaken up the GOP primary in the 5th District, where Rep. Doug Lamborn is retiring. Trump endorsed state Republican Party Chairman Dave Williams, while House Speaker Mike Johnson of Louisiana and other congressional Republicans backed Jeff Crank, a political consultant and former radio host.
More Trump Endorsement Tests
Utah Republicans must effectively choose who will replace Republican Sen. Mitt Romney, one of the party’s most vocal Trump critics, who is retiring next year.
Trump is supporting Riverton Mayor Trent Staggs, who has also won the support of Utah Republicans at the April convention. Despite Trump’s support, the race is tough between four well-funded candidates. Former Utah House Speaker Brad Wilson was the top fundraiser, thanks in part to loaning $3 million to his campaign.
But Rep. John Curtis was boosted by a flurry of outdoor advertising spending, more than $6.6 million, by a group called Conservative Values for Utah and another, a pro-cryptocurrency super PAC called Defend American Jobs, who has been active in other republican parties. primary races across the country. The ads have largely been a mix of ads highlighting Curtis and others critical of Staggs, which was boosted by $700,000 in advertising spending from the Protect Freedom PAC, a group aligned with Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky. Jason Walton, a businessman who loaned his campaign $2.5 million, is also running.
The winner of the GOP primary will face Democrat Caroline Gleich in the fall and become the favorite to replace Romney in the red state.
Curtis’ decision to run for Senate opened up a primary in the 3rd District. Utah County businessman Case Lawrence and Roosevelt Mayor J.R. Bird are the top fundraisers in the race, which also includes state Sen. Mike Kennedy, state auditor John Dougall and former state Party chairman Republican, Stewart Peay.
Trump’s picks are also running in two other House races — one in a swing seat in Colorado and the other in a Republican stronghold in South Carolina.
Trump supports state Rep. Gabe Evans, who is running against former state Rep. Janak Joshi in Colorado’s competitive 8th District, where Republicans are seeking to unseat freshman Democratic Rep. Yadira Caraveo. She won her first term in 2022 by just 1 percentage point.
And in the South Carolina 3rd 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 the state’s congressional primary this month, when no candidate won a majority of the vote.
This story originally appeared on NBCNews.com read the full story
