After House Republicans have faced weeks of competitive primaries, it’s a Democrat who could be in trouble Tuesday.
New York’s 16th District primary attracted the most advertising spending ever for a House primary. Democratic Republican Jamaal Bowman, a progressive caucus member and fierce critic of Israel, has faced numerous attacks.
According to ad tracking firm AdImpact, the historic spending includes $14.8 million in ads for the United Democracy Project, a super PAC affiliated with the American Israel Public Affairs Committee.
Pro-Israel groups are backing Bowman’s opponent, Westchester County Executive George Latimer, a centrist and unabashed supporter of Israel who has served in local politics for decades.
While voters in the region say 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 intra-party battle over the Israel-Hamas war. period.
The Bowman-Latimer case also involved other well-known names. Hillary Clinton, resident of Westchester County, Latimer confirmedas did former Rep. Mondaire Jones, D-N.Y., a onetime Bowman ally and fellow in the Congressional Black Caucus, who has since objected to Bowman’s criticism of Israel.
Jones, whose motion infuriated progressives, is expected to win the Democratic nomination in the neighboring swing district for a chance to take on GOP incumbent Rep. Mike Lawler in the fall. New York’s primaries will also determine races in several competitive districts that will be key to the House race.
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 neighbor Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., faced Bowman in the Bronx on Saturday.
“They’re spending more money than they’ve ever spent in the history of America,” Bowman said at a rally with Sanders and Ocasio-Cortez. “But they are money. We are strong. They are money; we sleep a lot. And they won’t stop us. It does not matter. We will not be stopped.”
In addition to New York, Utah and Colorado will also play Tuesday, while South Carolina will play preliminary second rounds.
Colorado mess
GOP Rep. Ken Buck’s decision to resign in March shook up 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, the former state director of the Small Business Administration and former mayor of Parker, won the 4th District special election, given the district’s Republican leanings. According to calculations, former President Donald Trump won 19 points in 2020 Daily Kos Elections.
Lopez has run for governor several times, including unsuccessfully in 2022 and 2018. He is a staunch conservative and some extreme right positionsincluding supporting no exception to the abortion ban and calling into question the outcome of the 2020 election.
Lopez is not running for a full term, so if he wins Tuesday, he will only serve six months. He is running against Democrat Trisha Calvarese, a speechwriter.
The 4th District also has a primary Tuesday to select candidates for this fall’s general election. Instead of running for re-election in the 3rd District, which she narrowly won in 2022, GOP Rep. Lauren Boebert has decided to redistrict and run for Buck’s vacated seat. Boebert, who has Trump’s support, is expected to secure the GOP nomination. Tuesday.
Boebert’s move also led to a crowded GOP primary in the more competitive 3rd District, which Trump won by nine points in 2020. The race has been the target of last-minute spending sprees by the Congressional Leadership Foundation, a House-aligned super PAC. GOP leadership vs. one of the Republican candidates.
The Congressional Leadership Fund was launched television commercial Targeting former state Rep. Ron Hanks after Democrats appeared to meddle in the primary to boost him, According to The Colorado Sun, it might be easier to beat him in November. Hanks denied the results of the 2020 election and he marched on the US Capitol On January 6, 2021. He also failed in the 2022 GOP Senate primary.
Democrat Adam Frisch, a former Aspen City Councilman who narrowly defeated Boebert, swept the primary field on his side of the aisle. Frisch also appears to be tipping the scales in GOP primaries television commercial It targets attorney Jeff Hurd, one of the top GOP candidates. This point could damage Hurd’s standing among conservative voters by suggesting that Hurd’s positions on abortion and Trump are ambiguous; Hanks runs as an unapologetic conservative on these issues.
Another House Republican exit shook up the GOP primary in the deep-red 5th District, where Rep. Doug Lamborn is retiring. Trump endorsed state GOP Chairman Dave Williams, House Speaker Mike Johnson of Louisiana and other congressional Republicans, political consultant and former radio host Jeff Crank.
More Trump confirmation tests
Utah Republicans are set to effectively choose next year who will replace retiring GOP Sen. Mitt Romney, one of the party’s biggest critics.
Trump supports Riverton Mayor Trent Staggs, who also has the support of Utah Republicans at their April convention. Despite Trump’s endorsement, the race is tight between four well-funded candidates. Former Utah House Speaker Brad Wilson is the top fundraiser, thanks to a $3 million loan to his campaign.
But Rep. John Curtis was boosted by more than $6.6 million in foreign ad spending by a group called Conservative Values for Utah and another GOP-active crypto-supporting super PAC called Defending American Jobs. major competitions across the country. The ads were mostly a mix of spots criticizing Curtis and others, who raised $700,000 in ad spending from Protect Freedom PAC, which is affiliated 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 Carolyn Gleich in the fall and will be the odds-on favorite to replace Romney in the red state.
Curtis’ decision to run for Senate triggered a primary in the 3rd District. Utah County entrepreneur Case Lawrence and Roosevelt Mayor JR Bird are the top fundraisers in a race that also includes state Sen. Mike Kennedy, state Auditor John Dougall and former state GOP Chairman Stewart Peay.
Trump’s picks are also in two other House races — one in a swing seat in Colorado and one in a Republican stronghold in South Carolina.
Trump is backing state Rep. Gabe Evans, who is running against former state Rep. Janak Joshi in Colorado’s competitive 8th District, where Republicans are trying to unseat freshman Democratic Rep. Yadira Karaveo. He won his first term in 2022 with just 1 percent.
In South Carolina’s 3rd District runoff, Trump is trailing Pastor Mark Burns, who is hoping to replace retired 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.