Primary elections 2022 latest: Trump-backed Republican wins in Illinois as New York’s governor cruises to victory

Colorado, New York, Illinois among states voting Tuesday

Lauren Boebert jokes Jesus didn't have enough AR-15s to save his life

Tuesday saw another wave of primary showdowns across the country as US voters turned out to make crucial decisions ahead of November’s general elections.

This week’s challenges included the numerous battles taking place in New York, where redistricting as well as the resignation of Gov Andrew Cuomo have brewed up a particularly interesting election season. Gov Kathy Hochul won a nomination to serve her first full term as governor in New York, while JB Pritzker coasted to victory in his own primary in Illinois where he will now face David Bailey, a state senator, in the November general election.

Meanwhile in Colorado Rep Lauren Boebert became latest far-right Trump acolyte to win own primary challenge; she faced a challenge from Don Coram of the Colorado She

The first-term congresswoman faced a coordinated effort to dig into her past by David Wheeler, the head of the “Fire Boebert” PAC who previously led a drip-drip campaign of damaging revelations that contributed to Madison Cawthorn’s primary defeat in North Carolina.

Key Points

• Primaries took place in New York, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Utah, Nebraska, Mississippi, Colorado and Illinois
• Democratic governors coast to victory in New York and Illinois
• Markwayne Mullin wins GOP nomination for open US Senate seat in Oklahoma
• Lauren Boebert holds on to US House seat

[28 June 2022 12:31 · John Bowden]

Democrats look for challenger to oust Senate’s lone Black Republican

Democrats are heading to the polls on Tuesday for a runoff election in South Carolina to determine which candidate will face Tim Scott, the only Black Republican in the US Senate, in November.

Krystle Matthews and Catherine Bruce will duke it out for the chance to wage an uphill battle against Mr Scott in deep-red South Carolina. He previously won reelection in 2016 with more than 60 per cent of the vote.

[28 June 2022 13:31 · John Bowden]

ICYMI: Here are the states set to vote today

Voters in eight states will head to the polls on Tuesday. Those states are New York, Colorado, Illinois, Mississippi, Nebraska, Utah, South Carolina and Oklahoma. New York’s primaries tomorrow will include races for statewide seats like the governor and lieutenant governor, while other seats including those in the state legislature and Congress will have their races conclude in August.

[28 June 2022 14:00 · John Bowden]

ICYMI: Two super PACs rally to oust Lauren Boebert

Rep Lauren Boebert, one of the House’s most controversial members, is set to face Don Coram in Tuesday’s GOP primary for the 3rd congressional district of Colorado.

She’s favoured to win, but faces a competitive challenger in Don Coram, a member of the state legislature, due in no small part to her own controversial remarks and actions. Two major PACs, the Fire Boebert PAC and the Better Than Boebert PAC, are backing her opponent.

[28 June 2022 14:31 · John Bowden]

ICYMI: Republican who voted for Jan 6 commission faces crucial test

A Republican congressman who voted to create an independent commission to investigate the January 6 attack is at risk of losing his seat on Tuesday.

Rep Michael Guest of Mississippi is facing a Trump-backed challenger in his state’s runoff. The congressman previously trailed him by a few hundred votes in the state’s primary election earlier this month.

His opponent, Navy veteran Michael Cassidy, has used his vote against him as well as his support for sending military aid to Ukraine, a prospect opposed by the isolationist far-right of the GOP.

[28 June 2022 15:00 · John Bowden]

Rudy Giuliani’s son faces his first feedback from voters

Tuesday’s elections will see the first time New York voters get the chance to vote for (or against) a Giuliani in decades.

Known by some as “America’s Mayor” after the 9/11 terrorist attacks struck his city during his mayoral tenure, Rudy Giuliani saw his reputation diminish to a great extent with his performance as lead attorney for Donald Trump’s ill-conceived effort to overturn the 2020 election in the courts. Now, just under two years later, his son Andrew is a candidate in the Republican primary for New York governor. It’s his first foray into politics at any level.

Mr Giuliani (the younger) is not likely to win his primary on Tuesday; Rep Lee Zeldin is the frontrunner for the GOP contest. If he loses, it will likely be because many voters did not want to trust the governor’s mansion in one of the US’s biggest states to a political newcomer.

Read more from The Associated Press:

[28 June 2022 16:00 · Gustaf Kilander]

Americans heading to the voting booths for first time since end of Roe v Wade

Voters in the US are heading to cast their ballots for the first time since the striking down of Roe v Wade, clearing the way for dozens of states to outlaw abortion.

On Tuesday, primaries are being held in Colorado, Illinois, New York, Oklahoma and Utah and runoffs are being conducted in Mississippi and South Carolina, and Nebraska is holding a special election.

Politico Politics editor Scott Bland said that he’s “looking for the first concrete signs of how the [Supreme Court] decision might affect Democratic primaries and the party as a whole going forward this year. In 2018, we saw a powerful swell of interest in female candidates in Democratic primaries all over the country — do we see evidence of anything like that happening this time? Are there any shifts in turnout that we can reasonably categorize as a response to the Dobbs ruling?”

[28 June 2022 17:00 · Gustaf Kilander]

Illinois race for governor drenched in cash

Seven GOP primaries will be decided in Illinois on Tuesday. While the gubernatorial contest has garnered the most attention, Democratic incumbent JB Pritzker, a billionaire who has given $125m to his own campaign, is favoured to win reelection.

In the GOP contest to challenge him, hedge fund founder Ken Griffin has given $50m out of the total $53m raised by the campaign of Aurora Mayor Richard Irvin, who would be the state’s Illinois first Black governor if successful, FiveThirtyEight noted.

GOP donor Richard Uihlein has given $9m to state Senator Darren Bailey, who has brought in $11m in total. Mr Uihlein has also contributed $8m to a political action committee supporting Mr Bailey.

Jesse Sullivan, a venture capitalist, has collected $12.6m, with $11m coming from three donors.

[28 June 2022 18:00 · Gustaf Kilander]

Abortion rights could be decisive in Illinois Democratic House primaries

Abortion rights could become the decisive issue in Democratic House primaries in Illinois on Tuesday night.

“Rep Marie Newman is trailing Rep Sean Casten, so if she crosses the finish line, it might indicate that abortion rights supporters gravitated to her — even though Casten holds the same views,” Illinois reporter Shia Kapos said in Monday’s Politico Nightly. “The same goes for races in IL-07, in which Justice Democrats-backed Kina Collins is trailing veteran Rep Danny Davis, an abortion rights supporter who was just endorsed by President Joe Biden.”

“A Collins victory would indicate that the Roe decision had an impact. And in the newly drawn IL-03, the race is tight between Chicago [Alderman] Gil Villegas and state Rep Delia Ramirez,” she added. “As in the other Democratic races, Villegas and Ramirez both support abortion rights.”

“I’m also watching IL-01 — a race that has 17 Democrats in the primary, including an anti-abortion pastor, Chris Butler, who is backed by former Congressman Dan Lipinski — an anti-abortion Democrat who lost to Newman in the last cycle. Lipinski was on robocalls urging support of Butler,” Ms Kapos noted. “The race is a wild card because there are so many candidates, including Jonathan Jackson, the Rev Jesse Jackson’s son. The winner could win with as much as 20 percent of the vote. If Butler does well, it will indicate Lipinski’s anti-abortion message sunk in with voters.”

[28 June 2022 19:00 · Gustaf Kilander]

Two runoffs to be decided in Mississippi

On 7 June, no one won a majority in the two GOP primaries for the US House in Mississippi, prompting today’s runoff elections.

In the fourth congressional district, Rep Steven Palazzo has come under scrutiny for allegedly spending almost $200,000 in campaign money for personal use.

He received 32 per cent of the vote, seven per cent ahead of Jackson County Sheriff Mike Ezell. The other five Republicans in the race have endorsed the sheriff, FiveThirtyEight reported.

In the third district, former Navy pilot Michael Cassidy came out ahead of Rep Michael Guest – 48 to 47 per cent.

Mr Cassidy has been blasting Mr Guest for his vote to establish a January 6 commission.

[28 June 2022 20:00 · Gustaf Kilander]

Pro-choice Republican running to unseat Democratic Senator from Colorado

In the Republican primary for Colorado senator, businessman Joe O’Dea is the choice of the establishment.

“He says he supports abortion rights — rare for a Republican, but an electoral asset in a state that’s become a Democratic stronghold,” chief polling analyst Steven Shephard said in Monday’s Politico Nightly. “It’s one of the reasons why Democrats have meddled in the primary to elevate O’Dea’s more extreme opponent, state Rep Ron Hanks, who opposes the right to an abortion in all circumstances. A Democratic-linked outside group has spent just shy of $4 million on ads that either trumpet Hanks’ right-wing credentials or attack O’Dea’s, seeking either to bruise O’Dea ahead of a matchup with Democratic Sen Michael Bennet — or deny O’Dea the nomination entirely.”