Elections to the U.S. House were held on November 8, 2022. All 435 seats were up for election. Special elections were also held to fill vacancies that occurred in the 117th Congress.

On this page, you will find:

This page focuses on U.S. House Democratic primaries. For more in-depth information about U.S. House Republican primaries and general elections, see the following pages:

Partisan breakdown[edit]

Heading into the November 8, 2022, elections, Democrats held a 220-212 advantage in the U.S. House with three vacant seats. All 435 seats were up for election.

U.S. House Partisan Breakdown
Party		As of November 8, 2022	After the 2022 Election
	Democratic Party	220	213
	Republican Party	212	222
	Vacancies	3	0^[1]
Total		435	435

Democratic primaries[edit]

Alaska, California, Louisiana, and Washington are included in the list below even though they do not hold partisan primaries. Alaska uses a top-four primary system, and California and Washington use a top-two primary system. In both systems, all candidates regardless of partisan affiliation are listed on the same primary ballot. Louisiana uses a majority-vote system in which all candidates regardless of partisan affiliation are listed on the same first-round ballot.

By date[edit]

2022 Democratic Party primary elections
Battleground primaries
	U.S. Senate battlegrounds; U.S. House battlegrounds; State executive battlegrounds
Federal primaries
	U.S. Senate primaries ; U.S. House primaries; U.S. House primaries with multiple incumbents
State primaries
	Gubernatorial primaries; Attorney General primaries; Secretary of State primaries; State legislative primaries
Primary overviews
	Democratic Party primaries, 2022; Republican Party primaries, 2022; Top-two and top-four battleground primaries, 2022; U.S. House battleground primaries, 2022
Primaries by state
	AlabamaAlaskaArizonaArkansasCaliforniaColoradoConnecticutDelawareFloridaGeorgiaHawaiiIdahoIllinoisIndianaIowaKansasKentuckyLouisianaMaineMarylandMassachusettsMichiganMinnesotaMississippiMissouriMontanaNebraskaNevadaNew HampshireNew JerseyNew MexicoNew YorkNorth CarolinaNorth DakotaOhioOklahomaOregonPennsylvaniaRhode IslandSouth CarolinaSouth DakotaTennesseeTexasUtahVermontVirginiaWashingtonWest VirginiaWisconsinWyomingSubmit

2022 Democratic primaries by date
Date	State
March 1	Texas
May 3	Indiana Ohio
May 10	Nebraska West Virginia
May 17	Idaho Kentucky North Carolina Oregon Pennsylvania
May 24	Alabama Arkansas Georgia
June 7	California Iowa Mississippi Montana New Jersey New Mexico South Dakota
June 14	Maine Nevada North Dakota South Carolina
June 21	Virginia
June 28	Colorado Illinois Oklahoma Utah
July 19	Maryland
August 2	Arizona Kansas Michigan Missouri Washington
August 4	Tennessee
August 9	Connecticut Minnesota Vermont Wisconsin
August 13	Hawaii
August 16	Alaska Wyoming
August 23	Florida New York
September 6	Massachusetts
September 13	Delaware New Hampshire Rhode Island
November 8	Louisiana^[2]

By state[edit]

2022 Democratic primaries by state
State	Date
Alabama	May 24
Alaska	August 16
Arizona	August 2
Arkansas	May 24
California	June 7
Colorado	June 28
Connecticut	August 9
Delaware	September 13
Florida	August 23
Georgia	May 24
Hawaii	August 13
Idaho	May 17
Illinois	June 28
Indiana	May 3
Iowa	June 7
Kansas	August 2
Kentucky	May 17
Louisiana	November 8
Maine	June 14
Maryland	July 19
Massachusetts	September 6
Michigan	August 2
Minnesota	August 9
Mississippi	June 7
Missouri	August 2
Montana	June 7
Nebraska	May 10
Nevada	June 14
New Hampshire	September 13
New Jersey	June 7
New Mexico	June 7
New York	August 23
North Carolina	May 17
North Dakota	June 14
Ohio	May 3
Oklahoma	June 28
Oregon	May 17
Pennsylvania	May 17
Rhode Island	September 13
South Carolina	June 14
South Dakota	June 7
Tennessee	August 4
Texas	March 1
Utah	June 28
Vermont	August 9
Virginia	June 21
Washington	August 2
West Virginia	May 10
Wisconsin	August 9
Wyoming	August 16

Battleground primaries[edit]

See also: Democratic Party battleground primaries, 2022

There were 30 U.S. House Democratic battleground primaries in 2022.

The following map shows each state with a Democratic battleground primary for U.S. House in 2022. Hover over or tap a district to view the incumbent's name.

Incumbents defeated[edit]

The following table lists incumbents defeated in the 2022 general election for U.S. House.^[3]

U.S. House incumbents defeated in 2022
Name	District	Primary or general election?	Election winner	Margin of victory
Cindy Axne	Iowa's 3rd	General	Zach Nunn	R+0.7
Carolyn Bourdeaux	Georgia's 7th	Primary	Lucy McBath	D+31.8
Madison Cawthorn	North Carolina's 11th	Primary	Chuck Edwards	R+1.5
Steve Chabot	Ohio's 1st	General	Greg Landsman	D+5.0
Liz Cheney	Wyoming At-Large	Primary	Harriet Hageman	R+37.4
Rodney Davis	Illinois' 15th	Primary	Mary Miller	R+15.2
Mayra Flores	Texas' 34th	General	Vicente Gonzalez Jr.	D+8.4
Bob Gibbs^[4]	Ohio's 7th	Primary	Max Miller	N/A
Yvette Herrell	New Mexico's 2nd	General	Gabriel Vasquez	D+0.6
Mondaire Jones	New York's 10th	Primary	Daniel Goldman	D+7.5
Alfred Lawson	Florida's 2nd	General	Neal Dunn	R+19.6
Andy Levin	Michigan's 11th	Primary	Haley Stevens	D+19.0
Elaine Luria	Virginia's 2nd	General	Jennifer Kiggans	R+4.1
Tom Malinowski	New Jersey's 7th	General	Thomas Kean Jr.	R+4.6
Carolyn Maloney	New York's 12th	Primary	Jerrold Nadler	D+32.1
Sean Maloney	New York's 17th	General	Michael Lawler	R+1.2
David McKinley	West Virginia's 2nd	Primary	Alexander Mooney	R+18.6
Peter Meijer	Michigan's 3rd	Primary	Hillary Scholten John Gibbs^[5]	R+3.4^[6]
Marie Newman	Illinois' 6th	Primary	Sean Casten	D+39.3
Tom O'Halleran	Arizona's 2nd	General	Eli Crane	R+8
Steven Palazzo	Mississippi's 4th	Primary	Mike Ezell	R+7.2
Tom Rice	South Carolina's 7th	Primary	Russell Fry	R+26.5
Kurt Schrader	Oregon's 5th	Primary	Lori Chavez-DeRemer Jamie McLeod-Skinner^[7]	D+14.2^[8]
Van Taylor^[9]	Texas' 3rd	Primary	Keith Self	N/A
Jaime Herrera Beutler	Washington's 3rd	Primary	Marie Gluesenkamp Perez Joe Kent^[10]	R+0.5^[11]

Historical comparison[edit]

The following table shows the number of U.S. House incumbents defeated in each election cycle from 2000 to 2022, by party.

Defeated U.S. House incumbents by party, 2000-2022
Year	Democratic incumbents lost	Republican incumbents lost	Total
2022	12	13	25
2020	16	5	21
2018	2	32	34
2016	3	9	12
2014	12	6	18
2012	10	17	27
2010	54	4	58
2008	6	17	23
2006	0	22	22
2004	5	2	7
2002	12	5	17
2000	4	5	9

U.S. House races with two incumbents, 2022[edit]

The U.S. House incumbents listed in the table below announced their candidacy for the same congressional district for the 2022 U.S. House elections.

U.S. House incumbents who announced candidacies in the same district for the 2022 elections
U.S. House incumbent (party)	District	U.S. House incumbent (party)	District	2022 District	Election winner
Neal Dunn	Florida's 2nd	Al Lawson	Florida's 5th	Florida's 2nd^[12]	Dunn
Carolyn Bourdeaux	Georgia's 7th	Lucy McBath	Georgia's 6th	Georgia's 7th^[13]	McBath
Sean Casten	Illinois' 6th	Marie Newman	Illinois' 3rd	Illinois' 6th^[14]	Casten
Rodney Davis	Illinois' 13th	Mary Miller	Illinois' 15th	Illinois' 15th^[15]	Miller
Andy Levin	Michigan's 9th	Haley Stevens	Michigan's 11th	Michigan's 11th^[16]	Stevens
Carolyn Maloney	New York's 12th	Jerry Nadler	New York's 10th	New York's 12th^[17]	Nadler
Mayra Flores	Texas' 34th	Vicente Gonzalez Jr.	Texas' 15th	Texas' 34th^[18]	Gonzalez
David McKinley	West Virginia's 1st	Alex Mooney	West Virginia's 2nd	West Virginia's 2nd^[19]	Mooney

Links to redistricting coverage[edit]

For more information about the redistricting process in those states where multiple U.S. House incumbents ran in the same district, see:

News and conflicts in the 2022 Democratic House primaries[edit]

The following were reprinted from Ballotpedia's The Heart of the Primaries newsletter, which captured stories related to conflicts within each major party.

September 15, 2022[edit]

Build Back Better and Infrastructure Act positions in spotlight[edit]

Throughout the year, incumbent Democrats' positions on the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and Build Back Better Act were points of debate in primaries. The conflicts involved arguments over bipartisanship, divisiveness, and furthering the president's agenda.

In August 2021, the House passed a resolution to advance both the infrastructure and Build Back Better bills. The resolution contained a nonbinding commitment to vote on the infrastructure bill in September (which did not happen). The House passed the infrastructure bill and then Build Back Better in November. The Senate didn't take up Build Back Better. Both chambers passed and President Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act, a smaller reconciliation bill, this year.

The Infrastructure bill "no" voters

Six lawmakers said they voted against the infrastructure bill because it was separated from the Build Back Better Act. Among the six, four faced primary opposition: Reps. Jamaal Bowman (NY-16), Cori Bush (MO-01), Ilhan Omar (MN-05), and Rashida Tlaib (MI-13). Each faced criticism from opponents and opponents' supporters for their votes.

Critics, including the incumbents' primary opponents, said the representatives were divisive and not focused on getting results. The representatives said passing the infrastructure bill separately from Build Back Better threatened the fate of the latter bill.

Each of the four incumbents above won their primaries. For more on the conflict in each of the races, including quotes from candidates and opponents, see the Heart of the Primaries stories below.

The budget resolution debaters

Nine Democratic House members signed a letter in August 2021 saying they would not support a budget resolution needed to pass Build Back Better unless a vote on the infrastructure bill, which the Senate had passed, happened first. Reps. Henry Cuellar (TX-28) and Carolyn Bourdeaux (GA-07) were among the nine who signed.

The letter said, "The country is clamoring for infrastructure investment and commonsense, bipartisan solutions. This legislation does both[.] … [W]e simply can’t afford months of unnecessary delays and risk squandering this once-in-a-century, bipartisan infrastructure package."

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) held a rally for Jessica Cisneros, who challenged Cuellar in a rematch in 2022. Ocasio-Cortez said, "If you’re upset about Build Back Better, you can elect Jessica Cisneros."

And in Georgia's 7th, where Boudeaux faced fellow incumbent Lucy McBath (D) due to redistricting, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution's Patricia Murphy and Greg Bluestein wrote that "Bourdeaux drew the wrath of progressive groups -- and [Stacey] Abrams allies -- for joining other moderates with a stand that threatened to derail a $3.5 trillion social policy plan."

Bourdeaux and Cuellar supported the budget resolution with the nonbinding agreement and both bills when they came up in November. Cuellar won a primary runoff against Cisneros, while Bourdeaux lost to McBath.

Three satellite groups spent $55 million in Democratic primaries in 2022[edit]

Throughout the year, the satellite groups United Democracy Project, Protect our Future PAC, and Democratic Majority for Israel made headlines for their involvement in Democratic U.S. House primaries. According to Open Secrets data as of September 14, 2022, the groups spent a combined $55 million of the total $106 million all groups spent in those primaries. United Democracy Project and Protect Our Futures PAC were the biggest spenders at $24 million a piece.

United Democracy Project is a super PAC affiliated with the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC). The group spent $14 million supporting Democratic primary candidates and $11 million opposing Democratic candidates.

United Democracy Project made its largest expenditure in Maryland’s 4th Congressional District primary. We covered conflict over the group's involvement in the race, and J Street Action Fund's counter-involvement, in our July 14 issue. United Democracy Project spent $4.3 million opposing former U.S. Rep. Donna Edwards and $1.7 million supporting former Prince George's County state attorney Glenn Ivey. Ivey defeated Edwards 51% to 35% in the July 19 primary.

The group also spent $3.9 million supporting Rep. Haley Stevens in Michigan’s 11th Congressional District. Stevens defeated fellow incumbent Andy Levin 59.5% to 40.5%. For stories on satellite spending in Michigan’s 11th and the candidates' positions on Israel, see our March 10, July 7, and August 4 issues.

Protect Our Future PAC is associated with cryptocurrency exchange founder Sam Bankman-Fried. According to Open Secrets, $23.3 million (96%) of the group's expenditures supported Democratic candidates.

Protect Our Future PAC spent $10.4 million supporting Carrick Flynn in Oregon's newly created 6th Congressional District Democratic primary. The group spent $936,000 opposing Andrea Salinas. Salinas, the only Democratic primary candidate Protect Our Future PAC spent against, won the May 17 primary with 36% of the vote. Flynn finished second with 18%.

Protect Our Future PAC’s spending made Oregon’s 6th District the congressional district with the most satellite spending this primary season. See our April 14 and May 19 issues for more on the group's involvement in this district.

Democratic Majority for Israel spent $6.6 million in Democratic primaries. Almost half was spent in Ohio’s 11th Congressional District. The group spent $1.6 million supporting Shontel Brown and $1.5 million opposing Nina Turner, who were in a rematch from last year's special primary election. (Note that figures include spending in both the special and regular primaries.) Protect Our Future PAC and United Democracy Project were also active in this race, both spending to favor Brown's re-election. Brown defeated Turner in the May 3 primary 66% to 34%.

Democratic Majority for Israel was also active in Illnois' 6th District, where Rep. Sean Casten defeated Rep. Marie Newman 68% to 29%. The group spent more than $500,000 opposing Newman. See our March 10, May 19, and June 30 issues for more on this group's involvement in 2022's primaries.

Redistricting and the primaries: By the numbers[edit]

The 2022 primaries were the first using new district boundaries enacted after the 2020 census. Forty-four states adopted new congressional district maps. Six states had only one congressional district.

Forty-nine states adopted new legislative district boundaries, except for Montana. The state's Legislature only meets in odd-numbered years and adjourned before the U.S. Census Bureau delivered data to the states on Aug. 12, 2021.

Seven new congressional districts

There were seven new congressional districts as a result of six states gaining U.S. House districts during apportionment: Colorado, Florida, Montana, North Carolina, Oregon, and Texas (which gained two seats).

Seven states—California, Illinois, Michigan, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia—lost one district each.

Six member vs. member elections

As a result of redistricting, six U.S. House districts had two incumbents running against each other in their party's primaries (winner is in bold):

Georgia's 7th: Carolyn Bourdeaux (D) vs. Lucy McBath (D)
Illinois' 6th: Sean Casten (D) vs. Marie Newman (D)
Illinois' 15th: Rodney Davis (R) vs. Mary Miller (R)
Michigan's 11th: Andy Levin (D) vs. Haley Stevens (D)
New York's 12th: Carolyn Maloney (D) vs. Jerry Nadler (D)
West Virginia's 2nd: David McKinley (R) vs. Alex Mooney (R)

In the 2012 House elections following the most recent round of redistricting, 11 primaries featured two incumbents: seven Democratic, three Republican, and one all-party primary in Louisiana with two Republican incumbents.

Two House general elections in 2022 were set to feature two incumbents in November: Neal Dunn (R) against Al Lawson (D) in Florida's 2nd and Mayra Flores (R) against Vicente Gonzalez Jr. (D) in Texas' 34th.

Click here for more on these multi-member matchups.

In 2022, there were 48 incumbent vs. incumbent state legislative primaries: 16 for Democrats and 32 for Republicans.

Two rescheduled primaries

Two states held contests for different types of offices on two different dates because of court decisions regarding redistricting.

New York held statewide and state Assembly primaries as originally scheduled on June 28 and congressional and state Senate primaries on Aug. 23. The New York Court of Appeals, the state's highest court, overturned the state's congressional and state Senate maps on April 27, ruling that both violated the state's constitutional redistricting process.

Ohio held congressional and statewide primary elections on May 3 and legislative primaries on Aug. 2. The Ohio Supreme Court struck down the state's adopted legislative district boundaries on April 14, after previously overturning three other sets of legislative maps that the legislature or state redistricting commission had approved. The state ultimately used maps the Ohio Redistricting Commission adopted.

U.S. House incumbent primary losses exceed last two redistricting cycles[edit]

Overall, 15 House incumbents lost in 2022 primaries—nine Republicans and six Democrats. (Those figures include Republican Bob Gibbs (OH-07), who unofficially withdrew but whose name still appeared on the ballot.) Six incumbent losses were inevitable in 2022 due to primaries featuring two incumbents. Still, the number exceeded the previous two post-redistricting elections in 2012 and 2002. In 2012, 13 House incumbents lost primaries. And in 2002, eight incumbents lost.

Here is 2022's list of defeated U.S. House incumbents:

Carolyn Bourdeaux (D) - Georgia's 7th
Mondaire Jones (D) - New York's 10th
Andy Levin (D) - Michigan's 11th
Carolyn Maloney (D) - New York's 12th
Marie Newman (D) - Illinois' 6th
Kurt Schrader (D) - Oregon's 5th
Madison Cawthorn (R) - North Carolina's 11th
Liz Cheney (R) - Wyoming's At-Large District
Rodney Davis (R) - Illinois' 15th
Bob Gibbs (R) - Ohio's 7th
Jaime Herrera Beutler (R) - Washington's 3rd
David McKinley (R) - West Virginia's 2nd
Peter Meijer (R) - Michigan's 3rd
Steven Palazzo (R) - Mississippi's 4th
Tom Rice (R) - South Carolina's 7th

September 1, 2022[edit]

Peltola wins special U.S. House election (and other Alaska updates)[edit]

On Aug. 16, Alaska held top-four primaries and a special U.S. House election, the latter of which used ranked-choice voting. Certification is expected by tomorrow, and most battleground races have been called.

U.S House special general: Mary Peltola (D) won the election. On the final round of unofficial ranked-choice voting tabulation, Peltola had 51.5% of the vote to Sarah Palin's (R) 48.5%. This election fills the term ending Jan. 3, 2023.

Before tabulation began, Peltola had 40% of first-choice votes, followed by Palin with 31% and Nick Begich III (R) with 28%. Write-in candidates received a combined 1.6% of the vote.

Write-in candidates were eliminated first as a batch. Then Begich was eliminated. The votes of those who chose eliminated candidates as first choices were redistributed to the voters' second-choice candidates if they chose such. Watch a livestream of the tabulation from the Alaska Division of Elections here.

Peltola will be Alaska's first Democratic U.S. representative since Nick Begich Sr.—Nick Begich III's grandfather. Begich Sr.'s plane went missing while he was in office in 1972. Don Young (R) won a special election to succeed Begich. Young served until his death in March of this year.

Peltola, Palin, and Begich will meet again in the regularly scheduled general election for U.S. House in November. General elections for all offices below will be held Nov. 8 and will use ranked-choice voting as well.

U.S. House regular primary: As of Wednesday, The New York Times had called three of the four general election spots for Peltola, Palin, and Begich III. Peltola led with 37% of the vote, followed by Palin with 30%, Begich with 26%, and Tara Sweeney (R) with 4%.

Sweeney said she'll withdraw from the race, meaning the fourth spot would go to the fifth-place finisher. As of Wednesday, that was Libertarian Chris Bye, who had 0.6% of the vote. Sept. 2 is the target election certification date, and Sept. 6 is the ballot certification date.

Alaska governor: Incumbent Mike Dunleavy (R), Bill Walker (Independent), Les Gara (D), and Charlie Pierce (R) advanced to the general election. Dunleavy had 41% of the vote, followed by Walker and Gara with 23% each and Pierce with 7%.

Dunleavy was elected governor in 2018. He succeeded Walker, who initially ran for re-election that year and withdrew weeks ahead of the general election. Gara served in the state House of Representatives from 2003 to 2019. Pierce worked as a manager at ENSTAR Natural Gas Company.

U.S. Senate: Incumbent Lisa Murkowski (R), Kelly Tshibaka (R), Patricia Chesbro (D), and Buzz Kelley (R) advanced to the general election. Murkowski had 45% of the vote, followed by Tshibaka with 39%, Chesbro with 7%, and Kelley with 2%.

Murkowski first took office in 2002. Tshibaka is a former commissioner at the Alaska Department of Administration. Chesbro is a retired teacher. Kelley is a retired mechanic.

Murkowski is the only Republican senator seeking re-election this year who voted guilty during former President Donald Trump's 2021 impeachment trial. Murkowski's endorsers include U.S. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R) and Sens. Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska), Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), and Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.). Trump and the Alaska Republican Party endorsed Tshibaka.

FL-04 recount shows Holloway still in lead[edit]

On Aug. 27, Clay, Duval, and Nassau counties' canvassing boards conducted a machine recount of Florida's 4th Congressional District Democratic primary votes. LaShonda Holloway remained in the lead, ending the recount with 207 more votes than Anthony Hill.

According to state law, a recount must be conducted when the margin of victory is less than or equal to 0.5% of the total votes cast. The 201 votes separating the candidates as of last week equaled around 0.34% of the total cast in the primary.

The winner faces Aaron Bean (R) in November. Election forecasters view this as a Safe Republican district.

This was one of several congressional primary recounts that have taken place this year. In addition to high-profile recounts in Pennsylvania's U.S. Senate Republican primary and Texas' 28th District Democratic primary runoff, others included Florida's 22nd District GOP primary, Texas' 15th District Democratic primary runoff, Wisconsin's 2nd District GOP primary, and Georgia's 10th District Democratic primary.

August 25, 2022[edit]

Primary results roundup[edit]

Florida and New York held statewide primaries Tuesday, while Oklahoma held a statewide primary runoff. We were watching four battleground Democratic primaries in Florida and New York. Here’s how those races unfolded:

Florida gubernatorial: Charlie Crist defeated Nikki Fried and two other candidates in Florida’s gubernatorial primary.

Crist had 60% of the vote to Fried’s 35%.

Crist, a U.S. Representative, won a single term as governor in 2006 as a Republican. Fried was elected state agriculture commissioner in 2018.

Crist will face incumbent Ron DeSantis (R) and six other candidates in the general election. Forecasters rate that election as Likely Republican.

New York’s 10th District: Dan Goldman defeated incumbent Mondaire Jones in New York’s 10th District.

Goldman was first with 26% of the vote, followed by Yuh-Line Niou with 24%. Jones was in 3rd place with 18%.

Jones was elected to the 17th District in 2020 and ran in the 10th because of redistricting. The new 10th District does not overlap the old 17th District.

Goldman is a former prosecutor who was lead counsel during the first impeachment of former President Donald Trump (R). Niou has been a member of the state Assembly since 2017.

New York’s 12th District: Incumbent Jerrold Nadler defeated fellow incumbent Carolyn Maloney and two others, 55%-25%.

Nadler, who represents the 10th District, was running for re-election in the 12th following redistricting. This was the sixth and final incumbent v. incumbent primary of the year.

Both Nadler and Maloney were first elected in 1992 and campaigned as progressives. Nadler chairs the Judiciary Committee, and Maloney chairs the Oversight and Government Reform Committee.

Nadler’s endorsers included U.S. Sens. Chuck Schumer (D) and Elizabeth Warren (D), while Maloney’s included the Congressional Progressive Caucus PAC and EMILY’s List.

New York’s 17th District: Incumbent Sean Maloney defeated Alessandra Biaggi, 66%-33%.

Maloney was first elected to Congress in 2012 and chairs the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. Biaggi was elected to the state Senate in 2018 and was deputy national operations manager for Hillary Clinton’s (D) 2016 presidential campaign.

Maloney currently represents the 18th District but is running in the 17th due to redistricting.

Biaggi cast herself as the progressive candidate in the race. Maloney’s endorsers included former President Bill Clinton (D) and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D), while Biaggi’s included U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D) and the Working Families Party.

Media analysis[edit]

The New York Times wrote that incumbents had performed better last night than in recent cycles:

“

Not long ago, New York was a haven for young insurgent candidates who defeated powerful, well-funded incumbents up and down the ballot.

But despite clamoring among some Democratic voters this summer for generational change, and simmering frustrations with Democratic leadership after the overturning of Roe v. Wade, Tuesday was a strong night for the establishment, at least toward the top of the ticket.

In a newly redrawn New York district that includes parts of Westchester County and the Hudson Valley, Representative Sean Patrick Maloney, 56, who chairs the Democratic House campaign committee, easily dispatched a challenge from State Senator Alessandra Biaggi, 36, who ran to his left.

In Manhattan, Suraj Patel, 38, a lawyer, ran an underdog campaign against Ms. Maloney and Mr. Nadler, two septuagenarians who were elected to Congress three decades ago. But his efforts to press a message that it was time for a new generation of leadership fell short against two established leaders. He came in third.^[20]

”

Politico wrote about the effect of the Dobbs decision on the Florida gubernatorial primary:

“

Everything we know about the overturning of Roe v. Wade is that it will likely be a major motivator for Democrats in the fall.

What abortion does not appear to be — given Nikki Fried’s wipeout in the Florida gubernatorial primary on Tuesday night — is singularly determinative.

Fried, the state agriculture commissioner — once heavily promoted as the future of the Democratic Party in the state — had spent much of the primary campaign casting her opponent, Rep. Charlie Crist (D-Fla.), as at best untrustworthy on the issue. Crist, a former Republican governor of the state before morphing into an independent and, eventually, a Democrat, said during his U.S. Senate run in 2010 that he would advocate for “pro-life legislative efforts.”

Even days before this year’s primary, when asked if he was “pro-life,” Crist responded, “I’m for life, aren’t you?” before adding, “I’ve been pro-choice in every single decision I’ve made that affects a women’s right to choose.“

So, what’s more important to Democrats than Roe?

Electability, it seems.^[20]

”

Click here to see stories from previous editions.

August 18, 2022[edit]

Primary results roundup[edit]

Alaska, Hawaii, and Wyoming held primaries over the past week. Here are results from battlegrounds in Alaska and Hawaii.

Before we get into Alaska's results, here’s a refresher: Alaska held top-four primaries for several offices and a ranked-choice special general election for U.S. House on Tuesday. This year's are the first elections under the system voters approved in 2020.

Alaska's special U.S. House election: This race won't be callable until at least Aug. 31, the deadline for mail ballots to arrive for the special election. After all eligible ballots are in, election officials will begin ranked-choice voting tabulation. As of Wednesday, Mary Peltola (D) had 38% of first-choice votes, followed by Sarah Palin (R) with 32% and Nicholas Begich III (R) with 29%. Write-in candidates received votes as well.

In initial rounds of tabulation, last-place finishers will be eliminated, and the votes from people who voted for those candidates will be redistributed to those voters' second-choice candidates (if they ranked someone second). The process continues until one candidate receives a majority of votes.

Al Gross (I) had also advanced from the special top-four primary, but he withdrew from the race in June.

Rep. Don Young (R) died in March. The special election will fill the remainder of Young's term, which ends Jan. 3, 2023. The winner will be sworn in after results are certified. Certification is currently scheduled for Sept. 2.

Alaska's top-four U.S. House primary: Peltola, Begich, and Palin are leading the 22-candidate field with 35%, 31%, and 27%, respectively, as of Wednesday. Tara Sweeney (R) was fourth with 4% and Chris Bye (L) fifth with 1%. This is for the regular two-year term from January 2023-2025.

Alaska Governor top-four primary: Gov. Mike Dunleavy (R) had 42%, and Les Gara (D) and Bill Walker (I) had 22% each as of Wednesday. Charlie Pierce (R) had 7% and Christopher Kurka (R), 4%. Five other candidates ran.

Walker was governor from 2014 to 2018 when Dunleavy was elected. Walker initially ran for re-election in 2018 but withdrew from the race. Gara is a former state House member, and Kurka currently serves in the chamber. Pierce worked as a manager at ENSTAR Natural Gas Company.

Hawaii Governor: Lt. Gov. Joshua Green won against Vicky Cayetano, Kaiali'i Kahele, and four other candidates in the gubernatorial primary on Aug. 13. Green had 63% of the vote to Cayetano's 21% and Kahele's 15%. Incumbent David Ige (D) is term-limited.

Media analysis[edit]

Anchorage Daily News wrote about the challenges Alaska's top three U.S. House candidates have faced and their prospects both in the current elections and in the regular general election:

“

Palin has a devoted following but is also resented by many longtime Alaskans who recall her decision to resign the governorship and become a reality television star. Begich is running with the support of the Alaska Republican Party establishment, but is battling an association with his Democratic uncle, former U.S. Sen. Mark Begich. Either Begich or Palin would have to rely on second-place votes in order to overtake Peltola in the ranked choice tabulation.
…
Matt Shuckerow, a political consultant who has previously worked for Young, said the results put Palin “in the driver’s seat.” If she remains in second position, he said she will likely get a sufficient number of Begich voters’ second-place votes to propel her ahead of Peltola.
…
After results came in Tuesday night, Begich said in a phone call that he remains “really optimistic” about his November run. Peltola’s campaign manager Anton McParland also said they were already looking ahead to November.

Shuckerow said the November election results could be different from the special election results. Turnout is typically significantly higher in November compared to the August primary, which can change both campaign strategies and the makeup of the voters.
…
John-Henry Heckendorn, a political consultant who runs Ship Creek Group, which has advised Peltola’s campaign, said the results are particularly encouraging for the Democrat’s campaign. Rural Alaskans and progressives — two groups that are likely to favor Peltola — have higher turnout in the November election. And Peltola has had less money to spend on getting her name out there, meaning that there are still many voters who aren’t familiar with her, polling suggests, he said.

“Mary has the biggest ceiling of any of the candidates,” Heckendorn said.^[20]

”

New York Times endorses in battleground congressional primaries (and a roundup of other news)[edit]

The New York Times endorsed Dan Goldman in New York's 10th Congressional District, U.S. Rep. Jerry Nadler in the 12th District, and U.S. Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney in the 17th.

City & State New York wrote that the Times' mayoral primary endorsement last year helped Kathryn Garcia, who placed second, win in areas in the redrawn 10th and 12th Districts.

Goldman, lead counsel in the first impeachment proceeding against former President Donald Trump (R), is running alongside U.S. Rep. Mondaire Jones (of the pre-redistricting 17th District), New York City Council member Carlina Rivera, state Assembly member Yuh-Line Niou, and several others.

Nadler is running against U.S. Rep. Carolyn Maloney and Suraj Patel, who challenged Carolyn Maloney in 2018 and 2020.

Sean Patrick Maloney, who chairs the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, is running against state Sen. Alessandra Biaggi in the redrawn 17th.

Here's a roundup of other news in these battleground districts:

In the 10th: * On Aug. 15, Jones and Niou held a joint press conference saying Goldman was trying to buy the seat. Jones referred to Goldman as a conservative Democrat. NY1 reported that Goldman has given his campaign $4 million.

- Goldman said in late July that until campaign finance reform happens, "it is important for us to try to match some of my competitors and level the playing field as a first-time candidate. So I want to spend more time with the voters, so I have agreed to put some of my own money in this race."
An Emerson College poll showed Goldman with 24%, Niou with 18%, Jones with 17%, and Rivera with 15%. The margin of error was +/- 4.3 percentage points.
Six candidates participated in the first televised debate on Aug. 10.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) endorsed Jones.
The Latino Victory Fund endorsed Rivera.
New York City Public Advocate Jumaane Williams (D) endorsed Niou.

In the 12th: * The candidates participated in a debate on Aug. 9.

Sen. Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) endorsed Nadler.
Gloria Steinem endorsed Carolyn Maloney.

And in the 17th: * The Police Benevolent Association (PBA) of the City of New York has spent $416,000 opposing Biaggi. PBA president Patrick Lynch called Biaggi a "privileged New York City radical."

- Biaggi said Sean Patrick Maloney should "immediately condemn pro-Trump Super PAC interference in our Democratic primary."
- Maloney's campaign said, "It is the height of hypocrisy for Alessandra Biaggi to solicit over $100,000 in PAC and dark money support on her behalf, and then attempt to deny others the same right to be heard."
The Working Families Party PAC spent $100,000 on ads supporting Biaggi and criticizing Sean Patrick Maloney for votes the group said were against the Affordable Care Act.
- Maloney said the votes in question "go back to 2013 when the website wasn’t working and I thought people should have a little more time before we fine them."
On Aug. 10, former President Bill Clinton endorsed Maloney.

New York's congressional primaries are Aug. 23.

August 11, 2022[edit]

Primary results roundup[edit]

Connecticut, Minnesota, Vermont, and Wisconsin held primaries on Tuesday. Here are some highlights.

U.S. Senate

Wisconsin U.S. Senate: Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes won the primary with 78% of the vote. As we wrote last week, the three other top candidates withdrew in late July and endorsed Barnes. He'll face incumbent Sen. Ron Johnson (R) in the competitive general election.

U.S. House

Minnesota's 5th District: Rep. Ilhan Omar won with 50% to Don Samuels' 48% as of Wednesday morning. We wrote in March about the conflicts in this primary over police policy and Omar's vote against the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act last year. Omar was first elected in 2018. This is a Safe/Solid Democratic district.

Vermont At-Large District: State Senate President Pro Tempore Becca Balint won with 60% of the vote. Lt. Gov. Molly Gray was second with 36%. Election forecasters view Vermont's lone House district as Safe or Solid Democratic. If she wins in November, Balint would be Vermont's first female and first openly gay member of Congress.

Media analysis[edit]

The Associated Press said Barnes and Johnson are casting one another as extreme and discussed polarization in the state:

“

The Johnson vs. Barnes race will likely be one of the closest watched campaigns of the 2022 cycle. It pits a Republican who has drawn the ire of Democrats for his ties to former President Donald Trump and his adoption of a string of conspiracy theories against a Democrat who holds several progressive positions that Republicans believe make him out of step with most Wisconsin voters.

Although Johnson and Barnes are political opposites, they have already begun using strikingly similar language to define the other, calling one another “out of touch,” extreme and someone out of line with the state’s voters.

Wisconsin is one of the two Senate seats up this cycle that is currently held by Republicans in a state President Joe Biden won in 2020. The state has been a political hotbed ever since the 2011 fights over union bargaining rights, leading the electorate in the state to be polarized long before the 2016 election of Trump.^[20]

”

CNN wrote about the conflict between Omar and Samuels:

“

Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar survived a primary challenge Tuesday, CNN projected -- but barely, and the narrow result could encourage critics of the progressive "squad" member to try again in two years.

Omar, who is running for a third term in Minnesota's 5th Congressional District, held off a primary challenge from former Minneapolis City Councilman Don Samuels and three other Democratic primary candidates.

Samuels had run as a pro-police critic of Omar's calls to "defund the police." Samuels and his wife successfully sued the city of Minneapolis to force it to increase police staffing levels to the 741 officers required by the city's charter.

Momentum behind what had been widely seen as a long-shot challenge built after Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey endorsed Samuels last week. He was also backed by building trades unions, several suburban mayors and more moderate DFL leaders. His close call could inspire another effort to oust Omar in 2024.

Omar's victory comes the week after two other liberal members of the "squad," Missouri Rep. Cori Bush and Michigan Rep. Rashida Tlaib, also beat back primary challenges.^[20]

”

Recent polling and friction in NY-12[edit]

A recent Emerson College poll in New York's 12th Congressional District primary showed Rep. Jerry Nadler with 40% to Rep. Carolyn Maloney's 31%. Suraj Patel was third with 11%, and 17% were undecided. The poll's margin of error was +/- 3 percentage points.

As we wrote previously, Nadler and Maloney have both served in the House since 1993 and are running against one another due to redistricting. Patel challenged Maloney in 2018 and 2020.

At an Aug. 2 debate, the candidates largely agreed on current policy issues while responding differently to the question of whether President Joe Biden should run for re-election. Patel said, "Yes." Nadler said it was "too early to say." Maloney said, "I don't believe he's running for re-election." (Maloney later said she'll support Biden if he runs.)

Other responses showed friction between the candidates. According to Politico,

“

Nadler and Maloney, who call each other friends despite their current rivalry, at times teamed up against Patel, though the long-time Upper West Side congressman pointed to policy differences he’s had with his House colleague.

He opposed both the U.S. invasion into Iraq and the post-Sept. 11 PATRIOT Act, both of which she supported; he embraced America’s Iran nuclear deal, which she opposed.^[20]

”

Patel said that "1990s Democrats have lost almost every major battle to Mitch McConnell and Republicans. Trumpism is on the rise, even if we defeated Trump. … To defeat it, we need people with new ideas and energy."

Patel criticized Maloney's 2012 comments about a possible link between vaccines and autism. Maloney said she regrets her past questioning and that she worked to increase COVID-19 vaccination rates in her district. Patel also criticized Nadler for endorsing Maloney in 2020 in light of her previous comments. Nadler said Maloney was a better candidate than Patel in 2020 and still is.

The primary is Aug. 23.

DCCC ad spending an issue in NY-17[edit]

Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) chair Sean Patrick Maloney is facing criticism from primary challenger Alessandra Biaggi and Democratic elected officials over the DCCC's ad spending in Michigan's 3rd Congressional District, where Rep. Peter Meijer (R) lost to John Gibbs in last week's Republican primary.

Before the primary, the DCCC spent $450,000 on an ad calling Gibbs "too conservative for West Michigan" and highlighting Trump's endorsement of Gibbs. Politico wrote that Democrats see Gibbs as an easier candidate to beat than Meijer in the general election.

Maloney represents New York's 18th Congressional District and is running in the redrawn 17th against Biaggi.

On July 27, Biaggi said Maloney was "wasting valuable Democratic resources by investing in far-right Republicans instead of funding Democratic candidates. This is a dangerous investment and asymmetric risk. Just a few years ago, many Democrats also wrongly believed Donald Trump winning the Republican primary would ensure a Democratic Presidential victory -- and they were sorely mistaken."

Maloney campaign spokesperson Mia Ehrenberg said, "Unlike his primary opponent, Congressman Maloney has experience winning tough elections in a Trump district and reaching swing voters, which is why he was chosen by his peers to lead the DCCC during this critical moment. Just as he’s won close elections in the past, he will lead the party to victory this November."

Maloney more recently responded to criticism from Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) about the Gibbs ad: "It’s flat wrong to say that we were promoting an election denier. We were attacking an election denier."

Reps. Stephanie Murphy (D-Fla.), Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), and Kathleen Rice (D-N.Y.) are among Democratic House members who've criticized the DCCC ad. In addition, 35 former Democratic members of Congress and governors signed a letter saying, "The DCCC should never be working on Trump’s side in Republican primaries to bolster and promote a candidate who undermines our constitution and democratic system."

DCCC spokesperson Helen Kalla said, "Kevin McCarthy is an anti-choice insurrectionist coddler and conspiracy enabler, and we will do what it takes to keep the speaker’s gavel out of his hands."

New York's U.S. House and state Senate primaries are on Aug. 23.

August 4, 2022[edit]

Primary results roundup[edit]

Arizona, Kansas, Michigan, Missouri, and Washington held statewide primaries on Tuesday. Ohio held state legislative primaries. We followed two battleground Democratic primaries in Michigan closely.

Michigan's 11th District: U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens defeated U.S. Rep. Andy Levin 60%-40%, according to results available Wednesday morning.

This race was one of six incumbent-vs.-incumbent House primaries, and one of four featuring two Democratic incumbents, because of redistricting. Michigan lost one congressional district following the 2020 census. According to Daily Kos data, the redrawn 11th contains about 45% of the old 11th, which Stevens has represented since 2019. The new 11th contains about 25% of the old 9th District, which Levin has represented since 2019.

Levin is one of 10 House incumbents, and one of four Democrats, who ran for re-election and lost in primaries this year. Two of the other defeated Democratic incumbents lost to fellow incumbents. In 2020, eight incumbents lost primaries, including three Democrats.

Stevens' backers included Hillary Clinton, Planned Parenthood Action Fund, and the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC). Levin had endorsements from U.S. Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and J Street.

Michigan's 12th District: Incumbent Rashida Tlaib defeated three candidates. Based on results as of Wednesday morning, Tlaib received 64% of the vote and Janice Winfrey finished second with 20%.

Tlaib represents Michigan's old 13th Congressional District and ran in the redrawn 12th. U.S. Rep. Debbie Dingell (D), the old 12th District's representative, ran in the redrawn 6th District.

Tlaib was first elected to Congress in 2018. Winfrey is Detroit's city clerk. According to election forecasters, this is a safe Democratic district.

Media analysis[edit]

CNN discussed Stevens' win as a loss for progressives and a win for AIPAC:

“

Rep. Haley Stevens' projected Democratic primary victory in Michigan's newly drawn 11th Congressional District over fellow Rep. Andy Levin marks another blow against progressives in what has been a mostly disappointing primary season.

It's also a resounding victory for the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, or AIPAC, and its super PAC, United Democracy Project, which has spent millions backing moderate, more staunchly pro-Israel candidates in Democratic primaries.

Stevens and Levin are both supportive of Israel, but Levin -- who is Jewish -- has been more willing to criticize its government's treatment of Palestinians and is the lead sponsor of the Two-State Solution Act.

Progressive Democrats, frequently targeted by AIPAC spending this primary season, have fumed at fellow Democrats for accepting or courting support from the group, which has also contributed to Republican election deniers. AIPAC has defended the practice, arguing that its policy goals need bipartisan support.

J Street, a liberal pro-Israel group that has clashed with AIPAC, tried to boost Levin with a $700,000 July ad buy, but that sum paled in comparison to the millions bundled by AIPAC and more than $4 million spend by UDP.^[20]

”

Al Jazeera's Ali Harb wrote about Tlaib's win in the context of a satellite group supporting one of her opponents and of Tlaib's 2021 infrastructure bill vote:

“

US Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib has all but secured re-election after comfortably fending off primary challengers and an advertising campaign by a pro-Israel group. … The American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), a lobbying group, has been spending millions of dollars to defeat progressives critical of Israel, but it did not interfere in the Tlaib race.

However, a new pro-Israel group called the Urban Empowerment Action (UEA) PAC (political action committee) spent nearly $700,000 backing Winfrey, according to Open Secrets, a website that tracks US election spending. … The congresswoman’s detractors often slam her criticism of Israel as a US ally and question her loyalty to the mainstream Democratic Party and President Joe Biden. Tlaib was one of six progressive House Democrats to vote against the $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill that Biden signed into law last November.

Progressives – and at some point Biden himself – wanted the bill to pass simultaneously with the president’s now-doomed Build Back Better social spending agenda, priced at $1.75 trillion.

Tlaib and her fellow progressives had hoped to use the vote on the infrastructure bill as leverage to convince conservative Democrats to advance the Build Back Better package.

But the congresswoman’s “no” vote on the infrastructure legislation became one of the main points of criticism against her in the primary race.^[20]

”

Vermont's U.S. Senators weigh in on House primary[edit]

The winner of Vermont's lone U.S. House race in November will become part of the state's three-member congressional delegation, along with two U.S. senators. Both senators have weighed in on the Democratic primary.

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) endorsed state Sen. Becca Balint in the House primary and appeared at rallies with her in Burlington, Montpelier, and Rutland over the weekend. Sanders told VTDigger, "[I]t’s imperative that we have people in Washington who are prepared to think outside of status quo thinking, who are prepared to stand up to very powerful special interests who dominate the economic and political life of this country. And I think Becca will be one of those people."

Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), who has not made an official endorsement, said he voted early for Lt. Gov. Molly Gray in the House primary: "While I think highly of both of the leading candidates, I voted for Molly Gray because I believe her experience is well suited to the job. … Her work in Congress, her legal training, her deep connections to Vermont communities."

A recent University of New Hampshire poll showed Balint leading Gray 63% to 21%. The poll's margin of error was +/- 5 percentage points.

Sianay Chase Clifford, a former staffer for U.S. Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.), withdrew from the primary last month. The Vermont Progressive Party had endorsed Chase Clifford.

Chase Clifford said, "I really wanted to be able to tell the story that you don't need to do this with a lot of money and that regular people should be able to do this. … Unfortunately, what is really kind of sick and twisted about electoral politics is if that's your message, you still need money to be able to share that message."

Balint and Gray reported raising more than $1 million as of July 20. Chase Clifford had $21,000.

The primary is Aug. 9.

July 21, 2022[edit]

De Blasio drops out of NY-10 as poll shows a plurality of voters still undecided[edit]

Former New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio dropped out of New York's 10th Congressional District primary on Wednesday, saying, "It’s clear the people of #NY10 are looking for another option and I respect that. Time for me to leave electoral politics and focus on other ways to serve."

A recent independent Data for Progress poll of likely primary voters showed a plurality of voters—27%—undecided. New York City Council member Carlina Rivera had 17% in the poll, state Assemblymember Yuh-Line Niou had 14%, and prosecutor Daniel Goldman had 12%. Next were former U.S. Rep. Elizabeth Holtzman (9%), state Assemblymember Jo Anne Simon (8%), and current 17th District U.S. Rep. Mondaire Jones (7%).

The poll's margin of error is +/- 4 percentage points.

10th District incumbent Rep. Jerry Nadler is running in New York’s 12th this year, where he'll face Rep. Carolyn Maloney in the Democratic primary.

The primary is Aug. 23.

Former Rep. Nita Lowey backs Sean Patrick Maloney in NY-17[edit]

Over in New York's redrawn 17th District, former U.S. Rep. Nita Lowey (D) endorsed Sean Patrick Maloney. Lowey retired in 2021 after serving in the House since 1989. Maloney chairs the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, and Lowey served as the committee's first female chair from 2001 to 2003.

Daily Kos wrote, "Almost three-quarters of the new 17th's denizens live within the boundaries of the seat Lowey held until last year." Incumbent Mondaire Jones chose to run in the redrawn 10th after Maloney announced he was running in the 17th. Maloney currently represents 25% of the new 17th.

State Sen. Alessandra Biaggi is running in the primary. Her endorsers include Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) and The Working Families Party (which had endorsed Maloney when he was running in a different district, as we wrote last month). Maloney has endorsements from several local officials and the New York AFL-CIO.

July 14, 2022[edit]

Endorsement updates: Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton weigh in on House primaries[edit]

We wrote last week that Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) endorsed Andy Levin over Haley Stevens in Michigan's 11th Congressional District incumbent-vs.-incumbent primary. On July 7, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton endorsed Stevens.

In Michigan's 2016 Democratic presidential primary, Sanders defeated Clinton 49.8% to 48.3%.

We also wrote last week about endorsements in Vermont's U.S. House primary. On July 6, Sanders endorsed Becca Balint.

Super PACs focused on Israel spend for Edwards, Ivey in MD-04[edit]

Two super PACs focused on Israel policy are spending for different candidates in Maryland's 4th Congressional District primary.

The United Democracy Project, affiliated with the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), has spent $3 million supporting former Prince George's County state attorney Glenn Ivey and opposing former U.S. Rep. Donna Edwards. J Street Action Fund will spend $600,000 supporting Edwards and opposing Ivey.

A United Democracy Project ad said, "Donna Edwards had a poor reputation for constituent services." It cited an Inside Gov rating: "Edwards was rated one of the least effective members of Congress. Dead last among all Democrats."

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D) responded to the ad in a video last month, saying Edwards "was one of the most effective members in Congress" and that she "fought … for jobs and investments in her community, to help constituents in need, and to deliver results." The video became an Edwards campaign ad.

Edwards represented the 4th Congressional District from 2008 to 2017.

A J Street ad criticizes Ivey's AIPAC support, saying, "he's taking cash from a group supporting 109 Republicans who tried to overturn Biden's election."

AIPAC said earlier this year, "We have friends who are pro-choice and pro-life, those who are liberal on immigration and those who want to tighten our borders, and yes, those who disagree strongly on issues surrounding the 2020 presidential election. … This is no moment for the pro-Israel movement to become selective about its friends."

According to Open Secrets data, United Democracy Project has spent $15.8 million this cycle, all of which went toward supporting or opposing Democratic candidates. Open Secrets has recorded $349,000 in spending from J Street Action Fund so far.

United Democracy Project says it is "comprised of American citizens—Democrats, Republicans and Independents—united in the belief that America’s partnership with our democratic ally Israel benefits both countries."

J Street says it "organizes pro-Israel, pro-peace Americans to promote US policies that embody our deeply held Jewish and democratic values and that help secure the State of Israel as a democratic homeland for the Jewish people."

The primary is July 19.

July 7, 2022[edit]

Sanders endorses Levin over Stevens, criticizes PAC spending in Michigan[edit]

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) endorsed Rep. Andy Levin in Michigan's 11th Congressional District, where Levin faces Rep. Haley Stevens in the primary due to redistricting. Sanders said Levin is "the only Democrat in the race who understands that we must be a party of the working class. He’s taking on right wing-funded super PACs[.]"

This is one of four incumbent-vs.-incumbent Democratic primaries this year and the only one Sanders has endorsed in.

The super PAC Sanders referred to is the United Democracy Project, which is affiliated with the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC). Sanders said, "these extremists are pouring millions of dollars into a congressional race to try to ensure the Democratic Party advances the agenda of powerful corporations and the billionaire class."

We wrote about some of the PAC's donors last month. The PAC is running an ad supporting Stevens and has spent more than $900,000 in the 11th District.

The Detroit Regional Chamber’s PAC recently endorsed Stevens, along with Rep. Peter Meijer (R) in the 3rd District. The PAC said, "With two qualified candidates and friends of the Chamber in the race for the 11th district, this decision came down to who is more pro-growth and job creation-friendly."

EMILY's List's super PAC Women Vote! spent more than $800,000 on a TV ad buy in the district supporting Stevens.

Sanders also recently endorsed Rep. Rashida Tlaib, who's running in the 12th District primary. The super PAC Urban Empowerment Action is spending in that district supporting Janice Winfrey and says its supporters "include a broad coalition of African American business, political and civic leaders, working alongside peers in the Jewish community." Sanders criticized the PAC's involvement in the race. See our story from last month for more on this primary.

Michigan's primaries are on Aug. 2.

Progressive Change Campaign Committee endorses Balint for U.S. House in Vermont[edit]

The Progressive Change Campaign Committee endorsed Becca Balint in Vermont's U.S. House primary.

Balint is state Senate president pro tempore. She faces Lt. Gov. Molly Gray, physician Louis Meyers, and Sianay Chase Clifford, a former staffer for Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.). Former candidate and state Sen. Kesha Ram Hinsdale withdrew in May and endorsed Balint.

VTDigger wrote, "Like Balint and Ram Hinsdale, Gray has signed on to some of the national progressive movement’s signature platforms, including Medicare for All and the Green New Deal. But she is nevertheless increasingly viewed as the establishment pick."

WCAX said endorsements will be important as voters seek to distinguish the candidates:

“

Balint is seen as further left on the scale, earning the seal of approval from congressional Progressive Caucus Chair Pramila Jayapal and several labor unions.

But she has also won endorsements from more moderate voices, too-- Treasurer Beth Pearce, former Democratic Party chair Dotty Deans and the Vermont State Firefighters’ Association.

Typically, party figureheads such as Sen. Patrick Leahy and Congressman Peter Welch stay out of the primaries to not tip the scales. But many of their close political allies have come out in support of Molly Gray, along with former Govs. Howard Dean and Madeleine Kunin. That’s in addition to the Vermont State Employees’ Association, in an effort to cast herself as the more pragmatic pick.

Former congressional staffer Sianay Chase Clifford has been endorsed by Vermont’s Progressive Party.^[20]

”

Balint also sought the Vermont Progressive Party's endorsement.

Welch, the current at-large House district representative, is running for U.S. Senate. Leahy is retiring.

The primary is Aug. 9.

June 30, 2022[edit]

Primary results roundup[edit]

Colorado, Illinois, Oklahoma, and Utah held statewide primaries on Tuesday. New York held primaries for statewide offices and state House districts, and Mississippi and South Carolina held primary runoffs. The results below were current as of Wednesday morning.

Big story of the night: Casten defeats Newman in IL-06[edit]

Illinois' 6th District: Rep. Sean Casten defeated Rep. Marie Newman and Charles Hughes. Casten received 68% to Newman's 29%. Three forecasters rate the general election as Lean or Likely Democratic.

Newman represents Illinois' current 3rd Congressional District and Casten represents the 6th. According to political researcher Frank Calabrese, 41% of constituents in the redrawn 6th come from Newman’s district and 23% come from Casten's.

Casten was first elected in 2018 when he defeated six-term incumbent Rep. Peter Roskam (R). Newman was first elected in 2020 after defeating Rep. Dan Lipinski (D) in the primary.

Newman is one of eight House members who sought re-election and lost so far this year. Another, Rodney Davis (R), lost in Illinois' 3rd on Tuesday in another incumbent-vs.-incumbent primary. Four primaries featuring multiple incumbents have taken place so far, and two are upcoming.

Other marquee primary results[edit]

U.S. House

Illinois' 3rd District: Delia Ramirez defeated three other candidates with 66% of the vote. Gilbert Villegas was second with 24%. Rep. Marie Newman (D), the old 3rd District's representative, ran for re-election in the 6th District.

Illinois' 7th District: Incumbent Danny K. Davis defeated two other candidates with 52% of the vote. Kina Collins was second with 45%. Three forecasters rate the general election as Safe or Solid Democratic.

Illinois' 8th District: Incumbent Raja Krishnamoorthi defeated Junaid Ahmed 71% to 29%. Three forecasters rate the general election as Safe or Solid Democratic.

Illinois' 17th District: Eric Sorensen defeated five other candidates with 38% of the vote. Litesa Wallace was second with 23%. Rep. Cheri Bustos (D) did not run for re-election. Three forecasters rate the general election as a Toss-up or Tilt Democratic.

State executives

New York Governor: Incumbent Kathy Hochul won. Hochul had 66% of the vote. New York City Public Advocate Jumaane Williams was second with 19% and U.S. Rep. Tom Suozzi was third with 13%. Hochul, formerly lieutenant governor, succeeded Andrew Cuomo (D) after he resigned last year.

Media analysis[edit]

Roll Call wrote about fundraising, satellite spending, endorsements, and more in Illinois' 6th District primary:

“

Casten, who flipped a GOP seat in the 2018 blue wave, outraised Newman, hauling in $3.2 million this cycle to her $1.5 million. … Most of the outside money in the race went to oppose Newman, federal election reports showed. The biggest outside spender in the 6th District was the pro-Israel DMFI PAC, which invested more than $500,000, nearly all going to opposition to Newman. Although Casten and Newman have had similar voting records during the 117th Congress, Newman voted against funding for an Israeli defense system known as Iron Dome.

In the final weeks of the campaign, Casten’s family suffered the death of the congressman’s daughter, and he limited his public appearances.

Though Newman had fresh experience winning a Democratic primary, the circumstances this cycle were different from 2020, when she alone had the support of abortion rights groups in the effort to unseat Lipinski in the 3rd District. This year, Casten and Newman both were endorsed by such groups as Planned Parenthood. … Newman faced ethics questions after winning her seat but said those matters were a nonissue on the trail.^[20]

”

Working Families Party, firearm regulation advocate endorse in NY-10[edit]

The New York Working Families Party (NYWFP) endorsed state Assemblywoman Yuh-Line Niou in New York’s 10th Congressional District primary. Several other candidates in this primary have gotten WFP backing in the past.

In 2020, NYWFP endorsed Niou in her state Assembly race. NYWFP endorsed several other current 10th District candidates in their previous bids for other offices, including U.S. Rep. Mondaire Jones (who ran in the 17th District in 2020), state Assemblywoman Jo Anne Simon, state Sen. Brad Hoylman, New York City Council member Carlina Rivera, and former New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio.

In other endorsement news, Jackie Rowe-Adams, the founder of gun violence prevention nonprofit Harlem Mothers S.A.V.E., endorsed prosecutor Daniel Goldman. Goldman was House Democrats' counsel during former President Donald Trump's (R) first impeachment.

10th District incumbent Rep. Jerry Nadler is running in New York’s 12th this year, where he'll face Rep. Carolyn Maloney in the Democratic primary.

New York's congressional primaries are Aug. 23.

June 23, 2022[edit]

SEIU endorses Cherfilus-McCormick over Holness in switch from 2021[edit]

The Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Florida chapter endorsed Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick in Florida's 20th Congressional District, where she's in a rematch with several candidates who ran in the 2021 special Democratic primary. That includes Dale Holness, who the SEIU backed last year. Cherfilus-McCormick defeated Holness by five votes in the 2021 special primary.

The South Florida Sun-Sentinel's Anthony Man wrote, "SEIU mobilizes lots of campaign workers, easily recognizable by their trademark purple shirts, and can provide money. In the final days of the 2021 special primary campaign, expenditure reports filed with the Federal Election Commission showed the Service Employees International Union spent about $100,000 on behalf of Holness."

Holness said when announcing his rematch bid for the district, "Families are hurting these days as the costs of everyday necessities — including housing, childcare, healthcare, gas, and groceries — continue to rise but wages fail to keep up. … Our communities deserve a champion with experience and follow-through to build a stronger, healthier future for all of us."

Cherfilus-McCormick said within her first 30 days in office, she cast important votes including for the COMPETES Act, which she said would contain inflation and "bolster American independence and self-sufficiency in manufacturing." Cherfilus-McCormick said she is "the first Democrat of Haitian descent elected to Congress, and I am here to bring that voice and understanding and cultural competency of being a Caribbean, being a woman and representing a district full of minorities."

Eight candidates are running in the Aug. 23 primary, five of whom ran in 2021.

SEIU Florida announced its endorsement as part of a slate of more than 60 candidates, including Charlie Crist in the gubernatorial primary.

U.S. Rep. Nydia Velázquez endorses Carlina Rivera in NY-10 primary[edit]

On June 16, U.S. Rep. Nydia Velázquez (D-N.Y.) endorsed New York City Council member Carlina Rivera in the Democratic primary for New York’s 10th Congressional District. Rivera is one of 17 candidates running in the Democratic primary.

Rep. Jerry Nadler (D) represents the current 10th District. Due to redistricting, Nadler is running in the 12th District against Rep. Carolyn Maloney. Rep. Mondaire Jones (D-17) is running in the redrawn 10th District on a ballot that includes former New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, state Assemblywoman Yuh-Line Niou, and former U.S. Rep. Elizabeth Holtzman.

Velázquez is the fourth current member of Congress to endorse in the race so far. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), Mark Pocan (D-Wis.), and Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) endorsed Jones in late May.

Velázquez said, "I’m sorry, why didn’t [Jones] run in the district that is a 9-plus Biden district?" The New York Times said she was referring to the 17th District.

Jones' campaign spokesman Bill Neidhardt said, "Rep. Jones refused to primary fellow Black progressive Rep. Jamaal Bowman when his residence was drawn into Bowman’s district. … He also wanted to avoid a member-on-member primary with Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney," who is running in the redrawn 17th.

New York's U.S. House primaries are on Aug. 23.

Updates in IL-03: Satellite spending and candidate surveys[edit]

Illinois' 3rd Congressional District primary has seen around $2 million in satellite spending supporting two candidates: state Rep. Delia Ramirez and Chicago Alderman Gil Villegas.

VoteVets Action Fund has spent nearly $1 million supporting Villegas and opposing Ramirez. A recent ad criticized Ramirez for joining a statement in 2020 calling to "defund the Chicago Police Department immediately."

Ramirez said in April, "I'm not the 'Defund the police' candidate. I actually helped secure $200 million for violence prevention and pension benefits for police and firefighters."

The satellite spenders supporting Ramirez include the Working Families Party and the Congressional Progressive Caucus PAC. The Working Families Party has run ads saying Ramirez will support Medicare for All and abortion access and that Villegas helped send COVID relief funds to the Chicago police.

All four primary candidates have filled out Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey. Here are excerpts from candidates' responses to the question: What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about? * Juan Aguirre: "Anti-Corruption legislation as well as legislation to end corporate America’s [exploitation] of the working class AND the nursing profession."

Iymen Chehade: "[Chehade] proposes an ambitious Marshall Plan for the United States, inspired by the post-World War II rebuilding of Europe."
Delia Ramirez: "Affordable Housing - Delia grew up volunteering at her church’s homeless shelter and became the Director of a homeless services agency at 21 years old."
Gil Villegas: "Public Safety … Families have a right to feel safe and secure in their own neighborhood, but crime is completely out of control. Enough is enough."

Click here to read the candidates' full responses to this and other questions. The district was drawn as a plurality-Latino district after the 2020 census. Rep. Marie Newman (D), the old 3rd District's representative, is running in the 6th District. The primaries are on June 28.

United Democracy Project gets half of May donations from major GOP donors[edit]

Politico Weekly Score wrote that the "second-biggest-spending group in Democratic primaries this year was financed last month by major Republican megadonors," referring to United Democracy Project and donors Paul Singer and Bernard Marcus. The super PAC, affiliated with the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), reported $1 million in donations each from Singer and Marcus in May.

United Democracy Project has spent exclusively in U.S. House Democratic primaries this year, including Texas' 28th (opposing Jessica Cisneros) and Ohio's 11th (supporting Shontel Brown and opposing Nina Turner). The group recently released an ad opposing former Rep. Donna Edwards in Maryland's 4th Congressional District primary, which takes place on July 19.

The United Democracy Project website says the group is "comprised of American citizens—Democrats, Republicans and Independents—united in the belief that America’s partnership with our democratic ally Israel benefits both countries."

According to Open Secrets, the highest-spending group in this cycle's Democratic primaries so far is Protect Our Future PAC at $19.9 million. United Democracy Project has spent $9.9 million. The third-highest is Democratic Majority for Israel at $5.8 million.

June 16, 2022[edit]

Primary results roundup[edit]

Maine, Nevada, North Dakota, and South Carolina held primaries on June 14. Alaska also held its top-four special House primary on June 11. Here's what went down in this week's marquee races.

Nevada's 1st: Incumbent Dina Titus defeated Amy Vilela. As of Wednesday morning, Titus led Vilela 82%-18%. Titus has represented the 1st since 2013 and represented the 3rd from 2009 to 2011. Vilela was Nevada co-chair of Sen. Bernie Sanders' 2020 presidential campaign.

Titus said, "I’ve used my voice to provide resources for those who need it most." Titus contrasted her approach to Vilela's: "I am a progressive, but I don't believe in defunding the police. I'm for Medicare for all, but you've got to do it in a step-by-step process."

Vilela described herself as a progressive Democrat and supported Medicare for All and the Green New Deal. Vilela said, "Time and time again, [Titus] has never faced a serious threat to her re-election from either party. With that kind of security, she has the opportunity to be a leading voice for bold, real progress. But she's declined to do so."

Election forecasters rate the general election Toss-up or Lean Democratic.

Alaska's U.S. House special: Saturday's special primary election for Alaska's At-Large Congressional District remains uncalled. The four candidates with the most votes will advance to the Aug. 16 special general election, which will use ranked-choice voting. As of election night, Sarah Palin (R) had 29.8% of the vote, Nicholas Begich III (R) had 19.3%, Al Gross (I) had 12.5%, Mary Peltola (D) had 7.5%, and Tara Sweeney (R) had 5.3%. The 43 other candidates each had under 5%. The final ballot count is scheduled for June 21. The primary was conducted mainly through mail-in ballots, which had to be postmarked by June 11. Click here for the most up-to-date results.

Working Families Party withdraws Maloney endorsement, backs Biaggi in NY-17[edit]

The Working Families Party of New York has revoked its endorsement of Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee chair Sean Patrick Maloney in New York's 17th Congressional District. The party is now endorsing state Sen. Alessandra Biaggi.

The party endorsed Maloney in March, before a special master redrew the congressional district map and Maloney switched from the 18th District to the 17th. Rep. Mondaire Jones represents the current 17th District and moved his re-election bid to the new 10th District.

Politico wrote, "The endorsement gives Biaggi access to arguably the state’s largest grassroots mobilization operation. The WFP’s canvassers have repeatedly helped topple well-tenured incumbents — including in the 2018 primaries, when Biaggi ousted former Independent Democratic Conference leader Sen. Jeff Klein in a district that stretches across the Bronx and Westchester County."

Biaggi said, "We were in an underdog situation — similar to the way we are here — and we won."

Maloney's communications director Mia Ehrenberg said, "On the ground in the 17th, local leaders have made it overwhelmingly clear that they trust and support Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney."

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) recently endorsed Biaggi, and the Communication Workers of America District 1 backed Maloney. The primary is Aug. 23.

Biaggi was running in the 3rd District before the map redraw. Rep. Tom Suozzi (D), who is running for governor, represents the current 3rd.

Over in the gubernatorial primary, The New York Times recently endorsed incumbent Gov. Kathy Hochul (D). That primary is June 28.

June 9, 2022[edit]

Working Families Party backs Nadler over Maloney in NY-12[edit]

The Working Families Party (WFP) of New York endorsed Rep. Jerry Nadler over Rep. Carolyn Maloney in New York's 12th Congressional District.

We wrote in March that the WFP endorsed Rana Abdelhamid over Maloney in the 12th. That was before a special master redrew the state's congressional district map, resulting in Nadler and Maloney running in the same district and Abdelhamid withdrawing from the race.

New York uses fusion voting. More than one political party can support the same candidate, and that candidate appears on the same ballot multiple times under different party lines (for example, the Democratic Party and the Working Families Party).

Both Nadler and Maloney are campaigning as progressives and are members of the House Progressive Caucus.

In other New York endorsement news, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) endorsed state Sen. Alessandra Biaggi against Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney, chair of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, in New York's 17th.

The primaries are Aug. 23.

The first-ever top-four congressional primary is on Saturday[edit]

Alaska will conduct the first top-four congressional primary in U.S. history on June 11—a special U.S. House primary election held in the wake of former Rep. Don Young's (R) death.

The special general election will be on Aug. 16, the same day as the regular primary election. The special election winner will serve until Jan. 2023, when the regular election winner—if someone different—will take office for a full two-year term.

Forty-eight candidates are on the special election ballot. The regular primary features 31 candidates, including 24 who are also running in the special election. All primary candidates for each election run on the same ballot with their affiliation listed next to their names. On the special primary ballot are:

22 candidates running as nonpartisan or undeclared
16 Republicans
6 Democrats
2 Libertarians
1 American Independent Party member
1 Alaskan Independence Party member

Here's the sample ballot from the Alaska Division of Elections:

As we wrote last month, an Alaska Survey Research poll found former governor and 2008 vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin (R), Nick Begich III (R), and 2020 U.S. Senate candidate Al Gross (I) in the top three spots. A cluster of independents, Democrats, and Republicans were tied within the margin of error for fourth.

The New York Times' Emily Cochrane wrote, "Most observers here believe that Mr. Young’s seat is likely to remain in Republican hands given the state’s conservative slant, but the new ranked-choice system, which tends to advantage candidates in the center, could upend the conventional wisdom."

Young was first elected Alaska's U.S. representative in 1973, when he defeated Emil Notti (D) in a special election. Notti is running in the 2022 special primary election. Young also ran for the House in 1972, when Nick Begich Sr. (D) defeated him. Begich Sr. is Begich III's grandfather.

Alaska voters approved the top-four primary/ranked-choice voting general election system via ballot measure in 2020. Maine is the only other state that uses ranked-choice voting for federal and state-level elections, though several other states have jurisdictions that use the voting system. Learn more here.

June 2, 2022[edit]

New PAC will spend $1 million supporting Tlaib challenger[edit]

The recently formed Urban Empowerment Action PAC plans to spend more than $1 million on ads supporting Detroit City Clerk Janice Winfrey in Michigan's 12th Congressional District Democratic primary. Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D), who currently represents the 13th District, is seeking re-election in the 12th. Tlaib represents 61% of the new 12th's population.

The PAC says its supporters "include a broad coalition of African American business, political and civic leaders, working alongside peers in the Jewish community" and that it is "dedicated to empowering urban communities to narrow the wealth gap between Black and white Americans."

Former South Carolina state Rep. Bakari Sellers, who has raised money for the PAC, told Politico, "Congresswoman Tlaib voted against the infrastructure bill. Coming from South Carolina, I can tell you that I understand in our communities, that the return on that investment is so high. And we want someone, particularly in these Black communities, that does not get distracted by shiny things or media opportunities, but is focused on the uplift of our communities and does right by them."

Tlaib was one of six House Democrats to vote against the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. Tlaib said she did so because the House voted on it before the Build Back Better Act: "It was a promise that was made to move both bills together, because much of some of the poison pills in the infrastructure bill that increased dirty air issues around climate and some of the other privatization and fossil fuel language was combatted in Build Back Better." Tlaib also said the infrastructure bill was Democrats' leverage for passing Build Back Better.

Sellers also said Tlaib's comments on Israel are "high up on the list" of reasons the PAC is supporting Winfrey. As we wrote in January, Tlaib voted against funding for Israel's Iron Dome defense system in September 2021, saying, "I will not support an effort to enable and support war crimes, human rights abuses and violence. The Israeli government is an apartheid regime."

We discussed primary challenger and state Rep. Shanelle Jackson's criticisms of Tlaib's stance on Israel in that issue.

Tlaib spokesperson Denzel McCampbell said of the PAC's support for Winfrey, "If our opponent truly does care about our democracy, I hope that she will immediately disavow and condemn this type of Big Money attack on our democracy that only seeks to mislead voters and distort reality."

Retweeting a story about the PAC's involvement in the primary, Winfrey wrote, "I’m so grateful and excited to serve the ENTIRE 12th District."

The primary is on Aug. 2.

First polls released in NY U.S. House primaries[edit]

Last week, Emerson College released polls for New York’s 10th and 12th congressional districts. As we wrote last week, a special master redrew the state's congressional districts, and a state court approved the new map on May 20.

In the 10th District, the poll found 77% of respondents undecided. U.S. Rep. Mondaire Jones (currently of the 17th District) received 7% support, former New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio had 6%, state Asm. Yuh-Line Niou had 5%, and New York City Councilmember Carlina Rivera had 3%.

Former U.S. Rep. Elizabeth Holtzman, who served from 1973 to 1981, has also announced a bid for the 10th.

In the 12th District, U.S. Reps. Carolyn Maloney and Jerry Nadler are running against each other. Maloney led Nadler 31% to 21% in the poll, with 36% of respondents undecided. Both representatives were first elected in 1992. Maloney chairs the Oversight and Government Reform Committee. Nadler chairs the Judiciary Committee.

Both polls had a margin of error of +/- 4.3 percentage points.

To see the state's new congressional district map, click here.

May 26, 2022[edit]

Primary results roundup[edit]

Alabama, Arkansas, and Georgia held their primaries on Tuesday. Texas also held primary runoffs for races in which no candidate received a majority of the vote on March 1.

The big stories of the night: Cuellar-Cisneros matchup TBD, McBath defeats Bourdeaux in GA-07[edit]

Texas' 28th runoff: The primary runoff between incumbent Henry Cuellar and Jessica Cisneros is too close to call. Cuellar led 50.2%-49.8%, with fewer than 200 votes separating the candidates. Mailed ballots postmarked by Tuesday and received by 5 p.m. Wednesday could be counted.

Under state law, candidates may request a recount if the margin of victory is less than 10% of the winning candidate's vote total. That'd be a little more than 2,200 votes for this race, based on results as of Thursday morning. Candidates must request a recount within five days after election day or two days after the canvass.

Cuellar's backers included House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.), and the Congressional Hispanic Caucus. Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) were among Cisneros' endorsers. The San Antonio Express-News editorial board, which backed Cuellar in the 2020 primary, endorsed Cisneros this year.

Georgia's 7th: Rep. Lucy McBath defeated Rep. Carolyn Bourdeaux and Donna McLeod. McBath received 63% of the vote, Bourdeaux was second with 31%, and McLeod was third with 6%. Bourdeaux and McBath ran in the same primary due to redistricting. There will be no runoff because McBath won more than 50% of the vote.

Bourdeaux is the third U.S. House incumbent who sought re-election to be defeated in a primary this year and the first Democrat.

Bloomberg Government data showed that Bourdeaux represents 57% of the residents in the new 7th District and McBath represents 12%. This is one of six incumbent-vs.-incumbent primaries this year and one of four featuring two Democrats.

McBath, whose son was fatally shot in 2012, emphasized gun policy in her campaign. At a recent debate, McBath said, "I'm running in this race because I simply believe that we should not allow Gov. Kemp, the Republican Party or the NRA gun lobby to dictate who represents our communities in Washington."

Bourdeaux's campaign website said she "has been a leading advocate in Congress for health care, voting rights, racial and social justice, small business, infrastructure, and critical issues of broad importance to Gwinnett County and the 7th district community."

Atlanta magazine's Rachel Garbus said, "While both candidates are thoroughgoing Democrats, McBath is further to the left than Bourdeaux, whose centrist stance has alienated some progressives."

In one of our first issues of 2022's The Heart of the Primaries, we wrote about how Bourdeaux joined a group of nine House Democrats last summer in saying she wouldn't vote for a budget resolution needed to pass the Build Back Better agenda unless the House first voted on an infrastructure bill the Senate passed. Ultimately, Bourdeaux voted for the resolution, which contained a nonbinding commitment to vote on the infrastructure bill by late September.

McBath had endorsements from U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), U.S. Rep. James Clyburn (D-S.C.), and the Everytown for Gun Safety Action Fund. Bourdeaux received endorsements from former Atlanta mayor Andrew Young (D), former U.S. Sen Sam Nunn (D-Ga.), and four state representatives.

McBath defeated incumbent Karen Handel (R) in Georgia's 6th Congressional District in 2018, 50.5% to 49.5%. McBath won a rematch against Handel in 2020, 55% to 45%. Bourdeaux defeated Rich McCormick (R) 51% to 49% to win an open-seat race in the 7th District in 2020. Bourdeaux lost to then-incumbent Rob Woodall (R) in 2018 by 433 votes. That was the closest U.S. House election by number of votes in 2018.

Election forecasters rate the general election in Georgia's 7th as Solid or Safe Democratic.

Other marquee primary results[edit]

U.S. House

Texas' 15th runoff: The race was too close to call as of Thursday morning. Ruben Ramirez had 50.1% of the vote and Michelle Vallejo had 49.9%. Incumbent Vicente Gonzalez Jr. (D) ran for re-election in District 34. Three forecasters rate the general election Lean or Tilt Republican.
Texas' 30th runoff: Jasmine Crockett defeated Jane Hamilton 61% to 39%. Incumbent Eddie Bernice Johnson (D) did not seek re-election. Johnson endorsed Crockett. U.S. Rep. Marc Veasey (D) endorsed Hamilton. Three forecasters rate the general election Safe or Solid Democratic.

State executives

Texas Attorney General runoff: Rochelle Garza defeated Joe Jaworksi 63% to 37%. Garza will face incumbent Ken Paxton (R) in the general election on Nov. 8.

Media analysis[edit]

Politico wrote about the abortion debate in Texas' 28th, the close runoff results, and the unique composition of the district:

“

We still don’t know the fate of Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-Texas), the last anti-abortion House Democrat. But no matter what happens, his primary runoff makes clear that abortion rights is not a runaway winner for the party in every slice of the country.

The renewed nationwide debate over abortion access could have blown the race wide open for his progressive challenger Jessica Cisneros, who made women’s health care a more central theme of her campaign in the weeks following the revelation that the Supreme Court was preparing to strike down Roe v. Wade.

Her team’s goal was to run up the margins in the counties around San Antonio, where abortion access is popular. Cuellar, meanwhile, doubled down on his opposition to abortion except in the case of “rape, incest, and danger to the life of the mother.”

But Texas’s 28th District cobbles together two parts of Texas that are very different culturally, and Cuellar’s political instincts may have played out. Cisneros outperformed her March 1 primary performance in the northern part of the district, but so did Cuellar in his home base of Laredo and throughout the culturally conservative Rio Grande Valley.

Democrats hope the abortion debate will energize their base in swing seats across the country — and it still might. But this was not the most effective trial balloon. The border counties in the region are heavily Catholic and perhaps just as motivated to vote to help restrict abortion access. And Cuellar’s brand in the southern part of the district, as a moderate Blue Dog Democrat who is pro-gun, makes him more impervious to the national political trends.^[20]

”

The Associated Press' Nicholas Riccardi said progressives have had some recent primary wins and that results in Texas' 28th were too close to be a clear win for either progressives or moderates, regardless of the outcome:

“

After the collapse of much of Biden’s agenda in Congress, progressives have gotten a boost in recent primaries. Their candidate, Summer Lee, narrowly won the primary in Pennsylvania’s 12th Congressional District last week. In Oregon’s 5th Congressional District, centrist Rep. Kurt Schrader was trailing a progressive challenger after their primary last week; the results were delayed by ballot counting problems.

Also Tuesday, Rep. Lucy McBath handily defeated Rep. Carolyn Bourdeaux in the Democratic primary in Georgia’s 7th Congressional District in the Atlanta suburbs. While neither has embraced the left wing of the party, Bourdeaux was better known as a moderate than McBath.

Still, the left lost a key congressional primary in the Cleveland area just a few weeks ago. They had an awful track record in 2020. And some Democrats worry — and Republicans hope — that leftist wins in places like Oregon’s 5th or Texas’ 28th will make it harder for the party to hold those relatively moderate districts, especially in what’s looking like a dismal fall for Democrats.

Sometimes, though, races are so close that there’s eventually a winner but no resolution to the political debate they embody. Progressives can note Cisneros improved her margin after losing to Cuellar in 2020. Centrists can point to how the incumbent kept it close even amid the party’s fury about a possible end to the right to abortion.^[20]

”

New York's new Democratic primary landscape[edit]

Last week, we wrote about a potential primary contest between Democratic Reps. Carolyn Maloney and Jerry Nadler under New York's revised congressional district map. On Friday, Steuben County state supreme court Justice Patrick F. McAllister approved the map, kicking off a wave of primary election developments.

In addition to the 12th Congressional District's Maloney-Nadler matchup, the 10th and 17th districts are also in the spotlight. Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney (D), who chairs the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, announced he's running in the 17th District, which Rep. Mondaire Jones (D) currently represents. The revised map placed Maloney's residence in the 17th District and made the new 18th more competitive. Maloney represents the current 18th. Jones announced he'd run in the new 10th District.

That's a lot to process. Here are the incumbents' movements at a glance, along with the percentage of each new district's population the incumbent currently represents based on Daily Kos data.

Carolyn Maloney: 12th District → 12th District. Maloney represents 60% of the new 12th.
Jerry Nadler: 10th District → 12th District. Nadler represents 40% of the new 12th. His current district was divided among five new ones, and the 12th contains a plurality of his current constituents.
Sean Patrick Maloney: 18th District → 17th District. Maloney represents 25% of the new 17th and 71% of the new 18th.
Mondaire Jones: 17th District → 10th District. Jones represents 0% of the new 10th and 73% of the new 17th.

Incumbent movements aren't the only big news out of New York.

State Sen. Alessandra Biaggi switched from the 3rd to the 17th Congressional District primary to challenge Sean Patrick Maloney, saying that "having the head of the campaign arm not stay in his district, not maximize the number of seats New York can have to hold the majority" hurt the Democratic Party.

Maloney said when announcing he'd run in the 17th under the new map, "NY-17 includes my home and many of the Hudson Valley communities I currently represent."

In addition to Jones, former New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio (D) and state Asm. Yuh-Line Niou (D) announced bids for the 10th District.

The new map is expected to affect Democrats' general election prospects. Reuter's Joseph Ax wrote that the map the state legislature approved would have given Democrats likely control of 22 of 26 House districts and that the special master's map created eight competitive districts. Republicans need to gain five districts to take control of the House of Representatives.

New York's primaries are on Aug. 23.

Abortion in spotlight in IL-06 Newman-Casten matchup[edit]

On May 17, Rep. Marie Newman released an ad in which she talks about her experience getting an abortion when she was 19 and criticizes Rep. Sean Casten for having voted for Republicans. Both incumbents are running in Illinois' 6th Congressional District primary.

Newman said Casten voted for "anti-choice Republicans like George Bush. ... With the stakes this high, who do you trust?"

In 2020, E&E News reported that Casten voted for George H.W. Bush for president in 1992 and Bob Dole for president in 1996.

Also on May 17, Casten's campaign tweeted, "Sean Casten is 100% Pro-Choice. Sean received a perfect pro-choice voting score from NARAL, and he's honored to be endorsed by Planned Parenthood Action Fund and pro-choice leaders like Marcie Love." The tweet contained an ad with Love's endorsement.

Newman currently represents the 3rd Congressional District. She defeated incumbent Dan Lipinski in the 2020 Democratic primary. Lipinski was one of the only Democratic House members opposed to abortion in most cases.

Newman currently represents 43% of the new 6th District. Casten represents 24% of it.

May 19, 2022[edit]

Primary results roundup[edit]

Idaho, Kentucky, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Oregon held primaries on May 17.

The big stories of the night: Fetterman wins, and too-close-to-call House races in Oregon[edit]

Pennsylvania Senate: Lt. Gov. John Fetterman defeated U.S. Rep. Conor Lamb, state Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta, and Alexandria Khalil. As of Thursday morning, Fetterman received 59% of the vote and Lamb was second with 26%.

Fetterman's top campaign priorities were adopting a single-payer healthcare system, legalizing marijuana, and supporting LGBTQIA+ rights. The Democratic Lieutenant Governors Association and The Philadelphia Tribune were among his backers. Lamb said his priorities included expanding Medicare, reducing prescription drug prices, a $15 minimum wage, and strengthening unions. Lamb's endorsers included the Philadelphia Democratic Party and The Philadelphia Inquirer.

Pennsylvania is one of two states Joe Biden won in 2020 that has a U.S. Senate election this year in which the current incumbent is a Republican. Pennsylvania is also one of six states with one senator who caucuses with Democrats and another who caucuses with Republicans.

Oregon's 5th: As of Thursday morning, Jamie McLeod-Skinner led incumbent Kurt Schrader 60%-39%. Schrader has represented the 5th District since 2009. According to Daily Kos, 47% of the population in the new 5th District after redistricting comes from the old 5th District that Schrader has represented.

Schrader campaigned on what he called a record of bipartisanship, saying it represented his constituents. McLeod-Skinner criticized Schrader's record and said she'd do more on the issues of housing, healthcare, childcare, and the environment.

President Joe Biden (D) and Planned Parenthood Action Fund were among Schrader's endorsers. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and the Democratic parties in Deschutes, Linn, Clackamas, and Marion counties—containing more than 90% of the new district's voters—endorsed McLeod-Skinner.

Schrader may become the third House member to lose a re-election bid this year. Reps. Madison Cawthorn (R-N.C.) and David McKinley (R-W.Va.) lost their primaries.

Oregon's 6th: As of Thursday morning, Andrea Salinas led eight other candidates with 37% of the vote. Carrick Flynn was second with 19%.

Satellite group spending was a big issue in the race. The House Majority PAC spent $1 million and Protect Our Future PAC spent more than $10 million backing Flynn, while the Congressional Hispanic Caucus' Bold PAC spent $1 million supporting Salinas. Salinas and five other candidates criticized House Majority PAC's spending, saying in a joint statement, "This effort by the political arm of the Democratic establishment to buy this race for one candidate is a slap in the face to every Democratic voter and volunteer in Oregon." The PAC's communications director said it was "doing whatever it takes to secure a Democratic House majority in 2022."

Other marquee primary results[edit]

U.S. House

Kentucky's 3rd: Morgan McGarvey defeated Attica Scott 63% to 37%. Incumbent John Yarmuth (D) did not seek re-election. Yarmuth endorsed McGarvey. The Progressive Change Campaign Committee endorsed Scott. Three forecasters rate the general election Safe or Solid Democratic.
North Carolina's 1st: Donald Davis defeated three other candidates with 63% of the vote. Erica Smith finished second with 31%. Incumbent G.K. Butterfield (D) didn't seek re-election this year. Butterfield endorsed Davis. Three forecasters rate the general Lean Democratic.
North Carolina's 4th: Valerie Foushee defeated seven other candidates with 46% of the vote. Nida Allam finished second with 37%. Incumbent David Price (D) did not seek re-election. U.S. Rep. Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.) backed Foushee. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) endorsed Allam. Three forecasters rate the general Safe or Solid Democratic.
Pennsylvania's 12th: This race was too close to call as of Thursday morning. Summer Lee had 41.7% to Steve Irwin's 41.3%. Forecasters rate the general Safe or Solid Democratic.

State executive

Oregon Governor: Tina Kotek defeated 14 other candidates with 58% of the vote. Tobias Read finished second with 33%. Incumbent Kate Brown (D) was term-limited. Three forecasters rate the general election Lean or Likely Democratic.

Media analysis[edit]

Politico's David Siders said Tuesday was a good night for progressives:

“

In North Carolina, two progressives, Nida Allam and Erica Smith, went down in open seat House primaries. But even with those losses — and even if the results in Oregon [5th and 6th District] and Pennsylvania [12th District] turn — it will go down as a good night for the left.

At a minimum, they have Fetterman and Salinas. And in the Senate, the rest of the map was pretty promising for progressives as well. A night that produced Fetterman — and Charles Booker and Cheri Beasley in Kentucky and North Carolina, respectively — as Democratic Senate nominees is a night progressives can learn to love.^[20]

”

CNN said that Fetterman's win in Pennsylvania and Cheri Beasley's win in North Carolina's U.S. Senate primary speak to a shift in the Democratic Party:

“

What it means to be a top Democratic recruit is changing.

On Tuesday night, Lt. Gov. John Fetterman, a 6-foot, 8-inch, bald, tattooed former mayor known for wearing shorts and hoodies, ran away with the Pennsylvania Democratic Senate primary. In North Carolina, former state Supreme Court Chief Justice Cheri Beasley largely cleared the primary field and coasted to a nomination that could make her the state's first Black senator.

Their wins are part of a change within the Democratic Party, where what constituted a good recruit in cycles past meant someone who looked a lot more like the people Fetterman and Beasley beat.^[20]

”

Jewish Telegraphic Agency's Ron Kampeas wrote that the American Israel Public Affairs Committee's super PAC contributed to Davis' and Foushee's wins in North Carolina:

“

Moderate Democrats backed by political action committees affiliated with the AIPAC pro-Israel lobby won hotly contested Democratic primaries Tuesday, which the group said was a vindication of its controversial decision to dive into direct campaign funding. …

Both races were to replace longtime Democrats who are retiring and were two of three closely watched in the pro-Israel community because of massive injections of cash by United Democracy Project, a so-called “super PAC” launched last year by AIPAC. The PAC targeted the races because [Erica] Smith and [Nida] Allam would have added to the contingent of congressional lawmakers who seek stricter oversight and limitations on defense aid for Israel.

The third race, in Pennsylvania’s newly drawn 12th District, was too close to call, with the United Democracy-backed candidate, Pittsburgh lawyer Steve Irwin, less than a percentage point behind State Rep. Summer Lee with 98% of the vote counted.

It’s not clear how much AIPAC’s support drove the outcomes, as both Davis and Foushee had support from the local Democratic establishment and the cryptocurrency sector, which is seeking to deter congressional oversight, also poured money into the races.

But it’s clear that the pro-Israel funding, which also flowed to a lesser degree from a PAC associated with the group Democratic Majority for Israel, did register in the races. In the Pittsburgh-area district Lee was seen as the clear front-runner until she was hit by a barrage of negative ads paid for by United Democracy. And in North Carolina’s 4th District, the pro-Israel donations caused the state’s progressive caucus to rescind its endorsement of Foushee.^[20]

”

The Washington Post's Aaron Blake said Oregon's big House races were heading in a negative direction for what he called the Democratic establishment:

“

There’s a reason we focus on Trump’s endorsements: Because he makes a lot of them, and he’s obviously trying to maintain control of the party during an uncertain time. But President Biden has made a couple of endorsements, too, including for Rep. Shontel M. Brown (D-Ohio) in her landslide over Turner.

It’s worth noting that one of those endorsed — Schrader — is losing pretty badly. … Schrader is a moderate who sometimes alienated fellow House Democrats on spending bills — and who, because of redistricting, was campaigning in a very different district than in years past.

Backing an incumbent facing a primary challenge is kind of a no-brainer for a president, but it’s looking as if Oregon voters had little regard for Biden’s advice. …

Speaking of the Democratic establishment getting one wrong: Biden aside, the party more broadly didn’t fight too hard for Schrader. But a PAC affiliated with House Democratic leaders did spend $1 million on a candidate in the neighboring 6th District, Carrick Flynn. …

That investment in an apparently losing candidate, though, pales to Flynn’s biggest benefactor: cryptocurrency billionaire Sam Bankman-Fried. His Protect Our Future PAC spent more than $11 million on Flynn — a stunning sum for one out of 435 House seats — and it appears to have failed badly.

Flynn ultimately benefited from $13 million in outside spending … for 19 percent of the vote.^[20]

”

Reps. Carolyn Maloney, Jerry Nadler may both run in NY-12[edit]

On Monday, Democratic Reps. Carolyn Maloney and Jerry Nadler both said they would run in New York's 12th Congressional District under a new draft district map. Maloney chairs the House Oversight Committee. Nadler chairs the Judiciary Committee. Both representatives were first elected to the House in 1992.

A special master released the draft after the New York State Court of Appeals overturned the legislature's previously enacted map. The court ruled the legislature did not get enough input from the state's redistricting commission.

According to Daily Kos, Nadler "represents 39% of the redrawn (and safely blue) district while Maloney represents the remaining 61%."

If the state Court of Appeals approves the draft map, the Maloney-Nadler primary would be the sixth U.S. House primary this year featuring two incumbents and the fourth with two Democratic incumbents.

We wrote about the 12th District primary under the overturned congressional map. That race included candidates Suraj Patel and Rana Abdelhamid. Both said they are holding off on decisions about their bids as the draft map is not final.

The primary is scheduled for Aug. 23.

Satellite ads zero in on abortion stances in TX-28 runoff[edit]

Recent satellite group ads supporting either incumbent Rep. Henry Cuellar or Jessica Cisneros highlight their positions on abortion.

Last week, the group Mainstream Democrats PAC released an ad supporting Cuellar. The narrator said, "With women's rights under attack from extremists, Democrat Henry Cuellar has made it clear that he opposes a ban on abortion." The ad also says Cuellar “is standing up for South Texas families by working every day to hold down our cost of living," including supporting lower drug prices, affordable health care, child care assistance, and a $15 minimum wage.

On May 13, Women Vote!, a super PAC affiliated with EMILY’s List, booked $526,000 in TV ads supporting Cisneros. One ad, with versions in both English and Spanish, criticizes Cuellar for being the only Democrat to vote against the Women’s Health Protection Act, which would have legalized abortion nationally. The narrator says "[Cuellar is] voting with MAGA Republicans against women’s healthcare." The ad also says Cuellar "voted to make it harder to join a union and opposed expanding overtime pay."

As we wrote earlier this month, abortion policy has been in the spotlight in the runoff, especially after Politico published a leaked initial draft opinion from the Supreme Court that would overturn rulings in Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey, allowing states to decide the legality of abortion. To learn more about the issue of abortion in this race, click here.

In the March 1 primary, Cuellar received 48% to Cisneros' 47%. Tannya Benavides received 5%. The primary runoff is May 24.

May 5, 2022[edit]

May 3 primary results roundup[edit]

Ohio and Indiana held primary elections on Tuesday. Indiana's ballot included state legislative elections, while Ohio's did not, as redistricting is still underway. Key Democratic primaries took place in Ohio. Below, you'll find results from marquee Democratic primaries and takeaways.

The big story of the night: Brown wins rematch with Turner in OH-11[edit]

Ohio's 11th Congressional District: Incumbent Rep. Shontel Brown defeated Nina Turner in Ohio's 11th Congressional District for the second time in less than a year. Brown defeated Turner 66%-34% in this year's primary and 50%-45% in the August 2021 special primary.

Brown assumed office in November 2021, succeeding Rep. Marcia Fudge (D), who resigned that year to become U.S. secretary of Housing and Urban Development. Brown said she kept her promise to work with President Joe Biden (D) by voting for the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and campaigned on her record. Turner said Brown hadn't done enough to change the material conditions of the district's poor and low-income residents.

Biden endorsed Brown, and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) endorsed Turner. The Congressional Progressive Caucus PAC endorsed Brown, a change from 2021 when it endorsed Turner. Brown became a member of the caucus after she took office.

This is a Safe or Solid Democratic district, according to three election forecasters.

Other marquee primary results[edit]

U.S. Senate

Ohio Senate: Tim Ryan received 70% of the vote, defeating Morgan Harper and Traci Johnson. Incumbent Sen. Rob Portman (R) is retiring. Race forecasters disagree on this race's outlook, calling it Lean, Likely, or Solid Republican.

Local

Nashville District Attorney: Incumbent Glenn Funk won with 43%. Sarah Beth Myers was second with 40%. Myers and P. Danielle Nellis criticized Funk's record, including his handling of a case involving an officer charged with criminal homicide. Funk defended his record.

Defeated incumbents[edit]

No Democratic incumbents lost in Tuesday’s primaries.

As with 2022, no incumbent Democratic state legislators in Indiana lost primary bids in 2020 or 2018.

The following shows data from 14 states for which we have post-filing deadline information and from two states—Texas and Indiana—where state legislative elections have taken place.

Media analysis[edit]

The Associated Press' Nicholas Riccardi said Ohio's 11th District results are a reminder that the establishment has an advantage in Democratic primaries:

“

Brown’s easy victory is a reminder that the left has a very uneven track record in Democratic primaries, notching a few high-profile wins like that of U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in New York City, but mostly a long string of losses. Trump may have changed Republican primaries, but Democratic ones still tilt toward the same establishment that has run the party for decades.^[20]

”

Vox's Christian Paz said that while progressive candidates lost, progressive ideas won on May 3:

“

Though establishment-aligned candidates won in races around Ohio, they didn’t get there without embracing a slight leftward shift in their priorities. … Ryan and Brown, in their respective races, … pulled together ideas from the center and left in their pitches to voters, specifically on job creation, labor-organizing protections, a $15 minimum wage, and lowering health care costs. Though they beat left-leaning challengers, their wins also show that challenges from the left can push more moderate candidates to consider the substance of progressive demands.^[20]

”

Cisneros' first TV ad on abortion, candidates respond to leaked SCOTUS opinion draft[edit]

Between Jessica Cisneros' first runoff TV ad and the leaked Supreme Court draft opinion on Dobbs vs. Jackson Women's Health Organization, abortion has remained in the spotlight in Texas’ 28th Congressional District primary runoff.

Last week, Cisneros released her first runoff TV ad, which contrasts her position on abortion with that of incumbent Rep. Henry Cuellar (D). The ad's narrator said, "We showed up and spoke out when Texas Republicans passed the most extreme abortion ban in the country. But Henry Cuellar sided with them, the Lone Democrat, against a woman's right to make her own decisions, even opposing life-saving care."

Cuellar was the only House Democrat to vote against the Women’s Health Protection Act, introduced in the U.S. House after Senate Bill 8 became law in Texas. The act would have legalized abortion nationally.

On May 2, Politico published a leaked initial draft opinion from the Supreme Court in which Justice Samuel Alito wrote, "We hold that Roe and Casey must be overruled."

Cuellar said, "I do not support abortion, however, we cannot have an outright ban. There must be exceptions in the case of rape, incest, and danger to the life of the mother. … My faith will not allow me to support a ruling that would criminalize teenage victims of rape and incest. That same faith will not allow me to support a ruling that would make a mother choose between her life and her child’s."

Cisneros said, "As the Supreme Court prepares to overturn Roe v. Wade, I am calling on Democratic Party leadership to withdraw their support of Henry Cuellar who is the last anti-choice Democrat in the House" and that "with the House majority on the line, he could very much be the deciding vote on the future of our reproductive rights and we cannot afford to take that risk."

House Minority Whip Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.) campaigned for Cuellar at a get-out-the-vote rally in San Antonio Wednesday night. Cuellar previously received endorsements from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.), meaning he has support from all three House Democratic leaders.

The race is a rematch. Cuellar won the 2020 primary 52%-48%. In this year's primary, Cuellar received 48% to Cisneros' 47%. Tannya Benavides received 5%. The primary runoff is May 24.

April 28, 2022[edit]

Rep. G.K. Butterfield endorses Davis in N.C.-01 primary[edit]

On April 25, retiring incumbent Rep. G.K. Butterfield (D) endorsed Don Davis in the Democratic primary for North Carolina’s 1st Congressional District. Butterfield has represented the 1st District since 2004.

Davis, a U.S. Air Force veteran and former mayor, has served in the state Senate since 2013, in addition to one previous term from 2009 to 2011. Davis is running against former state Sen. Erica Smith, Jullian Bishop Sr., and Jason Spriggs in the primary.

Butterfield said, "Don has the legislative experience and is prepared to fight for the Democratic agenda of empowering America’s families and communities. I’m confident Don Davis will fight to protect voting rights, provide a safety net for those who have been left behind due to the pandemic and advocate for public-private partnerships to build much-needed infrastructure in the 1st District." Butterfield also said, "I’m completely satisfied Don Davis can be the strongest Democrat to beat the strongest Republican in the general election."

Spectrum News 1’s Reuben Jones said, "Butterfield’s endorsement may speak to the debate happening nationally in the Democratic Party. … The question is whether [the district's voters] will be more moderate or more progressive Democrats."

Smith said, "Voters don’t care about labels. … I’m running on a survivor’s agenda that delivers an increase in living [sic] wage for workers. … I’m center left, and I’m excited about the progressive values and the progressives [sic] voices we are running on, because we know it will produce true structural change."

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) is among Smith's endorsers. Smith served in the state Senate from 2015 to 2020 and ran for U.S. Senate in 2020, losing the primary to Cal Cunningham (D) 57%-35%.

The primary is May 17.

April 21, 2022[edit]

Congressional Progressive Caucus PAC backs Brown over Turner this year[edit]

The Congressional Progressive Caucus PAC endorsed incumbent Rep. Shontel Brown in a rematch against Nina Turner in Ohio's 11th Congressional District. This is a change for the PAC, which endorsed Turner in the 2021 special primary election. Brown defeated Turner 50% to 45% last August. Brown was sworn into office in November and has since become a member of the Progressive Caucus.

PAC co-chairs Mark Pocan (Wis.), Pramila Jayapal (Wash.), and Jamie Raskin (Md.) said in a statement announcing Brown's endorsement as part of a slate, "Each and every one of [the endorsees] is working every day to take on corporate special interests, fight for economic and social justice, universal health care, climate action, and bold solutions to the urgent crises facing our country."

Cleveland.com's editorial board and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) recently endorsed Turner, as they did in 2021. Turner co-chaired Sanders' 2020 presidential campaign.

The PAC Protect Our Future has spent more than $1 million supporting Brown. Last week, we wrote about that group's spending in Oregon's 6th Congressional District primary.

Last year's special election was held after former incumbent Marcia Fudge (D) became secretary of Housing and Urban Development in President Joe Biden's administration. Brown served on the Cuyahoga County Council from 2015 until she joined the House in November. Turner was a state senator from 2008 to 2015.

The primary is scheduled for May 3.

Rep. Chuy Garcia endorses Jonathan Jackson in IL-01[edit]

Rep. Chuy Garcia (D-Ill.) endorsed Jonathan Jackson, son of Jesse Jackson Sr., in Illinois' 1st Congressional District Democratic primary. Jonathan Jackson is the national spokesman for the Rainbow PUSH Coalition, which says it is "a multi-racial, multi-issue, progressive, international membership organization fighting for social change." Jesse Jackson Sr. formed the group in 1996.

Twenty candidates are running for the Democratic nomination. Incumbent Rep. Bobby Rush (D) is retiring and endorsed Karen Norington-Reaves, former CEO of the Chicago Cook Workforce Partnership, in the primary.

Campaign finance filings current through March 31 show Chicago Ald. Pat Dowell and Jonathan Swain led with $382,000 and $376,000, respectively. Norington-Reaves raised the third-highest amount with $291,000, and Jackson was next with $145,000.

Politico's Shia Kapos wrote, "Rush’s seat holds historical significance for many Chicagoans. The nation’s first Black congressman elected in the 20th century, Oscar De Priest, held Illinois’ 1st Congressional District for three terms, previewing the political shifts wrought by the Great Migration. Black men have held the seat ever since."

Kapos wrote, "While it remains predominantly African American, the [1st District's] new boundaries extend farther into suburban, whiter, Republican neighborhoods to the southwest. … For the Democratic primary, … 75 percent of the votes will come from Chicago and 85 percent from the broader Cook County, [redistricting consultant Frank Calabrese] said."

The primary is set for June 28.

Vermont's U.S. House candidates meet for first debate[edit]

Four Democratic candidates for Vermont's sole U.S. House seat met for a debate sponsored by VTDigger on April 14. Incumbent Rep. Peter Welch (D) is running for U.S. Senate, leaving the district open for the first time since 2006.

Candidates Becca Balint, Sianay Chase Clifford, Molly Gray, and Kesha Ram Hinsdale discussed the invasion of Ukraine, what they would do differently than Welch, and drug legalization, among other topics.

Balint, who currently serves as state Senate president pro tempore, said she might support a U.S. military intervention in Ukraine if Russia uses chemical weapons. Balint also said she supports strengthening sanctions against Russia and sanctioning Belarus.

Chase Clifford, who was a staffer for U.S. Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.), opposes sending the U.S. military to Ukraine and supports targeting sanctions to reduce their impact on vulnerable communities.

Gray, the current lieutenant governor, opposes a no-fly zone over Ukraine and said she would not support U.S. military intervention unless allied organizations like the United Nations decided on it.

Ram Hinsdale, a state senator, supports the president's response and said the role of fossil fuels in global crises should be discussed.

The four were also asked about votes Welch made that they disagreed with.

Balint said she opposed Welch's vote for additional funding for the Afghanistan and Iraq wars in 2007.

Chase Clifford said she was concerned that Welch may have used his position to make advantageous stock trades.

Gray criticized Welch for not doing more to pass paid family and medical leave.

Ram Hinsdale said that "for a long time [Welch] was accepting corporate PAC dollars" and that she was glad Welch was not accepting those donations in his run for U.S. Senate.

Balint and Ram Hinsdale said they support the federal legalization of marijuana and other controlled substances. Chase Clifford said she supports marijuana legalization and decriminalizing other substances. Gray said she supports decriminalizing marijuana and not other substances.

The Democratic primary is set for Aug. 9. Three election forecasters rate the general election Solid Democratic.

N.C. Democratic Party Progressive Caucus rescinds endorsement in 4th Congressional District[edit]

On April 17, the North Carolina Democratic Party Progressive Caucus rescinded its endorsement of state Sen. Valerie Foushee over contributions Foushee received from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC). Foushee is running in the 4th Congressional District Democratic primary.

In a press release, the Progressive Caucus said, "No American candidate should be accepting funds from an organization that provides financial support for those seeking to destroy our democracy," referring to AIPAC's endorsement of 37 Republicans who voted against confirming the results of the 2020 presidential election on Jan. 6, 2021, while Congress counted the electoral votes.

Foushee’s campaign said, "Her 25 years of elected service to her community speaks to her deep commitment to progressive values," and, "Senator Foushee is going to Washington to unify, not divide, as she has always done.

Foushee is a state senator, former Orange County commissioner, and former member of the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools Board of Education. Foushee is running against seven other candidates in the Democratic primary, including former American Idol contestant and National Inclusion Project co-founder Clay Aiken and Durham County Commissioner Nida Allam, the first Muslim woman elected to public office in North Carolina.

Both Foushee and Allam have received noteworthy endorsements in this primary. State Attorney General Josh Stein (D), EMILY’s List, and the state AFL-CIO endorsed Foushee. U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), and Our Revolution endorsed Allam.

Incumbent Rep. David Price (D) is not seeking re-election, leaving the solidly Democratic district open for the first time since 1972. The 4th District is located outside of Raleigh, including portions of the state’s Research Triangle. The district has the largest percentage of voters between the ages of 18 and 29 (27%) and the largest percentage with a bachelor’s degree (52%) in North Carolina.

April 14, 2022[edit]

Blue Dog PAC announces first round of 2022 endorsements[edit]

The Blue Dog Coalition PAC made its first endorsements in the 2022 elections: Ruben Ramirez in Texas' 15th Congressional District, Adam Gray in California's 13th, and Rudy Salas in California's 22nd.

Rep. Stephanie Murphy (D-Fla.), coalition co-chair, described the candidates as "independent-minded individuals who are committed to serving a diverse constituency."

The PAC's website says the U.S. House's Blue Dog Coalition is a group of 18 "moderate, fiscally-responsible Democrats who represent every corner of the country and continue to work to end the divisive and toxic nature of politics today."

Ramirez, an Army veteran and former attorney and educator, is running against Michelle Vallejo in a May 24 Democratic primary runoff in Texas' 15th. Forecasters rate the general election either Tilt or Lean Republican. Ramirez ran in the same district in 2012 and 2016, finishing with 5% and 6% of the Democratic primary vote, respectively. He was the first-place finisher in this year's Democratic primary, with 28% of the vote to Vallejo's 20%.

Gray, a state assemblyman and owner of a public affairs firm, is one of five candidates running in the open race for California's 13th. The two Democrats and three Republicans running will appear on the same primary ballot, with the top two finishers advancing to the general election regardless of partisan affiliation. The other Democrat running in the 13th District is Phil Arballo, who ran against Devin Nunes (R) in the 22nd District in 2020. Election forecasters rate the general election in the new 13th as Lean or Likely Democratic.

Salas, a state assemblyman and former city councilor, is the only Democrat running for the 22nd District alongside three Republicans, including incumbent David Valadao (R). Forecasters call the general election a Toss-up.

OR-06 candidates respond to House Majority PAC spending[edit]

House Majority PAC spent $1 million on TV advertising supporting Carrick Flynn in Oregon’s newly created 6th Congressional District.

Six of the eight other Democratic primary candidates said in a joint news release, "This effort by the political arm of the Democratic establishment to buy this race for one candidate is a slap in the face to every Democratic voter and volunteer in Oregon."

Flynn's campaign manager said, "Carrick is proud to have the backing from a broad coalition of supporters from throughout Oregon’s 6th congressional district, across the state and from all over the country. … The path to keeping the House in Democratic hands starts right here in Oregon’s 6th and Carrick is the only candidate who can solidly carry this district for the Democrats in the fall."

Bold PAC, associated with the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, endorsed state Rep. Andrea Salinas in the primary. PAC chairman Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) said, "Right now, Democrats should be doubling-down on their investments to empower Latino and Latina candidates like Andrea who are running strong campaigns focused on issues that matter to communities of color and working families."

House Majority PAC's communications director, CJ Warnke, said it is "doing whatever it takes to secure a Democratic House majority in 2022, and we believe supporting Carrick Flynn is a step towards accomplishing that goal."

All independent expenditures in this primary reported to the Federal Election Commission as of Wednesday have supported Flynn. Decision Desk HQ's March 28 newsletter said the 6th District had the highest independent expenditure amount of all House primaries (excluding Texas, which held its primaries on March 1).

Protect Our Future PAC, associated with cryptocurrency exchange founder Sam Bankman-Fried, has spent $5 million supporting Flynn. The PAC says it supports "candidates who take a long-term view on policy planning especially as it relates to pandemic preparedness and prevention." Flynn has worked in the fields of artificial intelligence and disaster relief, co-founding the Centre for the Governance of Artificial Intelligence at Oxford University.

The Justice Unites Us PAC spent more than $800,000 on canvassing supporting Flynn.

Flynn and two other candidates completed Ballotpedia’s Candidate Connection survey. You can read their responses here.

The primary is May 17. Three independent forecasting outlets view the general election as Likely Democratic. Oregon was apportioned six U.S. House seats after the 2020 census, one more than after the 2010 census. The 6th District is located in the northwest part of the state and consists of all or parts of Clackamas, Marion, Polk, Washington, and Yamhill counties.

Update: State Rep. Caraveo is only Democratic candidate to make CO-08 ballot[edit]

State Rep. Yadira Caraveo is the only candidate who will appear on the June 28 Democratic primary ballot in Colorado's 8th Congressional District after receiving 71% of delegates' support at the district's April 5 assembly. Chaz Tedesco received 29%.

In Colorado, if U.S. House candidates did not submit 1,500 signatures by the deadline (March 15), then they needed to receive at least 30% of the delegate vote at assemblies to qualify for the ballot. Caraveo was also the only 8th District Democratic candidate who submitted enough signatures to make the ballot.

Colorado was apportioned eight U.S. House seats after the 2020 census, one more than it received after the 2010 census. The Denver Post's Alex Burness wrote that the newly created district would be competitive based on recent results.

At least four Republicans have qualified for the GOP primary.

April 7, 2022[edit]

Dale Holness makes second FL-20 candidacy official[edit]

Former Broward County Commissioner Dale Holness, who lost the special primary election for Florida's 20th Congressional District by five votes last year, officially announced his campaign for the district's 2022 regularly scheduled election.

Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, CEO of Trinity Health Care Services, won the special election to complete former Rep. Alcee Hastings' (D) term ending Jan. 3, 2023. She ran against Hastings in the 2018 and 2020 Democratic primaries. Cherfilus-McCormick hasn't announced whether she'll run this year.

Holness said, "Families are hurting these days as the costs of everyday necessities — including housing, childcare, healthcare, gas, and groceries — continue to rise but wages fail to keep up. … Our communities deserve a champion with experience and follow-through to build a stronger, healthier future for all of us." Holness' campaign said that "voters are feeling fatigued with some candidates and incumbents overpromising and under-delivering."

Cherfilus-McCormick campaigned on $1,000-per-month payments to people over 18 making less than $75,000 a year, Medicare for All, and a $20 minimum wage. Cherfilus-McCormick said within her first 30 days in office, she cast important votes including for the COMPETES Act, which she said would contain inflation and "bolster American independence and self-sufficiency in manufacturing." Cherfilus-McCormick also said she is "the first Democrat of Haitian descent elected to Congress, and I am here to bring that voice and understanding and cultural competency of being a Caribbean, being a woman and representing a district full of minorities."

Holness filed two lawsuits last year requesting that uncounted mail ballots be counted and alleging in part that Cherfilus-McCormick's basic income proposal amounted to bribery. No court took up the suits.

Former Broward County Commissioner Barbara Sharief placed third in the special primary and recently announced she would run for state Senate this year instead of running in the 20th Congressional District race.

The primary is set for Aug. 23. Florida's congressional district map is unsettled. Last week, Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) vetoed the maps the legislature approved.

State Sen. Steve Roberts challenges Cori Bush in MO-01[edit]

On March 28, state Sen. Steve Roberts announced his Democratic primary bid for Missouri's 1st Congressional District. Roberts joins five other candidates, including incumbent Cori Bush.

Roberts said, "We all had the highest hopes for Congresswoman Bush but she's shown over the past year and a half that she's not interested in the job of United States Representative. We don't have time for slogans; I'm ready to get to work, bring people together, and deliver results for the families of the 1st district." In a statement, Roberts' campaign representative criticized Bush's vote against the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021, among other things.

Bush said she voted against the infrastructure bill because the House voted on it before the Build Back Better Act: "St. Louis deserves the president's entire agenda. … So that means both the bipartisan infrastructure package and the Build Back Better act. We cannot push away one part of President Biden's agenda because it’s difficult or because a couple of people don’t want it."

Bush's campaign released the following statement in response to Roberts' announcement:

"The people of St. Louis will have a choice: between their Congresswoman who loves them and delivered hundreds of millions of dollars to St. Louis, and a host of ego-driven men who seem to think all that Black women leaders do is never good enough. Among that crowded field is at least one candidate who has been credibly accused of rape, and such men do not belong in public service, much less representing the incredible people of St. Louis in Congress."

Roberts said, "They can try to distract voters from her indefensible voting record by recycling old false stories about me, but I don't think it's gonna work."

In 2016, state Rep.-elect Cora Walker (D), who died last month, accused Roberts of raping her. Roberts denied the allegations. No charges were filed after a special prosecuting attorney said there was not enough evidence to establish non-consensual activity. Roberts later sued Walker for defamation, and Walker countersued Roberts. Both parties dropped their suits in 2019.

Roberts served in the state House of Representatives from 2017 to 2021. He won election to the state Senate in 2020 and became the youngest Black state senator in Missouri’s history. Bush defeated 10-term incumbent William Lacy Clay in the 2020 Democratic primary.

The primary is set for Aug. 2.

March 31, 2022[edit]

Jamaal Bowman down to one challenger in NY-16[edit]

Michael Gerald and Manuel Casanova withdrew from New York's 16th Congressional District Democratic primary in recent weeks, leaving one challenger to incumbent Jamaal Bowman just ahead of the April 7 filing deadline: Westchester County Legislator Vedat Gashi.

Casanova said, "I think [Gashi] is going to be able to put together the coalition that needs to be there to win this primary." Gerald said, "I am still neutral but leaning towards Gashi." Yonkers Democratic Committee Chair Tom Meier also considered a bid but backed Gashi instead.

As we wrote in February, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D) endorsed Bowman. Gashi is a refugee from Kosovo (formerly Yugoslavia) and worked with the U.S. Agency for International Development and the United Nations to help establish Kosovo as a state. He was first elected to the Westchester County Board of Legislators in 2019.

Bowman, a former middle school principal, was first elected to Congress in 2020 after defeating incumbent Rep. Eliot Engel in the Democratic primary. Gashi criticized Bowman's vote against the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act: "I think we voted for Biden so we could have progress. … I felt that (Bowman’s no vote) was out of step with the president’s agenda, the party’s agenda and frankly where the voters in the district are."

Bowman said he voted against the bill because House leadership decided to vote on the Build Back Better Act separately. Bowman said, "It was important for us to pass both bills at the same time because the [Build Back Better] bill had already been gutted so much from when it came to us from the Senate. It came to us at [$]3.5 trillion … all of a sudden some of my colleagues wanted to cut it down, and it ended up at [$]1.75 [trillion]."

Jewish Insider wrote that redistricting added "more moderate voters in northern Westchester as well as Putnam County" to the 16th District.

The primary is set for June 28.

Former Rep. Dan Lipinski endorses Chris Butler in IL-01[edit]

Former Rep. Dan Lipinksi (D) endorsed Chris Butler in the Democratic primary for Illinois’ 1st Congressional District, saying he considers Butler "part of a new generation of leaders in the Democratic Party." Lipinksi spoke at a fundraising event for Butler last week called "Forward for Life."

Lipinksi represented Illinois’ 3rd Congressional District from 2005 to 2021. Rep. Marie Newman (D) defeated Lipinski 47.3% to 44.7% in the 2020 Democratic primary. Last year, Lipinski described his record in Congress as "strongly pro-life and strongly pro-union, as well as pro-environment and pro-defense. I was not in line with the Democratic Party on every issue, but I was initially considered to be just another blue-collar Democrat."

Butler, a pastor, says he is a Democrat who opposes abortion, supports investing in and partnering with police, and "opening up every avenue of school option." When asked in a Washington Examiner interview if opposition to abortion would harm his candidacy as a Democrat, Butler said he's finding that "many, many people in the community are excited about the opportunity to vote for a candidate that is not going to force them to essentially choose between values that are very important to them but can actually bring a holistic view."

About 10% of the old 3rd District (that Lipinski represented) is part of the redrawn 1st District.

Butler is one of 20 Democratic primary candidates, including Chicago Alderman Pat Dowell, who former U.S. Sen. Carol Moseley Braun (D) endorsed; Jonathan Jackson, a college professor and Rev. Jesse Jackson’s son; and former Chicago Cook Workforce Partnership CEO Karin Norington-Reaves, who incumbent Rep. Bobby Rush (D) endorsed.

Rush is retiring. The primary is set for June 28. Three election forecasters rate the general election Safe or Solid Democratic.

Rep. Filemon Vela announces resignation, triggering possible special election in TX-34[edit]

Rep. Filemon Vela (D-Texas) announced on March 24 that he will resign in the coming weeks. Vela has represented Texas’ 34th Congressional District since 2013 and was not running for re-election. Vela hasn’t announced an effective date for his resignation.

Gov. Greg Abbott (R) may call a special election to fill the seat. Abbott will have the option to call the special election for Nov. 8, alongside the regularly scheduled general election, or to call an emergency special election before that. A special emergency election would have to occur between 36 and 64 days after Abbott calls it. The Texas Tribune’s Patrick Svitek said Abbott could also call the special election for May 7—the next uniform election date—but that this was unlikely due to when military and overseas ballots were sent.

According to FiveThirtyEight, redistricting changed the 34th District's Democratic lean from D+5 to D+17. The special election would be held using the old district boundaries, so it would likely be a more competitive race than the general election in November.

The special election winner would serve until Jan. 3, the end of Vela’s term, unless they were also the winner of the regularly scheduled election.

Rep. Vicente Gonzalez (D) and Mayra Flores (R) are running in the regular election. Gonzalez currently represents the 15th Congressional District. He chose to run in the 34th after redistricting placed his residence in that district. Flores said she'll run in the special election. Gonzalez—who would have to resign from the 15th to run in the special—said he won't.

There would be no special primary election. Candidates of all affiliations would run on the same ballot, and if nobody received a majority, a special runoff would be held.

Vela is one of two U.S. House members to announce his resignation in 2022 and one of seven to do so since the start of the 117th Congress.

March 24, 2022[edit]

Two more U.S. House members endorse in IL-03[edit]

Two U.S. House members endorsed different candidates this week in the four-candidate Democratic primary for Illinois' 3rd Congressional District. Teresa Leger Fernandez (D-N.M.) endorsed Delia Ramirez, and Brad Schneider (D-Ill.) endorsed Gilbert Villegas.

Ramirez has been in the state House since 2019. Villegas has served on the Chicago City Council since 2015.

As we wrote in the February 24 issue, U.S. Rep. Chuy Garcia (D-Ill.) endorsed Ramirez, and U.S. Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) endorsed Villegas. Ramirez and Villegas both have endorsements from state legislators and Chicago City Council members. The Chicago Tribune said Ramirez's "congressional bid has drawn support from more progressive members of the Illinois legislature and City Council."

The two other candidates in the primary are Juan Aguirre and Iymen Chehade. Neither has published a list of endorsements. Aguirre is a patient care coordinator and a consultant with the National Diversity & Inclusion Cannabis Alliance. Chehade is a history professor at Columbia College and was a foreign policy advisor for U.S. Rep. Marie Newman's (D-Ill.) 2020 campaign.

The redrawn 3rd District's population is 47% Hispanic and includes Chicago’s Northwest Side, Bensenville, Addison, and West Chicago. The primary is set for June 28. Newman, the 3rd District's current representative, is seeking re-election in the 6th District.

March 17, 2022[edit]

Former city council member challenges Ilhan Omar in MN-05[edit]

Former Minneapolis City Council member Don Samuels announced his Democratic primary bid for Minnesota's 5th Congressional District. Samuels says incumbent Rep. Ilhan Omar (D) "has demonstrated she's out of touch with the residents of Minneapolis in the last election," referring to her support for a 2021 ballot measure to replace the city's police department with a Department of Public Safety. Voters rejected the measure 56%-44%.

Omar's campaign said in a fundraising email following Samuels' announcement, "[Samuels] was one of the most vocal opponents of a ballot amendment in Minneapolis that would have established a public safety system rooted in compassion, humanity and love, and delivering true justice. We can’t let him win and put a stop to all our work for progress."

Samuels was part of a group of residents who sued the city in 2020 alleging it did not have enough police officers to meet the city charter's requirements. A Hennepin County judge ruled in favor of the group in 2021, ordering the city to hire more officers. On Monday, the Minnesota Court of Appeals reversed the decision, stating that the mayor is responsible for determining police staffing levels.

Samuels also criticized Omar's vote against the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021. Omar was one of six Democrats to vote against the bill. Samuels said, "Too many D.C. politicians find their success through the division and purity politics that have defined our era, and, unfortunately in this case, Rep. Omar’s position was quite literally ‘my way or the highway,’ a position that fails to recognize the tremendous infrastructural needs of our community."

Omar said in November, "I have been clear that I would not be able to support the infrastructure bill without a vote on the Build Back Better Act. Passing the infrastructure bill without passing the Build Back Better Act first risks leaving behind childcare, paid leave, health care, climate action, housing, education, and a roadmap to citizenship."

The Star Tribune reported that Joe Radinovich, who managed Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey's successful re-election campaign last year, is managing Samuels' campaign.

Samuels served on the city council from 2003 to 2014. He then served a term on the Minneapolis Board of Education from 2014 to 2018. Omar was first elected to the U.S. House in 2018. She served in the state House of Representatives from 2017 to 2019.

Congressional Progressive Caucus members split endorsements in IL-06[edit]

U.S. Reps. Sean Casten and Marie Newman are both running in Illinois' 6th Congressional District Democratic primary as a result of redistricting. Both have garnered endorsements from members of the Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC), of which Newman is a member and Casten is not.

Most recently, Rep. Katie Porter (D-Calif.), deputy chair of the CPC, endorsed Casten. CPC Chair Pramila Jayapal has endorsed Newman.

In addition to Porter, 14 U.S. representatives have endorsed Casten, including four CPC members. Seven U.S. representatives in addition to Jayapal have endorsed Newman, six of whom are CPC members. The Progressive Caucus PAC endorsed Newman.

Forty-one percent of the newly drawn 6th District's population comes from the old 3rd District, which Newman currently represents. Twenty-three percent comes from the old 6th District, which Casten represents.

Casten was first elected to the House in 2018 and won re-election in 2020 by 7 percentage points. Newman was first elected in 2020, defeating then-U.S. Rep. Dan Lipinski in the Democratic primary by 3 percentage points before winning the general election by 13 percentage points.

The primary is scheduled for June 28.

March 10, 2022[edit]

NY Working Families Party endorses in NY-11, NY-12[edit]

The New York Working Families Party endorsed Brittany Ramos DeBarros in New York's 11th Congressional District primary and Rana Abdelhamid in the 12th District primary. Spectrum News 1 reported that former Rep. Max Rose in the 11th District and incumbent Rep. Carolyn Maloney in the 12th had sought the party's endorsement.

Both Abdelhamid and Ramos DeBarros are members of the Democratic Socialists of America. Rose was elected to the 11th District in 2018 and lost in 2020 to Nicole Malliotakis (R). The Working Families Party did not endorse in the 11th District primary or general elections in 2020. The party did not endorse in the 12th District primary that year, though it did back Maloney's general election bid. Maloney was first elected to the House in 1992.

New York uses fusion voting. More than one political party can support the same candidate, and that candidate appears on the same ballot multiple times under different party lines (for example, the Democratic Party and the Working Families Party).

NY-11[edit]

Ramos DeBarros, a veteran, said last year in response to a question on Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey, "There are a lot of people who have been left behind by the political establishment that always courts the margins in the center while we have hundreds of thousands of constituents who don't turn out because they aren’t inspired." Click here to read her full survey.

Rose, also a veteran, said after announcing his bid in December that he would spend time "earning people’s trust across the political spectrum and talking about ways in which we can actually fix people’s problems. Not just dividing us." Komi Agoda-Koussema is also running in the primary.

NY-12[edit]

Abdelhamid founded a women's defense nonprofit and works for Google. She said, "Representative Maloney has spent nearly 30 years taking millions of dollars from developers and Wall Street banks profiting off our suffering. People don't feel represented when 50% of Congress is made up of millionaires."

When announcing her bid for a 16th term, Maloney said, “Now more than ever, our city needs innovative leaders to spearhead our rebuilding from the COVID-19 crisis … From securing federal funding to help New Yorkers get vaccinated, pay their rent, and feed their families, I have led efforts that will enable New York City and New York State to build back better."

As we wrote last month, there are several other candidates running in the primary, including Suraj Patel, who challenged Maloney in 2018 and 2020. The primaries are set for June 28.

Israel an early issue in MI-11 primary[edit]

On March 3, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee endorsed Rep. Haley Stevens in Michigan's 11th Congressional District primary, where she faces fellow Rep. Andy Levin due to redistricting. The groups Democratic Majority for Israel and Pro-Israel America have also endorsed Stevens. The group J Street endorsed Levin.

Jewish Insider wrote, "The debate within the Democratic Party over the future of its support of the U.S.-Israel relationship and what it means to be pro-Israel is set to play out in stark fashion" in this district's primary.

Levin introduced the Two-State Solution Act in the House in September. The bill would prohibit the U.S. "from providing support for projects in geographic regions that came under Israeli control after June 5, 1967. It also prohibits the use of any U.S. security assistance, defense articles, or defense services provided to Israel for efforts to annex or exercise permanent control over any part of the West Bank or Gaza," according to the bill summary. It also allows for temporarily waiving some restrictions on the Palestine Liberation Organization and contains provisions for product labeling and development assistance.

Pro-Israel American Executive Director Jeff Mendelsohn said the Act was "unhelpful to the U.S.’s relationship to Israel and the peace process itself" and one of the reasons his group endorsed Stevens.

J Street supports the Two-State Solution Act. A J Street representative said Levin "embodies what it looks like to combine love for Israel with concern for its future and a commitment to core Jewish values of peace, justice and equality." Sumukh Kallur is also running in the primary, scheduled for Aug. 2.

U.S. Rep. Diana DeGette endorses in Colorado’s new 8th District[edit]

U.S. Rep. Diana DeGette (CO-01) endorsed state Sen. Yadira Caraveo in the Democratic primary for Colorado's newly created 8th Congressional District covering Denver’s northern suburbs. The state was apportioned eight U.S. House seats after the 2020 census, a one-seat gain.

In a statement, DeGette said, "As a pediatrician and state legislator, Dr. Caraveo knows how to have tough conversations and take on tough fights — and it's long past time for Coloradans to elect our first Latina U.S. representative."

Chaz Tedesco, Johnny Humphrey, and Joshua Rodriguez are also running so far.

Tedesco has been a member of the Adams County Commission since 2012 and has endorsements from several labor unions, including the International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers, the International Association of Firefighters, and Local 9 of the International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers.

Johnny Humphrey describes himself as a moderate Democrat and is the director of Inclusivity Services for The Center on Colfax, an LGBTQ nonprofit organization.

Joshua Rodriguez sought the Unity Party’s nomination for Colorado’s U.S. Senate seat in 2020. Rodriguez was arrested last month on charges including identity theft and attempting to influence a public servant.

The Denver Post's Alex Burness wrote, "Recent election results suggest the new 8th Congressional District will be a close race in 2022 — though Democrats may have a slight advantage." He also said that the district "is projected to have the highest concentration of Latino voters of any U.S. House district in the state."

The primary is scheduled for June 28.

March 3, 2022[edit]

Texas results roundup[edit]

Texas held the nation's first midterm primaries on Tuesday. Races in which no candidate received a majority of the vote are headed to May 24 runoffs. Here's a roundup of results from marquee Democratic primaries, current as of Thursday morning.

The big story of the night: Cuellar and Cisneros in runoff[edit]

Texas' 28th Congressional District: Incumbent Rep. Henry Cuellar and Jessica Cisneros are headed to a runoff. They received 48.4% and 46.9%, respectively. Tannya Benavides received 4.7%.

Cuellar, who first joined Congress in 2005, is a member of the Blue Dog Coalition and was the only House Democrat to vote against federal legislation to legalize abortion in September. Cuellar says he brought funding to the district for public education, healthcare services, small businesses, veteran's programs, and immigration services. Cisneros, an immigration attorney, supports Medicare for All and has criticized Cuellar's positions on abortion, immigration, and pandemic response.

In the 2020 Democratic primary, Cuellar defeated Cisneros 51.8% to 48.2%.

Other marquee primary results[edit]

U.S. House

Texas' 15th: This race was too close to call as of Thursday morning. Ruben Ramirez led with 28.3%. Vying for second were Michelle Vallejo with 20.1% and John Villarreal Rigney with 19.2%. Six candidates ran.
Texas' 30th: Jasmine Crockett and Jane Hamilton advanced to a runoff with 48.5% and 17.0% of the vote, respectively. Nine candidates ran. Incumbent Eddie Bernice Johnson (D) didn't seek re-election.
Texas' 34th: Rep. Vicente Gonzalez Jr. won with 64.8%. Laura Cisneros was second with 23.3%. Seven candidates ran. Gonzalez represents the 15th District and chose to run in the 34th after redistricting. Incumbent Filemon Vela (D) didn't run for re-election.
Texas' 35th: Greg Casar won with 61.3%. Eddie Rodriguez had 15.6% and Rebecca J. Viagran, 15.5%. Four candidates ran. This seat is open as incumbent Lloyd Doggett (D) ran in the 37th after redistricting.
Texas' 37th: Rep. Lloyd Doggett won with 79.2%. Donna Imam was second with 17.8%. Four candidates ran.

State executive

Attorney General: This race was too close to call as of Thursday morning. Rochelle Garza received 43.1%. Vying for second were Joe Jaworski with 19.6% and Lee Merritt with 19.5%. Five candidates ran.

Media analysis[edit]

The Texas Tribune's Joshua Fechter said the following about primary results in terms of incumbents and challengers:

“

Texas’ top Republicans mostly fended off challengers in the GOP primary Tuesday. Meanwhile, a slate of progressives made inroads in Democratic primaries for Congress — but fell short of their goal of an immediate sweep that would reshape the Texas’ U.S. House delegation. …

Meanwhile, the status quo was largely preserved in the Texas Legislature. No state Senate incumbents lost their seats Tuesday night. In the House, one sitting Democrat lost and no incumbent Republicans were knocked out, though a few were forced into runoffs. Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and House Speaker Dade Phelan both saw the vast majority of their favored candidates win primaries in the chambers they preside over.^[20]

”

The New York Times' Reid J. Epstein said the following of progressives' performance in House primaries:

“

Progressives frustrated by Mr. Biden’s stalled social policy agenda were looking for a boost in Texas and got one — possibly three.

Greg Casar, a former Austin city councilman, won easily Tuesday night and appears poised to come to Washington next year from his safely Democratic district. Another progressive contender, Jessica Cisneros, forced a runoff with Representative Henry Cuellar, a moderate who narrowly defeated her in the 2020 primary but is now under investigation by the F.B.I.

Jasmine Crockett, a state lawmaker who was among the ringleaders of Texas Democrats’ flight to Washington to delay new Republican voting laws last summer, has a large lead but appears bound for a runoff in a Dallas-area district. …

Together, Mr. Casar, Ms. Cisneros and Ms. Crockett would bring new energy to the liberal wing of the House and to "the Squad" of progressive Democrats. Last month, Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York came to Texas to campaign for Mr. Casar and Ms. Cisneros.^[20]

”

Following rules changes, Linn and Deschutes County Democrats endorse challenger in OR-05[edit]

Democratic Party leaders in Oregon’s Linn and Deschutes counties voted last week to change their committees’ rules against endorsing candidates in primaries. Both parties then endorsed Jamie McLeod-Skinner in the 5th Congressional District Democratic primary.

McLeod-Skinner, who was the Democratic nominee for Oregon's 2nd Congressional District in 2018 and ran for Oregon Secretary of State in 2020, is challenging incumbent Rep. Kurt Schrader. Schrader was first elected in 2008 and is a member of the Blue Dog Coalition, New Democrat Coalition, and Problem Solvers Caucus. McLeod-Skinner has endorsements from the Working Families Party and U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.).

After a Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee field organizer spoke on behalf of Schrader at a Deschutes County Democrats meeting on Feb. 10, Deschutes County precinct committee member Sid Snyder said, "[T]he fact that we have the 800-pound gorilla from Washington coming in and weighing in in our primary spurred some of us to say, 'You know what, we need Deschutes County Democrat voices heard, not just Washington, D.C., Democrat voices heard.'" Noting that redistricting moved the district eastward, Snyder said, "To us, [Schrader is] not an incumbent."

According to Daily Kos data, 47% of the new 5th District's population comes from the old 5th District.

Deschutes County's rule change only applies to this year's 5th District primary. Linn County's new rule applies to all primaries.

So far, Schrader and McLeod-Skinner are the only candidates running in the primary. The filing deadline is March 8 and the primary will be held on May 17.

Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb endorses Rep. Shontel Brown in OH-11[edit]

Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb endorsed Shontel Brown's re-election bid in Ohio's 11th Congressional District. Brown defeated Nina Turner in the special Democratic primary last year 50% to 45%. Turner is running against Brown again.

Bibb mentioned voting rights and federal infrastructure funds Cleveland had received and said, "We won’t be that city of opportunity unless we have a strong voice in Washington that will fight for Cleveland every single day."

Bibb assumed office in January, succeeding Mayor Frank Jackson, who endorsed Turner in last year's primary. Turner endorsed Bibb's mayoral bid (after the primary, in which she endorsed a candidate who didn't advance).

Brown took office in November and succeeded Marcia Fudge, who left office to become secretary of housing and urban development. Brown was on the Cuyahoga County Council from 2015 to 2021 and chairs the county Democratic Party. Turner was a state senator from 2008 to 2015 and co-chaired Bernie Sanders' 2020 presidential campaign. The primary is scheduled for May 3. Ohio's congressional district boundaries are in the process of being redrawn.

Ad shines spotlight on CO-03 Democratic primary[edit]

Colorado's 3rd Congressional District Democratic primary was in the news last week when candidate Alex Walker announced his bid with an ad featuring graphic language and visuals, including feces falling from the sky.

Walker said, "We are real Coloradans. We deserve a living wage, small government that actually works, and freedom of choice. Instead, we have bull****."

Walker's isn't the first ad in the race with a fecal focal point. Last May, attorney Cory Wilhelm released an ad in which he said, "Our current representative is full of bull***, and I'm not bull***."

At least nine candidates are running in the Democratic primary. Six have filled out Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey:

As of Dec. 31, Sandoval, a community organizer, led Democrats in fundraising with $535,000. Wilhelm had $305,000, including $281,000 he loaned his campaign. Two other Democrats had raised six figures—state Rep. Donald Valdez at $286,000 and veterinarian Debby Burnett at $179,000.

Incumbent Lauren Boebert (R) raised more than $3.5 million as of Dec. 31. Boebert was first elected to represent the 3rd in 2020 after defeating incumbent Scott Tipton in the Republican primary 55% to 45%.

February 24, 2022[edit]

Chuck Schumer endorses Jamaal Bowman in NY-16[edit]

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) endorsed 16th Congressional District Rep. Jamaal Bowman. Schumer said he has worked with Bowman on upgrading Mount Vernon's sewer system and building a new rail line between New Rochelle and Penn Station.

Bowman defeated 16-term incumbent Eliot Engel in the district's 2020 Democratic primary. Schumer had endorsed Engel in that race.

Bronx outlet News 12 reported that Yonkers Democratic Chair and Department of Public Works Commissioner Tom Meier may run in the primary. According to the Yonkers Times, Meier "embraces the label of moderate democrat."

The Yonkers Times also said Yonkers Mayor Mike Spano is considering a bid, but only if Meier doesn't run, according to their source. After Boman was arrested during a protest, Spano, who called himself a "hardcore moderate in the middle," said, "They should have arrested him for his 'no' vote on infrastructure."

Bowman was one of six Democrats to vote against the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021. The other five were Reps. Cori Bush (Mo.), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (N.Y.), Ilhan Omar (Minn.), Ayanna Pressley (Mass.), and Rashida Tlaib (Mich.). Bowman said he voted against it because House leadership decided to vote on the Build Back Better Act separately. Bowman said, "It was important for us to pass both bills at the same time because the [Build Back Better] bill had already been gutted so much from when it came to us from the Senate. It came to us at [$]3.5 trillion … all of a sudden some of my colleagues wanted to cut it down, and it ended up at [$]1.75 [trillion]."

Manuel Casanova, a Democratic district leader from New Rochelle, is also running in the primary. Casanova’s campaign website says, "Democrats must demonstrate that we can govern and lead responsibly and not just talk, complain, and bicker with each other on Twitter. This must stop. We must pass legislation that demonstrates that Democrats can unite as one team, and then aim to work with Republicans in a bipartisan way when possible."

Westchester County Legislator Vedat Gashi also filed for the primary, which is scheduled for June 28. The state's new congressional district map moves the 16th further north into Westchester County and part of the Bronx into a different district. The map is being challenged in court. According to FiveThirtyEight, the district's Democratic lean changed from D+49 under the old map to D+36 under the new map.

Rep. Chuy Garcia endorses in three-way IL-03 primary[edit]

On Feb. 15, U.S. Rep. Chuy Garcia (D-Ill.) endorsed state Rep. Delia Ramirez in the Democratic primary for Illinois’ 3rd Congressional District. Ramirez has endorsements from more than 20 state legislators and nine Chicago City Council members. The Chicago Tribune said these endorsements were "from more progressive members of the Illinois legislature and City Council."

Two other candidates are running in the June 28 primary.

Chicago Ald. Gilbert Villegas, the council’s Latino Caucus chair, has endorsements from U.S. Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.), a state senator, three state representatives, and five members of the Chicago City Council.

Iymen Chehade, a history professor at Columbia College, does not have any published endorsements. Chehade was a foreign policy advisor for U.S. Rep. Marie Newman’s (D-Ill.) 2020 campaign.

The newly drawn 3rd District has a population that is 47% Hispanic and includes Chicago’s Northwest Side, Bensenville, Addison, and West Chicago. The Chicago Sun-Times wrote, "A Democratic primary with multiple Hispanics will divide the Hispanic vote, leaving the door wide open for a non-Hispanic candidate to claim the seat.”

February 17, 2022[edit]

Suraj Patel challenges Rep. Carolyn Maloney again in NY-12[edit]

New York's 12th Congressional District Rep. Carolyn Maloney faces at least seven challengers in the Democratic primary, including one she's faced twice before. Suraj Patel, who Maloney defeated most recently in 2020 43% to 39%, announced his bid this week.

Patel, a former campaign staffer for President Barack Obama, called himself "pro-growth, pro-democracy, pro-science and pro-safety" and said, "This is a new decade, a new district, and as we enter year 3 of a pandemic we’ve got new challenges, which means we need a government that proactively develops 21st-century solutions to 21st-century problems."

Maloney was first elected in 1992. Maloney's campaign website says her "position as a hard-hitting progressive leader is indisputable." When announcing her bid for a 16th term, Maloney said, "Now more than ever, our city needs innovative leaders to spearhead our rebuilding from the COVID-19 crisis … From securing federal funding to help New Yorkers get vaccinated, pay their rent, and feed their families, I have led efforts that will enable New York City and New York State to build back better."

Jewish Insider's Matthew Kassel said redistricting expanded the 12th District "westward into Manhattan, where [Maloney] is likely to pick up a cluster of new voters that will add to a traditional support base in her home neighborhood of the Upper East Side. Meanwhile, the new boundaries cut back on left-leaning enclaves in Brooklyn and Queens, where Maloney has performed poorly in recent elections." The new map is being challenged in court.

Patel said the new district map could benefit him, pointing to parts of the former 10th District—which Rep. Jerry Nadler represents—that became part of the 12th and saying his positions are closer to Nadler's than Maloney's are.

Candidate Rana Abdelhamid launched her campaign last April with support from Justice Democrats. Abdelhamid said, "As the pandemic has exacerbated inequities in our communities, this district deserves a representative who fights for renters instead of developers, and small shops instead of big banks … A leader who went to New York City public schools, isn't a millionaire, and answers to all of us — not just the corporate PACs who fund her reelection campaigns."

According to The City's Clifford Michel, candidate Maud Maron "is looking to promote issues such as public safety and wants to get rid of masking in schools. Her moderate credentials could siphon votes from Maloney while the incumbent tries to fend off a progresive [sic] challenge." Maron's campaign website says she "rejects ideological purity in favor of practical solutions. She was one of the very first candidates to reject 'Defund Police' proposals because all communities need safe streets, parks and transportation."

The primary is set for June 28.

Ocasio-Cortez rallies, Sanders endorses in TX-28, TX-35[edit]

On Feb. 12 and Feb. 13, U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) campaigned in Texas for U.S. House candidates Jessica Cisneros (District 28) and Greg Casar (District 35), including at a rally for the candidates in San Antonio.

Ocasio-Cortez criticized U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar, who faces Cisneros in the March 1 primary, for saying last summer that he wouldn’t vote for a budget resolution needed to pass the Build Back Better Act unless the House first voted on an infrastructure bill the Senate had passed, as we wrote about two weeks ago. Ocasio-Cortez said, "A lot of people say ‘Manchin, Manchin, Manchin . . . But we know it’s not just Manchin. You know who’s helping him? Henry Cuellar." Ocasio-Cortez said, "If you’re upset about Build Back Better, you can elect Jessica Cisneros."

The Build Back Better Act passed the House, with Cuellar's support, in November. The Senate has not yet taken it up.

Before the rally, Cuellar said, "The voters will decide this election, not far left celebrities who stand for defunding the police, open borders, eliminating oil & gas jobs, and raising taxes on hard working Texans. Members should take care of their own district before taking failed ideas to South Texas."

On Feb. 14, U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) endorsed Cisneros and Casar.

Tannya Benavides is also running in the 28th District primary. Casar faces three other candidates in the open 35th District. If no candidate receives a majority of the vote, the top two vote-getters will advance to a runoff on May 24.

Three major race forecasters consider the 28th District general election either Lean or Likely Democratic. The 35th District is Safe or Solid Democratic.

Retiring Rep. Brenda Lawrence, Congressional Progressive Caucus endorse in two-incumbent primary[edit]

On Feb. 10, retiring Michigan 14th Congressional District Rep. Brenda Lawrence (D) and the Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC) endorsed different incumbents running in Michigan’s 11th Congressional District Democratic primary.

Lawrence endorsed Rep. Haley Stevens, saying that "no person represents the quality, the compassion, the work ethic better than Haley Stevens." The CPC endorsed Rep. Andy Levin, saying he "is a progressive champion driven by a commitment to universal justice and equity, not backroom special-interest agendas."

Both Stevens and Levin were first elected in 2018. According to data from Daily Kos, 45% of the newly drawn 11th District’s population comes from Michigan’s old 11th District (which Stevens represents), 25% comes from the old 9th District (which Levin represents), and 30% comes from the old 14th District (which Lawrence represents).

Last month, Stevens criticized Levin’s decision to run in the 11th District, saying she "couldn't imagine abandoning over 70% of [her] current constituents in an open and winnable congressional seat to primary a fellow Democrat." Three independent race forecasters rate Michigan’s new 10th District, which 71% of Levin’s old district was drawn into, Tilt or Lean Republican. Levin said, "No current Member of Congress has represented the new districts as drawn, full stop. I am running in the district drawn around the home where I’ve lived for 16 years."

Independent forecasters rate the general election in Michigan’s 11th Safe or Solid Democratic. The primary is scheduled for Aug. 2.

February 10, 2022[edit]

Ocasio-Cortez holding rally with Cisneros and Casar in Texas[edit]

U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) said she will travel to San Antonio on Feb. 12 for a rally to support Democratic congressional primary candidates Jessica Cisneros and Greg Casar.

Cisneros is running in the Democratic primary for Texas' 28th Congressional District against Tannya Benavides and incumbent Henry Cuellar. Cuellar defeated Cisneros 51.8% to 48.2% in the 2020 Democratic primary.

Cuellar, a member of the Blue Dog Coalition, was first elected to Congress in 2004. Cisneros, an immigration attorney, cited her criticism of Cuellar's response to the coronavirus pandemic as a key reason she is running again. Cisneros has also criticized Cuellar for opposing legalized abortion and his votes on federal immigration bills.

Casar is running in the Democratic primary for Texas' 35th Congressional District against Eddie Rodriguez, Carla-Joy Sisco, and Rebecca Viagran. Incumbent Lloyd Doggett (D) is running for re-election in the 37th District, leaving the 35th District open for the first time since its creation following the 2010 census.

Casar was a member of the Austin City Council from 2015 to 2022. The San Antonio Express-News' Cayla Harris wrote: "Casar is undoubtedly the farthest-left candidate of the group, but Rodriguez’s record is similar: He is ranked among the most liberal members of the state House."

Early voting in Texas begins Feb. 14.

Checking in on U.S. House incumbent-vs.-incumbent primaries[edit]

There are five primaries with incumbents running against one another so far. Three are Democratic primaries.

With congressional redistricting unsettled in several states, there could be more incumbent-vs.-incumbent races on the horizon. That could happen if incumbents' home addresses or political bases of support are redrawn into the same district, or if multiple incumbents determine that the characteristics of a particular district are more favorable to their re-election. Today, we're looking at how much money competing incumbents raised in 2021. The following data is from the Federal Election Commission.

Georgia's 7th (May 24 primary)

Carolyn Bourdeaux: $2.4 million
Lucy McBath: $3.2 million
Donna McLeod (non-incumbent): $23,000

Illinois' 6th (June 28 primary)

Sean Casten: $1.9 million
Marie Newman: $1.0 million

Michigan's 11th (August 2 primary)

Andy Levin: $1.3 million
Haley Stevens: $2.5 million

There were 11 incumbent-versus-incumbent U.S. House primaries in 2012—five Democratic, three Republican, and three in which candidates of all affiliations competed together. In the three districts where it was possible for candidates of the same party to advance to the general election (two using California's top-two primary system and one using Louisiana's majority-vote system), incumbents of the same party also competed in generals. Two additional races featured a general election contest between incumbents of different parties.

As of Feb. 9, 10 states hadn't adopted congressional redistricting plans yet and two states had adopted maps that courts then blocked. Thirty-one states had adopted congressional district maps. One state approved boundaries that hadn't yet taken effect. Six states have a single U.S. House district each, so no congressional redistricting is required.

Texas election competitiveness data[edit]

With the first primaries coming up on March 1, here's a look at congressional and state legislative election competitiveness data for Texas over the past three cycles.

February 3, 2022[edit]

Brown-Turner rematch likely in OH-11[edit]

On Jan. 26, Nina Turner announced she'll challenge 11th Congressional District incumbent Rep. Shontel Brown (D). Brown defeated Turner in a special primary 50.1% to 44.6% last August. The Hill's Julia Manchester described the special primary as "a proxy battle for the Democratic Party establishment and national progressives."

Turner said that "not much has changed in the material conditions of the poor, the working poor, and the barely middle class. So the reasons are still the same. To lift the people. … Cleveland is the largest poor city in the country. … This region really deserves a leader that is going to fight, not just vote the right way, but fight for what is needed."

In a Jan. 20 interview with Jewish Insider, Brown said, "I think that the [special primary] local race was really about results. It didn’t get into this progressive-moderate issue. … I know the national narrative was different. But it definitely, on the ground, was about who has been doing the work and who has been delivering for the people."

Brown served on the Cuyahoga County Council from 2015 until she joined the House in November. Brown has also been chairwoman of the county Democratic Party since 2017. Turner, a former state senator, was a 2016 national surrogate and 2020 co-chair for Bernie Sanders' Democratic presidential primary campaigns.

Last year's special election was held after former incumbent Marcia Fudge (D) became secretary of Housing and Urban Development in President Joe Biden's administration. Ohio's congressional district map is unsettled. Last month, the state supreme court ordered state legislators to redraw district lines. The filing deadline is scheduled for March 4 and the primary for May 3.

Patriotic Millionaires endorses in two U.S. House primaries[edit]

The organization Patriotic Millionaires endorsed Jessica Cisneros (TX-28) and Rep. Lucy McBath (GA-6) on Jan. 27. Cisneros faces Rep. Henry Cuellar in a March 1 primary rematch of 2020, while McBath faces fellow incumbent Rep. Carolyn Bourdeaux in a May 24 primary due to redistricting. According to The Hill, this was the first time Patriotic Millionaires endorsed in party primaries.

Eric Payne, the group's founder, said: "These radical moderates have done more damage to President Biden’s agenda than Mitch McConnell and Ted Cruz combined. … Their outright sabotage of President Biden’s Build Back Better Agenda, likely done on behalf of their donors, left us with no choice - it’s time to draw a line in the sand."

Nine Democratic House members, including Bourdeaux and Cuellar, signed a letter last August saying they wouldn’t vote for a budget resolution needed to pass the Build Back Better Act unless the House first voted on an infrastructure bill the Senate passed. Later that month, the House passed a resolution to advance both bills, with Bourdeaux's and Cuellar's support. The resolution contained a nonbinding commitment to vote on the infrastructure bill in September (which did not happen). The House passed the infrastructure bill and then the Build Back Better Act in November. Bourdeaux and Cuellar supported both.

Patriotic Millionaires' website says it focuses on "promoting public policy solutions that encourage political equality, guarantee a sustaining wage for working Americans, and ensure that millionaires, billionaires, and corporations pay their fair share of taxes." Among the group’s members are Abigail Disney and Morris Pearl, a former managing director of investment management company BlackRock.

The group has endorsed seven other 2022 U.S. House candidates.

Two Kentucky state legislators face off in open KY-03[edit]

Kentucky’s candidate filing deadline passed last week, finalizing primary candidate fields. State Sen. Minority Leader Morgan McGarvey and state Rep. Attica Scott are running in the Democratic primary for the Louisville-area 3rd Congressional District—the only Democratic-leaning district in the state.

Rep. John Yarmuth (D) is retiring, leaving the district open for the first time since 1994. The Lexington Herald-Leader's David Catanese said the primary was shaping up to "showcase some of the same ideological and demographic fissures that are currently splitting Democrats in Washington."

McGarvey announced his candidacy after Yarmuth’s October retirement announcement. McGarvey said, "Congressman Yarmuth has been an incredible advocate for Kentucky families. … [W]e need to ensure Kentucky continues to send an effective Democratic voice to Congress."

Scott entered the race last July, expecting to face Yarmuth in the primary. Scott says she's running "a people-powered campaign where we all win with new and different leadership in Congress. … [F]ar too many of us have been left behind and left out in DC … [Y]oung people, women, and people of color can’t wait."

Kentucky’s primary is scheduled for May 17, though the state’s recently enacted congressional and state House maps are being challenged in court.

Jonathan Jackson, son of Rev. Jesse Jackson, files for IL-01[edit]

On Jan. 26, Chicago businessman Jonathan Jackson filed with the Federal Election Commission for the Democratic primary in Illinois' 1st Congressional District. Current incumbent Rep. Bobby Rush (D) is retiring.

Jackson is the son of Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr., who sought the Democratic presidential nomination in 1984 and 1988 and served a single term as the District of Columbia's shadow U.S. senator in the 1990s. Jonathan's brother, Jesse Jackson Jr., served nine terms representing a neighboring Illinois district in the U.S. House before resigning in 2012.

Fourteen candidates are running in the Democratic primary so far. The candidate filing deadline is March 14. Among the other candidates are Chicago Alderman Pat Dowell, who former U.S. Sen. Carol Moseley Braun (D) endorsed, and Karin Norington-Reaves (D), who Rush endorsed.

The primary is set for June 28. Three election forecasters rated Illinois' 1st Congressional District Safe or Solid Democratic.

January 27, 2022[edit]

Former state Sen. Vincent Fort challenging U.S. Rep. David Scott in GA-13[edit]

Vincent Fort announced on Jan. 20 he's challenging U.S. Rep. David Scott in the Democratic primary for Georgia's 13th Congressional District. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution's Greg Bluestein said this is "one of several ideological battles in Georgia that will help shape the direction of the Democratic Party in 2022."

Fort said the district "needs someone who believes in Democratic ideals and someone who doesn’t vote like a South Georgia Republican. It needs someone who believes in Medicare for All and doesn’t side with the big banks and predatory lenders." Bluestein said that Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) endorsed Fort's bid for Atlanta mayor in 2017 due to Fort calling for "the decriminalization of marijuana, free tuition at Atlanta city colleges and other left-leaning initiatives."

Bluestein described Scott as a moderate, pointing to his membership in the Blue Dog Coalition and saying Scott endorsed Sen. Johnny Isakson's (R) 2016 re-election bid and had "broken party lines to support then-President George W. Bush’s tax cuts and back Republican-led foreign policy efforts."

Scott campaign spokesman Ralph Jones said in November, "From climate change and crippling student debt, to skyrocketing prescription costs and an economy struggling to build back from COVID-19, Congressman Scott looks forward to continuing his work in the People’s House to lead on solutions to the unprecedented challenges our communities face."

Scott was first elected in 2002. Fort served in the state Senate for 20 years before his mayoral bid, in which he placed 5th of 12 candidates.

South Fulton City Councilman Mark Baker and Antonio Gray are also running. The primary is set for May 24. If no candidate gets more than 50% of the vote, a runoff will be held on June 21.

House members make dueling endorsements in TX-28 primary, newspaper switches its endorsement from 2020[edit]

On Jan. 20, U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) endorsed Jessica Cisneros in the Democratic primary for Texas' 28th Congressional District. On Jan. 19, House Majority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) endorsed incumbent Henry Cuellar.

Cuellar and Cisneros also ran against one another in the 2020 Democratic primary, which Cuellar won 51.8% to 48.2%.

The San Antonio Express-News, which endorsed Cuellar in the 2020 primary, endorsed Cisneros on Monday, saying Cisneros: "offers a fresh and compelling vision for the district, although she needs to study up on military issues. We appreciate her expertise in immigration law and the potential for her to give voice to border and immigration issues. We are also troubled by Cuellar’s measured support of the 'Remain in Mexico' policy, which he said could continue with the presence of the United Nations. We also wonder how well Cuellar works with other border lawmakers."

In 2020, Cisneros' endorsers included Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), and Ocasio-Cortez. Cuellar's endorsers included House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Chairwoman Cheri Bustos (D-Ill.).

Tannya Benavides is also running in the March 1 primary. If no candidate receives a majority of the vote, the top two vote-getters will advance to a May 24 primary runoff.

Cuellar was first elected to the House in 2004. The 28th District is one of five districts in Texas that the National Republican Congressional Committee is targeting. Three independent election forecasters currently rate the general election either Solid Democratic or Likely Democratic.

January 20, 2022[edit]

Shanelle Jackson launches primary challenge to Rep. Rashida Tlaib[edit]

On Jan. 14, former state Rep. Shanelle Jackson (D) announced she would challenge U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D) in the Democratic primary for Michigan's newly redrawn 12th Congressional District. Jackson ran against Tlaib in the 2018 Democratic primary for the 13th District, which Tlaib won with 31% of the vote. Jackson received 5%.

Jackson said in a recent interview with Jewish Insider, "I think we’ll be very different, obviously, in our approaches. I don’t hate banks. I don’t hate subprime lenders. I know, as an African American that has been poor and has been better, that we need all options on the table and that our situation is nuanced."

In a press release supporting the 2020 Public Banking Act, Tlaib said large financial institutions "held the country hostage for their reckless behavior" and, "It is time for this relationship to be reciprocated and have the banks work for the people and not solely privatized profits wreaking havoc on communities of color."

Jackson also said Tlaib, who supported the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement, "obviously is carrying the water of Palestine in all that she does." Jackson said she would work to strengthen ties with Israel and believes "the United States and Israel are sisters, and I can’t imagine living in a world where our nation didn’t have Israel’s back. It’s heartbreaking, to be honest with you, to have Rep. Tlaib not even wanting to explore that path."

Tlaib voted against funding for Israel's Iron Dome defense system in September 2021, saying, "I will not support an effort to enable and support war crimes, human rights abuses and violence. The Israeli government is an apartheid regime."

Tlaib announced on Jan. 5 she would run in the open 12th District, which she said includes about two-thirds of the people she currently represents. As of Jan. 19, Jackson and Tlaib were the only declared candidates for the Democratic primary, scheduled for Aug. 2.

U.S. Rep. John Larson announces re-election amid first primary challenge since 1998[edit]

U.S. Rep. John Larson (D) announced on Jan. 14 that he's running for re-election to Connecticut's 1st Congressional District. But for the first time since his initial win in 1998, Larson will face a primary challenge.

Primary candidate Muad Hrezi, a 27-year-old former staffer to U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), completed Ballotpedia’s Candidate Connection survey, writing that he is most passionate about "unrigging our economy, making sure everyone has access to medical care at an affordable price, stopping catastrophic climate change, and making sure all communities are safe and free from discrimination." Click here to read his full responses.

On his campaign website, Larson said he "has delivered real results and real solutions on big issues — like Covid-relief, infrastructure, and health care reform — and on local issues — helping over 17,500 constituents with problems involving veteran’s affairs, social security, immigration, and more."

CTMirror.org's Mark Pazniokas wrote, "Hrezi is hoping to catch a wave, testing whether there might be an undetected vein of dissatisfaction with Larson — and if anything in the playbook used by U.S. Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Ayanna Pressley might work here."

The primary is scheduled for Aug. 9. The winner is likely to go on to win the general election; Larson has won re-election 11 times by an average margin of 36 percentage points.

January 13, 2022[edit]

Rematches on horizon in FL-20 Democratic primary[edit]

On Jan. 11, Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (D) won a special election to succeed former Rep. Alcee Hastings (D), who died in April of last year. Cherfilus-McCormick received 79% of the vote. If Cherfilus-McCormick runs for a full term later this year, she'll once again face several opponents from last November's special Democratic primary, including second-place finisher Dale Holness and third-place finisher Barbara Sharief.

Cherfilus-McCormick defeated Holness by 5 votes in the special primary. Both candidates had 23.8% of the vote. Sharief received 17.7%. Holness and Sharief were Broward County commissioners. Cherfilus-McCormick is CEO of Trinity Health Care Services.

Cherfilus-McCormick campaigned on $1,000-per-month payments to people over 18 making less than $75,000 a year, Medicare for All, and a $20 minimum wage. Holness' campaign website said he would fight to make the district "a beacon of economic growth throughout America." Sharief's platform included a $15 minimum wage and expanding Medicare and Medicaid coverage.

The Democratic primary for the November 2022 general election is set for Aug. 23.

In addition, three special primary elections were held Tuesday for legislative districts where incumbents resigned to run in the special Democratic primary for Congress.

Florida Senate District 33: Rosalind Osgood defeated Terry Edden 74% to 26%.
Florida House District 88: Jervonte Edmonds defeated Clarence Williams 65% to 35%.
Florida House District 94: Daryl Campbell defeated three other candidates with 40% of the vote. Josephus Eggelletion III was second with 29%.

Osgood and Edmonds face Republican challengers in special general elections on March 8. The general election for House District 94 was canceled due to lack of opposition.

Chicago Ald. Dowell drops SoS bid to run in 1st District primary[edit]

On Jan. 5, Chicago Ald. Pat Dowell (D) announced she would end her bid for Illinois secretary of state and instead run in the Democratic primary for the 1st Congressional District. Dowell made the announcement following 1st District Rep. Bobby Rush’s (D) announcement that he would not seek re-election. The Chicago Sun-Times' Lynn Sweet said Dowell’s political and fundraising campaign operation would give her a strong position in the primary.

Sweet also reported that Chicago Cook Workforce Partnership CEO Karin Norington-Reaves launched a primary campaign for the 1st District. Rush told the Chicago Sun-Times he plans to endorse a successor in the coming weeks. Sweet said that "there are signs pointing to Norington-Reaves getting his nod. She worked with Rush in bringing to his district the Chatham Education and Workforce Center."

The 1st Congressional District contains portions of Chicago’s South Side and southern suburbs. According to The Cook Political Report, the district is solidly Democratic.

Rush was first elected in 1992 and is the only politician to defeat former President Barack Obama (D) in an election. Rush defeated then-state Sen. Obama 61%-30% in the 2000 U.S. House Democratic primary.

Clay Aiken launches second U.S. House bid in N.C.[edit]

Clay Aiken, an entertainer and former American Idol contestant, announced his bid for North Carolina’s 6th Congressional District on Jan. 10. In 2014, Aiken won the Democratic primary in North Carolina’s 2nd Congressional District. Incumbent Renee Ellmers (R) defeated him in the general 59% to 41%.

In 2003, Aiken lost Season 2 of American Idol to Ruben Studdard by a 134,000-vote margin out of 24 million votes cast.

Other Democratic primary candidates so far include Durham County Commissioner Nida Allam, state Sen. Valerie Foushee, and state Sen. Wiley Nickel.

The redrawn 6th District includes much of the current 4th District, which retiring Rep. David Price (D) represents. Three independent outlets have rated North Carolina’s 6th as Safe or Solid Democratic.

In December, the North Carolina Supreme Court postponed the state's 2022 primary election from March 8 to May 17 to allow time for redistricting map challenges to move through the courts. On Jan. 11, the Wake County Superior Court ruled in favor of the congressional district maps. Appeals are possible.

January 6, 2022[edit]

Rep. Sires retires, endorses predecessor's son[edit]

On Dec. 21, U.S. Rep. Albio Sires (D) announced he would not seek re-election, setting up an open-seat race for New Jersey's 8th Congressional District. Sires endorsed Robert Menendez Jr., son of U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez (D), for the district. Sen. Menendez was Sires' predecessor in the House.

Sires said of Robert, "I think he’s got the right temperament. He’s got the intelligence. I think he’s very well liked and he comes from good stock." New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy (D) and U.S. Sen. Cory Booker (D) also endorsed Menendez.

Belleville Mayor Michael Melham said he is considering running for the district. Other local officials are reportedly considering bids as well. Hector Oseguera (D), who lost to Sires 27% to 70% in the 2020 Democratic primary, said, "I can guarantee that the progressives will not sit out the race. Who that candidate will be, I ultimately can’t say."

The Cook Political Report rated the 8th District Solid Democratic for the 2022 general election. Sires has represented the 8th District since 2013 and previously represented the 13th Congressional District from 2007 until 2012, when it was eliminated after the 2010 census.

Since Sires' announcement, two additional House Democrats, Bobby Rush (D) and Brenda Lawrence (D), have announced their retirements. Rush represents Illinois' 1st Congressional District, a solidly Democratic district according to The Cook Political Report. Lawrence represents Michigan's 14th Congressional District, which was eliminated after Michigan lost a congressional seat as a result of the 2020 census. Lawrence would have been in the new 12th District, which is solidly Democratic.

Incumbent Reps. Levin, Stevens announce plans to run in redrawn MI-11[edit]

Democratic Reps. Andy Levin and Haley Stevens announced they will run in Michigan's redrawn 11th Congressional District. Stevens represents the current 11th District and Levin represents the current 9th District. Both assumed office in January 2019.

Roll Call's Stephanie Akin wrote, "Levin, the more progressive of the two, has the advantage of a well-known family name. His father Sander Levin represented the region in the House for more than three decades and his uncle Carl Levin served as a senator for even longer. Stevens, though, brings more experience running competitive campaigns after two cycles as a top GOP target."

FiveThirtyEight says the new 11th District has a partisan lean of D+15. Under the old map, the 11th District leaned R+2 and the 9th District, D+8.

This was the first redistricting cycle in which the Michigan Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission was responsible for district maps. Voters approved a 2018 constitutional amendment that transferred redistricting authority from the state legislature to an independent commission. Michigan lost one congressional district following the 2020 census.

The filing deadline is April 19, and the primary is scheduled for Aug. 2.

December 16, 2021[edit]

Abortion stances become a focal point in TX-28 rematch[edit]

Texas' March 1 primaries will feature a rematch between U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar and Jessica Cisneros in the 28th Congressional District. Cuellar defeated Cisneros 51.8% to 48.2% in 2020.

The issue of abortion is receiving national attention partly due to a Texas law restricting abortions after a fetal heartbeat can be detected. The law went into effect on Sept. 1 and was the subject of two recent U.S. Supreme Court cases. The abortion debate is cropping up in the 28th District Democratic primary.

Among Cisneros' endorsers are NARAL Pro-Choice America, EMILY's List, and Planned Parenthood Action Fund. In its November endorsement, Planned Parenthood Action Fund mentioned the Texas law.

Cisneros' press release announcing Planned Parenthood Action Fund's endorsement said Cuellar has been "proudly anti-choice for decades, co-sponsoring anti-choice legislation with Republicans, supported Trump-era restrictions on abortion and reproductive healthcare, was the only Democrat to vote in favor of the discriminatory Hyde amendment this Congress and most recently was the only Democrat to vote against the Women’s Health Protection Act."

Cuellar said he voted against the bill, which would have limited restrictions on abortion, because "I am a Catholic, and I do believe in rights and right to life. … Sometimes people vote because of political (views), they think this is a Democratic or Republican issue. To me, it’s a matter of conscience."

Tannya Benavides is also running in the Democratic primary. In September, she and Cisneros held an event on Instagram to discuss Texas' abortion law. Benavides said, "Abortion access is health care. It’s so bizarre that this is where we have gotten to."

In the 2020 Democratic primary, Cuellar said his district "is more moderate, conservative Democrats" and that he understood south Texas politics.

While it doesn't tell us anything about the ideological leaning of Democrats within the district, recent redistricting will make the 28th District a little more Democratic than in the past. President Joe Biden (D) would have defeated Donald Trump (R) 53% to 46% in the redrawn district. Biden defeated Trump 52% to 47% in the current district.

Vermont follow-up: Gray, Balint announce bids for open U.S. House seat[edit]

Since our last issue, Vermont Senate President Pro Tempore Becca Balint (D) and Lt. Gov. Molly Gray (D) officially announced their campaigns for the state's at-large U.S. House seat. Current Rep. Peter Welch (D) is running for U.S. Senate. The current incumbent, Sen. Patrick Leahy (D), is retiring. The primary is scheduled for Aug. 9.

Endorsements for Newman, Casten in incumbent-vs.-incumbent primary[edit]

U.S. Reps. Sean Casten (D) and Marie Newman (D) will run against one another in the primary for Illinois' 6th Congressional District after Newman's current district was eliminated in redistricting. Both candidates have received endorsements from national influencers and organizations in recent weeks.

Casten announced endorsements from 12 U.S. House members, including Illinois Reps. Bill Foster (D) and Brad Schneider (D), on Dec. 1. Among the other members endorsing him were Maxine Waters (D), chairwoman of the Financial Services Committee, and Kathy Castor (D), chairwoman of the Select Committee on the Climate Crisis. Casten's campaign released a list of more than 40 local endorsers on Dec. 8, including seven state legislators and seven county board members.

The Congressional Progressive Caucus' political action committee endorsed Newman on Dec. 8. The 95-member caucus' stated goal is enacting policies that "prioritize working Americans over corporate interests, fight economic and social inequality, and advance civil liberties." Newman's other recent endorsers include 10 mayors and the Amalgamated Transit Union Locals 241 and 308.

Planned Parenthood Action Fund endorsed both Casten and Newman.

Newman was first elected to the House in 2020 after defeating incumbent Dan Lipinski in the Democratic primary. Casten defeated incumbent Peter Roskam (R) in the 2018 general election.

Texas primary update after Dec. 13 filing deadline[edit]

The filing period for Texas' U.S. House and state legislative races ended on Dec. 13. Texas has next year’s first primaries on March 1. We reviewed the list of candidates that filed with the secretary of state's office to identify the number of contested primaries. The numbers below were current the morning of Dec. 15. Note that the state may not have processed all candidates at that time.

U.S. House of Representatives

78 Democratic candidates have filed.
11 Democratic incumbents filed for re-election. Democrats currently represent three U.S. House districts where no incumbent is running. In addition, Rep. Vincente Gonzalez (D-15) is running in Texas' 34th District. The current incumbent, Rep. Filemon Vela (D), is not seeking re-election. Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D-35) is running in the newly created 37th Congressional District.
Five Democratic incumbents currently face a contested primary.
17 U.S. House districts have multiple Democratic candidates.

The current partisan composition of Texas' U.S. House districts is 13 Democrats and 23 Republicans. The state gained two additional districts after the 2020 census.

State Senate

29 Democratic candidates have filed.
10 Democratic incumbents have filed for re-election. SD-27 incumbent Eddie Lucio (D) announced on Nov. 4 that he would not run for re-election.
1 Democratic incumbent currently faces a contested primary.
4 Senate districts have multiple Democratic candidates.

The current partisan composition of the Texas Senate is 18 Republicans and 13 Democrats.

State House of Representatives

153 Democratic candidates have filed.
53 Democratic incumbents have filed for re-election. Twelve Democratic incumbents are not running for re-election.
8 Democratic incumbents currently face a contested primary.
25 House districts have multiple Democratic candidates.

The current partisan composition of the Texas House is 85 Republicans and 65 Democrats.

December 2, 2021[edit]

Two incumbent Democrats to face each other in U.S. House primary in Georgia[edit]

Incumbent Reps. Carolyn Bourdeaux and Lucy McBath each won congressional districts in Georgia previously held by Republicans. McBath (6th District) is running for re-election in the newly drawn 7th District, which pits her against Bourdeaux in the Democratic primary.

Daily Kos wrote that Bourdeaux currently represents about 57% of the new 7th District, while McBath represents 12%. Bourdeaux's portion is also more Democratic than McBath's based on 2020's presidential election results.

McBath said the Republican-led Legislature redrew her district because "they would like nothing more than to stop me from speaking truth to power about the gun lobby and Republican Party in Congress." McBath worked for Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense after her son was fatally shot in 2012. She defeated incumbent Rep. Karen Handel (R) 50.5% to 49.5% in 2018.

Bourdeaux, a professor of public policy and former director of the state’s Senate Budget and Evaluation Office, won the open 7th District race in 2020. Bourdeaux said, "I’m disappointed, of course. … I have a lot of respect for Lucy McBath."

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution's Patricia Murphy and Greg Bluestein wrote in September that "Bourdeaux drew the wrath of progressive groups -- and [Stacey] Abrams allies -- for joining other moderates with a stand that threatened to derail a $3.5 trillion social policy plan." Bourdeaux joined nine other Democrats in saying she wouldn't vote for a budget resolution needed to pass President Joe Biden's Build Back Better agenda unless the House first voted on an infrastructure bill the Senate passed. Bordeaux said in August, "I believe in fiscal responsibility and that we need to pay for the things that we need to invest in, and I’m willing to stand up and talk about fiscal responsibility."

Ultimately, Bourdeaux withdrew from the effort and voted for the resolution. The House voted on the infrastructure bill and then the Build Back Better Act last month. Bourdeaux voted in favor of both.

In August, before the new district maps were drawn, Abrams endorsed McBath's re-election bid, saying she "has not wavered on Georgia jobs and infrastructure, and she is a stalwart champion for our kids, for our democracy and more."

Primaries are set to take place on May 24.

In other Georgia news, Abrams announced on Dec. 1 that she is running for governor again. Current Gov. Brian Kemp (R) defeated Abrams 50% to 49% in 2018.

Outgoing U.S. Rep. Johnson endorses in TX-30 primary[edit]

U.S. Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson (D) endorsed state Rep. Jasmine Crockett in the Democratic primary for Texas’ 30th Congressional District, which Johnson has represented since 1993. Johnson announced in 2019 she would retire at the end of her next term and confirmed her retirement in a statement last month. So far, 30 House incumbents are not seeking re-election in 2022—19 Democrats and 11 Republicans. Johnson is one of four representatives from Texas (two Democrats and two Republicans) not running for re-election.

Crockett has served in the Texas House of Representatives since January 2021. She was among the members of the Democratic caucus who left the state during consideration of House Bill 3 and Senate Bill 1—voting policy bills—to break quorum in July 2021. Crockett then helped create the Texas Progressive Caucus.

At least six others have announced their candidacies so far:

Shenita Cleveland, a small business owner who ran against Johnson in the 2020 Democratic primary
Jane Hope Hamilton, a former campaign staffer for Biden’s 2020 campaign in Texas
Vonciel Jones Hill, an attorney who owns a private practice in Dallas
Zachariah Manning, who ran in the 2020 Democratic primary for Dallas County Commissioners Court Precinct 1
Jessica Mason, a Navy veteran who previously worked as a legislative aide in the Virginia General Assembly
Abel Mulugheta, who previously worked as an aide for Johnson and chief of staff and legislative director for Texas Rep. Rafael Anchía

The primary is scheduled for March 1, and a primary runoff is scheduled for May 24. The filing deadline is Dec. 13.

Vermont follow-up: Welch running for Senate with Sanders endorsement[edit]

Since our first issue, which discussed Sen. Patrick Leahy's (D-Vt.) retirement, U.S. Rep. Peter Welch (D-Vt.) announced he is running for the open Senate seat. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) endorsed Welch the same day. We noted that several potential candidates said they would not run if Welch entered the race or if he received Sanders' endorsement. Attention is shifting to the open House race. Welch has represented the district since 2007, when he succeeded Sanders.

Four Democrats have expressed interest so far:

State Senate President Pro Tem Becca Balint, in office since 2015
Lt. Gov. Molly Gray, in office since 2021
State Sen. Kesha Ram-Hinsdale, in office since 2021
State Rep. Tanya Vyhovsky, in office since 2021. Vyhovsky is a member of the Vermont Progressive Party and the Democratic Party.

Vermont is the only state that has not had a female member of Congress.

The primary is scheduled for Aug. 9.

External links[edit]

Footnotes[edit]

↑ Rep. Donald McEachin (D) died on November 28, 2022, after winning re-election. Rep. Jennifer McClellan (D) won a special election on Feb. 21 to fill McEachin's seat and was sworn in on March 7.
↑ Louisiana is included here even though the state uses a majority-vote system in which all candidates regardless of partisan affiliation are listed on the same first-round ballot.
↑ This does not include former U.S. Rep. Jeff Fortenberry (R-Neb.), who resigned before the primary election but whose name remained on the official ballot.
↑ Gibbs unofficially withdrew from his primary after announcing his retirement on April 9, 2022. His name still appeared on the primary ballot.
↑ Gibbs defeated Meijer in the primary. Scholten defeated Gibbs in the general election.
↑ Gibbs' margin of victory over Meijer in the primary.
↑ McLeod-Skinner defeated Schrader in the primary. Chavez-DeRemer defeated McLeod-Skinner in the general election.
↑ McLeod-Skinner's margin of victory over Schrader in the primary.
↑ Taylor ran in the Republican primary on March 1, 2022, and advanced to the primary runoff. He withdrew before the runoff.
↑ Joe Kent defeated Herrera Beutler in the primary. Gluesenkamp defeated Kent in the general election.
↑ Joe Kent's margin of victory over Herrera Beutler in the primary.
↑ Florida Politics, "Al Lawson to challenge Neal Dunn in new North Florida district," June 9, 2022
↑ The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, "Bourdeaux in matchup against McBath says she has incumbent’s edge," November 23, 2021
↑ Chicago Tribune, "U.S. Rep. Marie Newman announces she’ll challenge fellow Democrat Sean Casten following remap," October 29, 2021
↑ St. Louis Public Radio, "Miller and Davis will square off in race for Illinois’ 15th Congressional District," January 1, 2022
↑ The Detroit News, "Democratic Michigan Reps. Stevens, Levin appear set for a primary race," December 28, 2021
↑ The New York Times, "Judge Approves N.Y. House Map, Cementing Chaos for Democrats," May 21, 2022
↑ The Hill, "GOP Rep. Mayra Flores sworn in after flipping House seat in special election," June 21, 2022
↑ Roll Call, "Mooney, McKinley put in same district by new West Virginia map," October 14, 2021
↑ ^20.00 ^20.01 ^20.02 ^20.03 ^20.04 ^20.05 ^20.06 ^20.07 ^20.08 ^20.09 ^20.10 ^20.11 ^20.12 ^20.13 ^20.14 ^20.15 ^20.16 ^20.17 ^20.18 ^20.19 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.

[1] Rep. Donald McEachin (D) died on November 28, 2022, after winning re-election. Rep. Jennifer McClellan (D) won a special election on Feb. 21 to fill McEachin's seat and was sworn in on March 7.

[LADisclaimer-2] Louisiana is included here even though the state uses a majority-vote system in which all candidates regardless of partisan affiliation are listed on the same first-round ballot.

[3] This does not include former U.S. Rep. Jeff Fortenberry (R-Neb.), who resigned before the primary election but whose name remained on the official ballot.

[4] Gibbs unofficially withdrew from his primary after announcing his retirement on April 9, 2022. His name still appeared on the primary ballot.

[5] Gibbs defeated Meijer in the primary. Scholten defeated Gibbs in the general election.

[6] Gibbs' margin of victory over Meijer in the primary.

[7] McLeod-Skinner defeated Schrader in the primary. Chavez-DeRemer defeated McLeod-Skinner in the general election.

[8] McLeod-Skinner's margin of victory over Schrader in the primary.

[9] Taylor ran in the Republican primary on March 1, 2022, and advanced to the primary runoff. He withdrew before the runoff.

[10] Joe Kent defeated Herrera Beutler in the primary. Gluesenkamp defeated Kent in the general election.

[11] Joe Kent's margin of victory over Herrera Beutler in the primary.

[12] Florida Politics, "Al Lawson to challenge Neal Dunn in new North Florida district," June 9, 2022

[13] The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, "Bourdeaux in matchup against McBath says she has incumbent’s edge," November 23, 2021

[14] Chicago Tribune, "U.S. Rep. Marie Newman announces she’ll challenge fellow Democrat Sean Casten following remap," October 29, 2021

[15] St. Louis Public Radio, "Miller and Davis will square off in race for Illinois’ 15th Congressional District," January 1, 2022

[16] The Detroit News, "Democratic Michigan Reps. Stevens, Levin appear set for a primary race," December 28, 2021

[17] The New York Times, "Judge Approves N.Y. House Map, Cementing Chaos for Democrats," May 21, 2022

[18] The Hill, "GOP Rep. Mayra Flores sworn in after flipping House seat in special election," June 21, 2022

[19] Roll Call, "Mooney, McKinley put in same district by new West Virginia map," October 14, 2021

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United States House Democratic Party primaries, 2022

Partisan breakdown[edit]

Democratic primaries[edit]

By date[edit]

By state[edit]

Battleground primaries[edit]

Incumbents defeated[edit]

Historical comparison[edit]

U.S. House races with two incumbents, 2022[edit]

Links to redistricting coverage[edit]

News and conflicts in the 2022 Democratic House primaries[edit]

September 15, 2022[edit]

Build Back Better and Infrastructure Act positions in spotlight[edit]

Three satellite groups spent $55 million in Democratic primaries in 2022[edit]

Redistricting and the primaries: By the numbers[edit]

U.S. House incumbent primary losses exceed last two redistricting cycles[edit]

September 1, 2022[edit]

Peltola wins special U.S. House election (and other Alaska updates)[edit]

FL-04 recount shows Holloway still in lead[edit]

August 25, 2022[edit]

Primary results roundup[edit]

Media analysis[edit]

August 18, 2022[edit]

Primary results roundup[edit]

Media analysis[edit]

New York Times endorses in battleground congressional primaries (and a roundup of other news)[edit]

August 11, 2022[edit]

Primary results roundup[edit]

Media analysis[edit]

Recent polling and friction in NY-12[edit]

DCCC ad spending an issue in NY-17[edit]

August 4, 2022[edit]

Primary results roundup[edit]

Media analysis[edit]

Vermont's U.S. Senators weigh in on House primary[edit]

July 21, 2022[edit]

De Blasio drops out of NY-10 as poll shows a plurality of voters still undecided[edit]

Former Rep. Nita Lowey backs Sean Patrick Maloney in NY-17[edit]

July 14, 2022[edit]

Endorsement updates: Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton weigh in on House primaries[edit]

Super PACs focused on Israel spend for Edwards, Ivey in MD-04[edit]

July 7, 2022[edit]

Sanders endorses Levin over Stevens, criticizes PAC spending in Michigan[edit]

Progressive Change Campaign Committee endorses Balint for U.S. House in Vermont[edit]

June 30, 2022[edit]

Primary results roundup[edit]

Big story of the night: Casten defeats Newman in IL-06[edit]

Other marquee primary results[edit]

Media analysis[edit]

Working Families Party, firearm regulation advocate endorse in NY-10[edit]

June 23, 2022[edit]

SEIU endorses Cherfilus-McCormick over Holness in switch from 2021[edit]

U.S. Rep. Nydia Velázquez endorses Carlina Rivera in NY-10 primary[edit]

Updates in IL-03: Satellite spending and candidate surveys[edit]

United Democracy Project gets half of May donations from major GOP donors[edit]

June 16, 2022[edit]

Primary results roundup[edit]

Working Families Party withdraws Maloney endorsement, backs Biaggi in NY-17[edit]

June 9, 2022[edit]

Working Families Party backs Nadler over Maloney in NY-12[edit]

The first-ever top-four congressional primary is on Saturday[edit]

June 2, 2022[edit]

New PAC will spend $1 million supporting Tlaib challenger[edit]

First polls released in NY U.S. House primaries[edit]

May 26, 2022[edit]

Primary results roundup[edit]

The big stories of the night: Cuellar-Cisneros matchup TBD, McBath defeats Bourdeaux in GA-07[edit]

Other marquee primary results[edit]

Media analysis[edit]

New York's new Democratic primary landscape[edit]

Abortion in spotlight in IL-06 Newman-Casten matchup[edit]

May 19, 2022[edit]

Primary results roundup[edit]

The big stories of the night: Fetterman wins, and too-close-to-call House races in Oregon[edit]

Other marquee primary results[edit]

Media analysis[edit]

Reps. Carolyn Maloney, Jerry Nadler may both run in NY-12[edit]

Satellite ads zero in on abortion stances in TX-28 runoff[edit]

May 5, 2022[edit]

May 3 primary results roundup[edit]