What to watch for in the August 4 Congressional primaries

A crowded Republican Senate primary in Kansas. A “Squad” member facing a rematch. Another chance for a candidate to unseat a longtime Democratic incumbent by running to the left. These are some of the Congressional primary races being held in five states on Tuesday.

In Kansas, 11 Republicans are on the Senate primary ballot, including former Secretary of State Kris Kobach, who lost the 2018 gubernatorial race. Former Senator Bob Dole and allies of the National Republican Senatorial Campaign Committee have endorsed Representative Roger Marshall. President Trump, who endorsed Kobach in the 2018 race, has not yet waded into the contest.

Republican candidate for governor of Kansas Kris Kobach speaks at a rally with President Donald Trump at the Kansas Expocenter on October 6, 2018 in Topeka, Kansas.

Scott Olson / Getty Images

On the Democratic side, Kansas state Senator Barbara Bollier, who posted strong fundraising so far this year, is competing against one lesser-known opponent.

In Kansas’ 2nd Congressional district, state treasurer Jake LaTurner is looking to unseat Republican freshman incumbent Steve Watkins, who was recently charged with counts of voter fraud. Watkins trailed LaTurner in the most recent filing showing cash on hand, and a late July internal poll from LaTurner showed him ahead of Watkins in a race against presumptive Democratic nominee Michelle De La Isla, the mayor of Topeka, Kansas.

In Michigan’s Senate primaries, Democratic Senator Gary Peters and Republican challenger John James are running unopposed, and both will advance to the general election in November. Michigan is one of two states that Mr. Trump won in 2016 where Democratic senators are up for reelection. Republicans have recruited John James, who lost in 2018 to Senator Debbie Stabenow. Peters raised about $5.2 million last quarter which is his best quarter this cycle but is still behind James’ $6.4 million. Peters has over $12 million cash on hand, and the Cook Political Report rates this seat as leaning Democratic. In Detroit, Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib is facing a rematch with City Council President Brenda Jones. In 2018, Tlaib defeated Jones by 900 votes in the primary election to replace Congressman John Conyers, who resigned in the middle of his term. However, Jones beat Tlaib in the special election primary to serve the rest of Conyers’ term and went to Congress for five weeks.

Representative Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) speaks as she endorses 2020 Democratic presidential hopeful US Senator Bernie Sanders (D-VT) during a campaign rally at Cass Technical High School in Detroit, Michigan, on October 27, 2019.

JEFF KOWALSKY/AFP via Getty Images

Since that race, Tlaib has drawn national attention for her outspoken criticisms of Mr. Trump, her progressive politics and being part of “The Squad” of four progressive women. Jones and some of her supporters, though, have criticized Tlaib saying she’s too occupied with her national profile to be effective for the district. Tlaib has called that argument a “myth.” Tlaib told WDET last week, “It has actually made the issues that we stand for in the 13th District stronger.” She added, “And look at the results, 35 bills. I mean I actually got the president that I ran on impeaching to sign a bill into law.”

Tlaib recently received the endorsement from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and has vastly outraised Jones. But roughly two-thirds of the primary vote in 2018 was for candidates other than Tlaib, and Jones has garnered support from four of those former primary opponents. In the Republican primary for Congressman Justin Amash’s open seat in Michigan’s 3rd district, veteran Peter Meijer is considered the front runner to take the nomination due to his campaign operation and fundraising advantage. He’ll first have to get past local village trustee Tom Norton and State Representative Lynn Afendoulis, who has attacked Meijer for not tying himself enough to Trump. Targeted freshman Democrats Elissa Slotkin and Haley Stevens will also get their general election opponent this week, after Republican primaries in the 8th and 11th district. Encouraged by wins from Jamaal Bowman in New York and Marie Newman in Illinois, progressives will be keeping a close eye on the Democratic rematch in Missouri’s 1st district between Black Lives Matter activist Cori Bush Congressman Lacy Clay. In 2018, Clay won by 20 points, though Bush has leveled up her fundraising and spending.

Missouri Democratic congressional candidate Cori Bush speaks to supporters during a canvassing event on August 3, 2020 in St Louis, Missouri. Bush, an activist backed by the progressive group Justice Democrats, is looking to defeat 10-term incumbent Rep. William Lacy Clay (D-MO) in Tuesday’s election.

Michael B. Thomas / Getty Images

Bush first got attention for her activism during the Ferguson protests in 2014, and her midterm run was featured in the 2019 Netflix documentary “Knock Down the House.” The Congressional Black Caucus and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has supported Clay, a ten-term incumbent.

In Arizona, former astronaut Mark Kelly is running unopposed in the Democratic Senate primary and will compete in November. Senator Martha McSally is the favorite to win in the Republican primary against Daniel McCarthy. She is fighting to win the seat Republican Governor Doug Ducey appointed her to in 2018 after John McCain’s chosen successor, Jon Kyl, decided to step down. McSally lost the race for the state’s other Senate seat in 2018 to Democrat Kyrsten Sinema by less than 3 points. This cycle, McSally has not had as contentious of a primary as she did in 2018 against Joe Arpaio and Kelli Ward, but she has been outraised by Kelly since last February. In Arizona’s 6th district, four Democrats are looking to take on Congressman David Schweikert. Hiral Tipirneni, a former emergency room physician, is on the DCCC’s “Red-to-Blue” candidate list and leads the pack in fundraising. Tipirneni’s healthcare background has been touted by Democrats as a good fit against Schweikert, a vulnerable Republican who has been hit with an ethics investigation and has little cash on hand. Former tech executive Anita Malik, who ran for this seat and lost by 10 points in 2018, is running as the more progressive option on issues like healthcare and campaign finance. When comparing cycles, Malik said while there was definitely a “party favorite” in 2018, “it wasn’t so forced upon everybody” like this year with Tipirneni. “I don’t think that that’s what should happen in primaries. If you believe in our democracy, we should really just let the people decide, particularly in our own party, and then let them go head-to-head in November and then have those resources come in to support whoever is the nominee,” Malik told CBS News. Other candidates include Karl Gentles, who runs a public relations agency and was a former staff assistant to McCain and small business owner Stephanie Rimmer. Adam Brewster contributed reporting