Michigan will offer the country its clearest gauge yet on the direction of the Democratic Party, as primary voters in the battleground state choose between a progressive standard-bearer and an establishment-backed candidate.
Although there have been similar contests around the country, this one will hold extra weight because Michigan is a key state in presidential races. Abdul El-Sayed, backed by Sen. Bernie Sanders, is up against four-term Rep. Haley Stevens, supported by Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer.
Democratic and Republican voters in Michigan are also deciding on their parties’ nominees to succeed term-limited Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.
In Kansas, Missouri, Virginia and Washington state, voters are settling primaries in a host of races, including a key rematch between Democrats in a Missouri House contest. Also in play is whether Democrats, who tried to redraw districts in Virginia to their advantage but were rebuffed by the state supreme court, can pick candidates who can defeat Republicans in the fall.
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Republican U.S. Rep. Dan Newhouse’s retirement created a frenzy of interest to replace him.
Eleven candidates will be on the ballot for the 4th Congressional District, a Republican stronghold in Washington’s agricultural center, including Yakima and the Tri-Cities. Six are Republicans, one is a Democrat, and the other four are from minor parties or unaffiliated.
The GOP dominates the district, so the primary could prove decisive if the top-two structure creates a traditional Republican vs. Democrat matchup in November.
Newhouse is one of two remaining House Republicans who voted to impeach President Donald Trump. The other is Rep. David Valadao of California, whose district is a top pickup target for Democrats.
Madison Francis voted Tuesday in Southfield, Michigan, for Abdul El-Sayed saying she especially supports his views on things like inclusion.
“Just having somebody that sees everybody and wants the best for everybody,” said Francis, a 19-year-old student at Michigan State University. “I feel like the world is very divided, right now.”
Francis also believes that if El-Sayed wins Tuesday’s Democratic primary over U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens, Michigan voters are open-minded enough to elect him over Republican Mike Rogers in the November general election.
She said the United States is being run by “some interesting Republicans,” and that the Democratic party should focus on unity before the nation spirals “further out of control.”
Young voters also are having a hard time hearing what traditional Democrats are saying and that messaging by progressives appear more fluid.
“I think they’re taking more of a progressive and proactive stance,” she said of young voters. “Both the Republicans and Democrats can sometimes (come across as) being too rigid on their stances.”
Proposed Amendment 4 would require future constitutional amendments proposed by initiative petition to pass by a majority in each of the state’s congressional districts instead of a simple statewide majority. No other state has a standard that high.
The Republican-led legislature referred the measure to the ballot after voters in recent years narrowly passed several controversial amendments proposed through citizen initiatives. Those measures enshrined abortion rights into the state constitution, legalized recreational marijuana, allowed sports betting and expanded Medicaid coverage to low-income adults.
None of those measures would have passed under a requirement for amendments to win approval in all congressional districts.
Under Amendment 4, the higher standard would apply only to citizen-initiated amendments — not ones placed on the ballot by the legislature.
David Salama, 48, of West Bloomfield, Michigan, voted Tuesday for U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens in the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate. (AP Photo/Corey Williams)
David Salama says he typically votes as an independent, but the U.S. Senate race between U.S. Rep. Stevens and El-Sayed prompted him to vote Tuesday in Michigan’s Democratic primary.
He voted for Stevens. “Haley is somebody who has experience legislating and because she understands the fight of good versus evil, that is extremely important about what’s going on in this world,” said Salama, 48, an anesthesiologist from West Bloomfield.
“I would vote for Haley in November if she were to win today, but if Abdul wins today, I will vote for Mike Rogers in November,” he said, noting, “In the extremes lie trouble.”
The Democratic Senate hopeful held a campaign event at Pux Cider Taphouse in Grand Rapids on Monday night.
In an Instagram post, representatives of the business said later Monday that the event was booked as a private gathering for Democratic women and that Pux was “never advised” it was connected to Stevens.
“We are heartbroken,” they wrote, adding they “have advocated and continue to call for a free Palestine. We DO NOT endorse Haley Stevens.”
The congresswoman’s campaign has received roughly $30 million in support from AIPAC, which backs pro-Israel candidates. Pux said it will donate proceeds from the event to the Grand Rapids Pride Center.
State Senate President Ty Masterson has faced repeated attacks ahead of Tuesday’s primary election from one of his rivals, Kansas City businessman Philip Sarnecki. Other candidates in the race include Secretary of State Scott Schwab and Insurance Commissioner Vicki Schmidt.
Kansas doesn’t have runoff elections, so a candidate can become the GOP nominee with a relatively small percentage of the vote, and Trump’s endorsement of Masterson in May didn’t clear the field.
Three Democrats from the Kansas City area are running for their party’s nomination. They are state Sens. Ethan Corson and Cindy Holscher, and Overland Park Mayor Curt Skoog.
Incumbent Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly is term-limited.
Kenneth Woodside identifies as an independent, proudly stating “I vote policies, not people.”
On Tuesday, the 87-year-old from West Bloomfield, Michigan, cast his ballot in the state’s Democratic primary for El-Sayed over U.S. Rep. Stevens.
“I think we need someone in there who is more progressive,” Woodside said. “We gotta do something to reverse where we are, right now ... get it a little more to the other side to try and do some things that are going to be more focused on the people rather than just on the wealthy and businesses.”
Woodside said he has faith that El-Sayed could defeat former Republican Rep. Rogers in the November general election.
“I think the nation is ready for someone who wants to take some more action rather than on the road we are now, which is on the road to an oligarchy and authoritarianism,” he said.
Woodside also believes change needs to come to the nation’s Democratic establishment and that he’s not sure voters are listening to its leaders.
“I think they’re listening to what they need and they’re looking for the leaders to say ‘what are your needs and how can I respond to them’ as opposed to going down the road of being sort of this moderate, middle-of-the-road and afraid to take some steps that are more progressive, more union related.”
Katie Brink, 29, said Monday that Abdul El-Sayed’s campaign has resonated across racial and generational lines with “people who feel like they’ve really been shut out by the system.”
“When I’m out knocking doors and volunteering, the people I’m interacting with are not the kind of demographics that you would think an Abdul voter would look like,” Brink said during El-Sayed’s final campaign event in Detroit. “His message is resonating with all of the diverse people of Detroit.”
Brink, who has volunteered for El-Sayed since February, said she had grown tired of the Democratic Party’s status quo but was inspired by his message to dedicate her time to the race.
“Seeing movements in other places in the country where real people knocking on doors and talking to voters can actually, like, make a positive change, I felt like helping him was the best thing I could do with my time right now,” she said.
Washington state has a primary tonight, but without a Senate contest or a race for governor, it lacks a marquee race to drive enthusiasm.
But the primary will set up a general election matchup in one of the nation’s top U.S. House battlegrounds — Southwest Washington’s 3rd District, represented by moderate Democrat Marie Gluesenkamp Perez. Gluesenkamp Perez has faced opposition from the left, but progressive challenger Brent Hennrich has struggled to gain traction.
In the 4th District, a crowded field of candidates is looking to replace retiring Republican Rep. Dan Newhouse. The district is safely Republican and is likely to stay in GOP hands regardless of tonight’s results.
It could take some time for the results to be finalized. Washington conducts elections entirely by mail and will count ballots postmarked on Election Day.
Washington was the first state to adopt a top-two nonpartisan primary, in which all candidates appear on the same ballot. The two candidates with the most votes advance to the general election in November, even if they’re from the same party.
California later adapted the system, which was meant to give independents more of a political voice.
That’s still not clear.
Whitmer won two gubernatorial elections decisively in a state that swung between parties in presidential elections, voting for Republican President Donald Trump in 2016, Democrat Joe Biden in 2020 and Trump again in 2024.
Now, the Democrat is term-limited and can’t run again.
Whitmer has been cagey about her plans after her term ends, though she’s often mentioned as a possible presidential candidate.
“Never say never,” she told reporters in May about a 2028 bid.
Republicans control the U.S. House by a slim margin, and three of Michigan’s races are among the most competitive in the country.
Two former Democratic members of Congress are among those on Virginia’s primary ballot.
In the battleground 2nd Congressional District, centered in Virginia Beach, Elaine Luria is seen as the favorite in a four-way Democratic primary. A win would set up a general election rematch between Luria, a retired Navy commander, and Jen Kiggans, a former Navy helicopter pilot who ousted her in 2022. Kiggans doesn’t face a primary challenge.
The general election contest in the 2nd District will likely be among the most expensive and hotly contested in the country and will help determine control of the House in the fall.
In central Virginia’s 5th District, former congressman and diplomat Tom Perriello is seen as the favorite in a three-way Democratic primary. There’s also a nominating contest on the GOP side, where incumbent Rep. John McGuire has a large fundraising advantage over his challenger, Melanie Lucero.
The demographics of the district would give the Republican a big edge. Democratic Gov. Abigail Spanberger lost it by more than seven points last year. But Perriello has flipped a red district before. He narrowly beat a longtime incumbent in the 5th District in 2008, before being ousted himself amid the Tea Party wave two years later.
Graves has represented rural northern Missouri for a quarter century and currently serves as chair of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. He set off a political scramble when he announced in late March that he wasn’t seeking reelection.
Graves has endorsed conservative talk radio host Chris Stigall, who once worked for him.
The five-person Republican field in the 6th Congressional District also features Kansas City Council member Nathan Willett, who has the endorsement of the Missouri Farm Bureau’s influential political committee.
The 6th District is heavily Republican. A recent redistricting added more northern Kansas City neighborhoods to the sprawling rural district.
Virginia’s primary election typically takes place in June. But that’s not the case this year. It was pushed back to Tuesday to account for Democrats’ failed redistricting initiative.
After President Donald Trump pushed Republicans in other states to redraw congressional maps ahead of the midterms to give their party an edge, Virginia Democrats were among those who responded in kind.
They redrew the state’s congressional maps, aiming to oust four GOP incumbents and leave just one of Virginia’s 11 districts winnable for Republicans. Then they put the matter before voters in a constitutional amendment.
Voters narrowly approved it, but the amendment was ultimately invalidated by the state Supreme Court and the new districts along with it. That sent candidates scrambling. Many ended their campaigns, while others moved to new districts.
Voters will cast ballots today in districts that have been in place since 2021. Democrats will be picking their nominees in districts that could help determine control of the House in the general election.
The Rev. Adam Hamilton grew the Church of the Resurrection he started in the Kansas City area about 35 years ago from a small congregation that met in the chapel of a funeral home into one with nine campuses and 22,000 members.
His profile among mainline Protestants helped him raise about $4.2 million for his Senate campaign since launching it at the end of April, three times as much as the other 10 Democratic candidates combined. That’s also a little more than the $4 million incumbent Republican Sen. Roger Marshall has raised since the beginning of last year.
But Marshall didn’t start last year from zero and headed toward the fall campaign with $5.7 million in cash, while Hamilton had less than $2 million left ahead of Tuesday’s primaries.
Also — no Republican has lost a U.S. Senate race in Kansas since 1932.
People walk in to the voting area at Maples Elementary School on primary election day Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2026, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Nic Antaya)
Michigan residents turn out to vote in the midterm elections at Sibley Elementary School in Grand Rapids, Mich., on Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2026. (Isaac Ritchey/The Grand Rapids Press via AP)
