Yesterday we covered primary elections in countless states across the country. In this article, I’ll give you a rundown of the key results from last night in each important state that we covered.
Indiana
Indiana’s 1st Congressional District
In Indiana’s 1st Congressional District, incumbent Democratic Congressman Pete Visclosky, who had served in Congress since 1980, retired. The seat is heavily Democratic and the primary here is tantamount to victory. For obvious reasons, this created a large Democratic primary field.
Democrat Frank Mrvan, a North Township trustee and son of legislator Frank Mrvan II, won the Democratic primary here. He defeated many prominent opponents, including Hammond mayor Thomas McDermott Jr, State Representative Mara Reardon, and attorney Jim Harper. Mrvan was endorsed by retiring Congressman Visclosky and had a strong base in Lake County, Indiana. He will face Republican Mark Levya in November. Mrvan’s new seat is safe Democratic, and (as analyst Drew Savicki brought up) he will be the first new Representative from this district in nearly thirty-five years.
Indiana-1 Democratic Primary Results (80% reporting)
- (D) Frank Mrvan – 26,055 votes (34.1%)
- (D) Thomas McDermott – 22,346 votes (29.3%)
- (D) Melissa Borom – 7,245 votes (9.5%)
- (D) Mara Reardon – 5,600 votes (7.3%)
- (D) Other Candidates (19.8%)
Indiana’s 5th Congressional District
Indiana’s 5th Congressional District is also an open seat (though it is much more competitive than Indiana’s 1st, and voted to re-elect Donnelly to the Senate in 2018 while he lost statewide by five points to Mike Braun). Here we saw Republican Congresswoman Susan Brooks retire from Congress, opening up competitive primaries for both parties. The district Leans Republican but is certainly more competitive for Democrats now than it was back when the district was drawn in 2012.
The Republican Primary here was won by Victoria Spartz, an Indiana State Senator who immigrated from Europe before starting her political career. Before the primary many national Republicans thought Indiana State Treasurer Kelly Mitchell was the ideal candidate for the seat, but on election day she flopped, coming in an embarrassing sixth place with just 4.8% of the popular vote. Spartz won by a commanding margin, taking 40.5% of the vote in a fifteen-candidate field. Her nearest competition came from a nurse named Beth Henderson, who took 17.6% of the vote.
Indiana-5 Republican Primary Results (89% reporting)
- (R) Victoria Spartz – 28,287 votes (40.6%)
- (R) Beth Henderson – 12,275 votes (17.6%)
- (R) Micah Beckwith – 9,544 votes (13.7%)
- (R) Carl Brizzi – 4,373 votes (6.3%)
- (R) Other Candidates (21.8%)
The Democratic Primary was won by Christina Hale, a former Indiana State Representative and nominee for Lt. Governor of Indiana in 2016. Hale was considered the favorite for much of the primary and should make a good general election candidate. Nonetheless, the seat will be an uphill battle for her to win because of its narrow Republican leanings. Hale’s nearest primary competition was Dee Thornton, a business consultant who took 27.8% of the vote.
Indiana-5 Democratic Primary Results (88% reporting)
- (D) Christina Hale – 20,592 votes (39.1%)
- (D) Dee Thornton – 14,635 votes (27.8%)
- (D) Jennifer Christie – 9,643 votes (18.3%)
- (D) Andy Jacobs – 7,296 votes (13.9%)
- (D) Other Candidates (0.9%)
Iowa
Iowa Senate Democratic Primary
In the Democratic Primary for Iowa’s Senate seat, the DSCC-endorsed Theresa Greenfield pulled out a victory. Greenfield, who is involved in the real-estate business, has been an impressive fundraiser and was widely considered the favorite throughout the primary season. Her main opponent was Admiral Michael Franken, who won only one county in the primary: Sioux, in Iowa’s northwestern corner. Greenfield now goes on to face incumbent Republican Senator Joni Ernst in November. This race is rated Lean Republican.
- (D) Theresa Greenfield – 129,706 votes (47.8%)
- (D) Michael Franken – 67,862 votes (24.9%)
- (D) Kimberely Graham – 40,738 votes (15.0%)
- (D) Eddie Mauro – 29,856 votes (11.0%)
- (D) Cal Woods – 3,341 votes (1.2%)
Iowa’s 2nd Congressional District
Iowa-2 is another open seat. Since 2006, it has been represented by Democrat Dave Loebsack. In 2020, Loebsack announced he was retiring, opening up a competitive House seat for both sides. Democrat Rita Hart managed to secure her primary win without opposition, while the Republican primary quickly became a competitive contest between two experienced candidates. Mariannette Miller-Meeks, a State Senator who was the nominee here in 2010 and 2014, ended up winning the Republican primary for a third term in her career. She defeated Bobby Schilling, a former US Representative from Illinois 17th congressional district, who moved to Iowa to run for the second district after he was defeated for re-election in Illinois by Cheri Bustos in 2012. Bustos is now DCCC chair. Even though all four Iowa Congressional seats voted for Trump in 2016, 3 out of 4 are currently represented by Democrats. Democrat Rita Hart is the favorite in this race because of her fundraising advantages, and Meeks’s third time will likely not be the charm for her here.
Iowa-2 Republican Primary – 100% in – Results from Politico
- (R) Mariannette Miller-Meeks – 22,682 votes (47.7%)
- (R) Bobby Schilling – 17,356 votes (36.5%)
- (R) Other Candidates (15.8%)
Iowa’s 4th Congressional District
Iowa’s 4th yielded the most high-profile result of the night. Incumbent Congressman Steve King, who was removed from his committees and shunned by Republican leadership for countless racist remarks during his tenure, was defeated for re-election in his primary by State Senator Randy Feenstra. Feenstra performed very well in the northwestern portion of Iowa-4, which contained his State Senate seat. King, meanwhile, ran up his margins in the central band that runs through the district, but this was not enough to win the primary. Republicans let out a sigh of relief last night knowing that the “King-liability” had been eliminated. King had been in the House since 2002. This seat is now Safe Republican for Randy Feenstra. King is the second incumbent Representative to lose their primary this year; the first was Democrat Dan Lipinski in Illinois-3, who lost his primary to progressive Democratic businesswoman Marie Newman.
Iowa-4 Republican Primary – 100% in – Results from DDHQ
- (R) Randy Feenstra – 36,806 votes (45.7%)
- (R) Steve King – incumbent – 28,977 votes (36.0%)
- (R) Other Candidates (18.3%)
Montana
Montana At-Large
Democrat Kathleen Williams easily defeated Tom Winter in her re-match bid for Montana’s only House seat. Matt Rosendale, who lost the 2018 Senate race to incumbent Democrat Jon Tester, won the Republican nomination handily, defeating Corey Stapleton. While Rosendale is not an incredibly strong candidate, the House seat will not be as competitive as the Senate and Gubernatorial races here. Likely Republican.
Montana Governor
With Governor Steve Bullock term-limited and challenging Republican Senator Steve Daines, Lt. Governor Mike Cooney won the Democratic nomination. He defeated Whitney Williams by a 54.8-45.2% margin. Congressman Greg Gianforte defeated Fmr Attorney General Tim Fox to win the Republican primary 53.4-27.2-19.3%. This will be a highly competitive race, and may in fact be the closest gubernatorial election of the 2020 election cycle. Tossup.
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania’s 7th Congressional District
The Republican primary to take on Democrat Susan Wild was also competitive. Republican Lisa Scheller defeated Dean Browning to win the nomination narrowly. Congresswoman Wild is the favorite for re-election.
- (R) Lisa Scheller – 24,401 votes (51.8%)
- (R) Dean Browning – 22,747 (48.2%)
Pennsylvania’s 8th Congressional District
The Republican primary to take on Democrat Matt Cartwight was quite competitive this year. With mail-in votes counted, it appears that businessman Jim Bognet has won the primary over his nearest competitor Teddy Daniels, a former veteran. Even with a decent candidate in a Trump-2016 seat like Jim Bognet, it will be hard to beat Congressman Cartwright. The consensus rating here is Lean/Likely Democratic.
- (R) Jim Bognet – 12,348 votes (28.2%)
- (R) Teddy Daniels – 11,796 votes (26.9%)
- (R) Earl Granville – 9,249 votes (21.1%)
- (R) Other Candidates – (23.8%)
Pennsylvania’s 10th Congressional District
In the 10th district, which is shaping up to be the most competitive house race in Pennsylvania, Eugene DePasqule defeated Tom Brier to win the Democratic Primary. Brier was a progressive with local roots, but his primary lead evaporated fairly quickly, allowing DePasquale to secure the nomination. The race against Perry is a Tossup, and DePasquale will certainly be a formidable candidate.
New Mexico
New Mexico Senate
Weatherman Mark Ronchetti handily won his Republican primary and will face off against Congressman Ben Ray Lujan for the seat of retiring Democrat Tom Udall in November. The race is Safe Democratic.
New Mexico’s 2nd Congressional District
Here, Yvette Herrell has secured the Republican nomination for the second time in a row. She will face Democratic Congresswoman Xochitil Torres-Small in a 2020 rematch of the race she narrowly lost in 2018. She defeated Oil Executive Claire Chase in the primary by a 44.8-31.6% margin.
New Mexico’s 3rd Congressional District
This seat opened up when Congressman Lujan retired to run for the open US Senate seat. The main candidates in the primary were largely considered to be Valerie Plame and Joseph Sanchez, but on primary day attorney Teresa Leger Fernandez stressed her local roots and won easily, by a 41-24.4-13.2% margin, with Plame in second and Sanchez in third. Regardless of who wins NM2 in 2020, New Mexico will have an all female House Delegation. If Small is re-elected, it will the first all female-minority Congressional delegation in the nation.