Missouri, Michigan, Washington and Kansas primaries 2024: Cori Bush loses

The fields are set for Michigan's Senate and Missouri's governor contests.

By538 Staff via five thirty eight logo
Last Updated: August 6, 2024, 6:01 PM EDT

Three months out from the big November election, around a third of all states had yet to hold (non-presidential) primaries. On Tuesday, Democrats and Republicans in Missouri, Michigan, Washington and Kansas went to the polls to pick which candidates will appear on their ballots in the fall.

The electoral fate of a couple endangered House incumbents hung in the balance on this packed primary day. In Missouri, a progressive "Squad" member was defeated by centrist forces, and in Washington, one of only two remaining House Republicans who voted to impeach President Donald Trump was challenged by not one but two Trump-endorsed opponents from his right.

Meanwhile, both parties locked in their nominees for Michigan’s critical Senate race, and the outcomes of Republican primary contests are likely to determine Missouri’s next governor and attorney general. In battleground House districts, the fields were set for competitive fall contests, while in safe red and blue districts, ideological lines were drawn as candidates duke it out in primaries tantamount to election.

As usual, 538 reporters and contributors broke down the election results as they came in with live updates, analysis and commentary. Check out our full live blog below!

Latest headlines:

Here's how the news is developing.
Aug 06, 2024, 11:39 PM EDT

Republican women in open primaries not faring well, today

In Washington's 3rd District and Michigan's 8th District two more Republican women with backing from prominent women's groups are the projected losers — Leslie Lewallen, the former King County Prosecutor, and Mary Draves, a former executive at Dow Chemical. As we reported, through May 21 primaries, just 16 percent of Republicans nominees are women, compared with 41 percent of Democrats. We'll update these numbers soon to see if this partisan gender gap is growing, or not, but these losses don't bode well for increasing the share of women in the GOP conference.

—Meredith Conroy, 538 contributor

Aug 06, 2024, 11:38 PM EDT

Michigan’s 8th is Junge at Heart

The AP projects that Paul Junge will win the GOP primary in Michigan's 8th District for a second time in a row. Junge is outpacing opponent Mary Draves, a former executive at Dow Chemical, 72 to 14 percent, with just 23 percent of the expected vote in. He'll face likely Democratic nominee Kristen McDonald Rivet in the fall.

—Jacob Rubashkin, Inside Elections

Aug 06, 2024, 11:37 PM EDT

The Washington governor matchup is set

As expected, Democratic Attorney General Bob Ferguson and Republican former Rep. Dave Reichert will advance to the general election for Washington governor.

Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson is seen, April 27, 2023, in Seattle.
Lindsey Wasson/AP

With 56 percent of the expected vote counted, Ferguson has 46 percent of the vote, while Reichert has 28 percent. This race could be competitive in November given Reichert’s moderate voting record in the House.

—Nathaniel Rakich, 538

Aug 06, 2024, 11:36 PM EDT

Hudson may be favored in Michigan's 3rd District GOP primary

We're starting to get a significant number of votes in from Michigan's 3rd District. With 43 percent of the expected vote reporting, per the AP, Hudson leads by about 8 points over Markey, 53.7 percent to 46.3 percent. And the good news for Hudson is that he's leading in the two counties that still have many votes left to report: Kent (home to Grand Rapids and the majority of this seat's votes) and Muskegon. Markey does lead in Ottawa, which has almost entirely reported, but if he doesn't make up ground elsewhere — especially Kent — that'll likely put Hudson into the general election against Scholten, the Democratic incumbent.

—Geoffrey Skelley, 538