Missouri, Michigan, Washington and Kansas primaries 2024: Cori Bush loses
The fields are set for Michigan's Senate and Missouri's governor contests.
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:
- McDonald Rivet projected winner in Michigan's 8th District Democratic primary
- Marlinga secures a rematch in Michigan's 10th
- Hudson projected to win GOP primary in Michigan's 3rd District
- Will Washington's 6th District get a bipartisan matchup or two Democrats in November?
- Baumgartner advances in Washington's 5th District
Kehoe is maintaining his lead in Missouri
The AP now estimates that over half the vote is counted in the Republican primary for Missouri governor, and Kehoe is holding onto his early lead — and Ashcroft is still in last place. Specifically, it’s Kehoe 41 percent, Eigel 31 percent, Ashcroft 24 percent. Dozens of counties from all around the state are completely or almost completely done reporting results, so I feel pretty confident that this isn’t an artifact of absentee voting patterns or a regional advantage for Kehoe.
—Nathaniel Rakich, 538
Marlinga looking good
We're finally up to 10 percent of the expected vote reporting in Michigan's 10th District, and 2022 nominee Carl Marlinga looks likely to be the Democratic nominee for the second time in a row against GOP Rep. John James. He leads the field with 46 percent. Marlinga did not receive outside support from major Democratic groups in 2022, but lost by only 1,600 votes. The burden will be on him to convince those same players to invest in him against James this time around.
—Jacob Rubashkin, Inside Elections
St. Louis County gets in on the action
St. Louis County just reported its first tranche of election day votes too, and Bell won it by a margin similar to his districtwide lead. The AP now estimates that 40 percent of the vote is now counted in Missouri’s 1st District, and Bell still leads Bush 55 percent to 42 percent.
—Nathaniel Rakich, 538
Social media is not real life
In Missouri’s secretary of state GOP primary, the most talked-about candidate was probably Valentina Gomez, a 25-year-old real estate investor whose provocative, homophobic campaign videos ("don’t be weak and gay," she declares in one, while she burns a pile of books with a flamethrower in another) drew national attention. But in the latest piece of evidence that Twitter isn't real life, she's currently in a distant 6th place with just 7.5 percent.
—Jacob Rubashkin, Inside Elections