There are a handful of primary votes happening today around the country with several noteworthy Senate races finally setting the table for the November midterms.
Among the most closely watched include those in Missouri and Arizona.
In Kansas, where an age-old law in the state constitution codifies the right to an abortion, voters are considering whether to rescind the provision and allow the state legislature to regulate and potentially outlaw the procedure.
Here’s a rundown state to state of what to expect in primary voting today.
Arizona
Polls close: 10 pm ET
Races to watch: U.S. Senate; 1st, 2nd, 4th and 6th congressional districts; governor; attorney general; secretary of state
In Arizona, there are two hot races happening on the Republican side among candidates for U.S. Senate and Governor.
In the Senate race, Trump-endorsed Blake Masters is fighting against businessmen Jim Lamon and Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich. So far, Masters is leading the polls and appears headed to a victory tonight giving former President Donald Trump one more primary win. The winner of this race will head on to battle Democratic Senator Mark Kelly in November who is running unopposed today.
In the race for Arizona governor, former TV anchor Kari Lake currently leads, depending on the poll, but her opponent, former Arizona Board of Regents member Karrin Taylor Robson, has made headway in recent weeks. This race in particular pits the Trump-endorsed Lake against the Pence-endorsed Robson, a split that was recently highlighted during dueling rallies in the state. Robson is also backed by the current term-limited Gov. Doug Ducey.
The governor’s race could turn out closer than anyone expected with at least one recent poll from Emerson showing Robson with a 1-point lead over Lake, though Lake has led in most previous polls.
Missouri
Polls close: 8 pm ET
Races to watch: U.S. Senate; 1st, 4th and 7th congressional districts
Missouri will also see a Republican primary for Senate candidates as well. The race has had its own twists and turns and a recent Trump endorsement for “ERIC” turned some heads:
After a day of speculation among political operatives in Missouri and Washington, D.C., that Trump was poised to endorse either former Gov. Eric Greitens or Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt, Trump chose both in a statement shortly after 5 p.m.
The split decision came a little more than 12 hours before polls open — and set Trump up to claim credit if either candidate wins Tuesday.
Trump said he wanted a candidate who will fight for border security “election integrity, the military and military veterans.
“We need a person who will not back down to the Radical Left Lunatics who are destroying our Country,” Trump wrote. “I trust the Great People of Missouri, on this one, to make up their own minds, much as they did when they gave me landslide victories in the 2016 and 2020 Elections, and I am therefore proud to announce that ERIC has my Complete and Total Endorsement!”
Trump is uncharacteristically staying out of the Missouri GOP Senate primary.
Kansas
Polls close: 8 pm ET (some counties close at 9 pm ET)
Races to watch: Abortion ballot amendment
In Kansas, the race to watch is a ballot amendment that will alter the state constitution on the topic of abortion. In 2019, the Kansas Supreme Court ruled that the state constitution includes a right to bodily autonomy, which included abortion according to the ruling.
As a result of that ruling, the only way for state legislators to regulate or ban abortion would be to alter the state constitution which is what voters are being asked to do today:
Voters regardless of political affiliation will be asked whether to amend the state constitution to remove a protected right to abortion. The procedure is currently legal up to 22 weeks in Kansas, where people from Texas, Oklahoma and Missouri have traveled for services amid Republican-led efforts to roll back abortion rights.
The text of the Kansas abortion ballot question reads:
“Because Kansans value both women and children, the constitution of the state of Kansas does not require government funding of abortion and does not create or secure a right to abortion. To the extent permitted by the constitution of the United States, the people, through their elected state representatives and state senators, may pass laws regarding abortion, including, but not limited to, laws that account for circumstances of pregnancy resulting from rape or incest, or circumstances of necessity to save the life of the mother.”
Kansas will be an interesting test for abortion on the ballot as it will be the first statewide vote on whether to essentially ban the procedure or keep it legal based on existing state precedent.
