Primary voters decide elections in Illinois, New York, Utah, Oklahoma, and Colorado: LIVE UPDATES
Just days after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, voters in eight different states took to the polls Tuesday to vote in a number of primary and runoff elections, as well as special election in Nebraska.
Coverage for this event has ended.
Republican Mike Flood, a member of the Nebraska state Senate, defeated his Democratic challenger in a special election to represent Nebraska's First Congressional District in the House.
Flood's Democratic challenger, Patty Pansing Brooks, is also a member of the Nebraska state senate. Flood will now face off against Brooks in a November general election in hopes of continuing to represent the district in the House.
The special election, the first of its kind in the state in more than 70 years, was held to fill a vacant seat left by GOP Rep. Jeff Fortenberry. Fortenberry resigned earlier this year after a jury found him guilty of lying to the FBI.
The race was called by The Associated Press.
Following former Aurora Mayor Richard Irvin's GOP primary loss to Trump-backed Darren Bailey to represent the party in the Illinois gubernatorial race, hedge-fund billionaire Ken Griffin, who spent $50 million backing Irvin's candidacy, is speaking out.
"I believe Richard Irvin would have been a terrific Governor, and I am proud to have supported his campaign. His proven success in lowering taxes, addressing crime, creating jobs and taking on struggles facing Illinois families offered an encouraging and stark alternative to J.B. Pritzker’s agenda for Illinois," Griffin said in a statement shared with Fox News. "The unprecedented tens of millions of dollars spent by Pritzker and national Democrats in the Republican Primary to avoid facing Richard in the General Election demonstrated he was the right candidate."
"I am grateful to Richard for his public service and for offering voters a real opportunity to turn Illinois around," he added. "The people of Illinois deserve so much better than four more years of the out-of-control crime, high taxes, and continued corruption that have defined J.B. Pritzker’s time in office."
Due to a spike in crime, Griffin recently announced that he was moving his hedge-fund firm Citadel Securities from Chicago to Miami, according to a letter obtained by FOX Business.
Fox News' Andrew Murray contributed to this article.
GOP Rep. Mary Miller of Illinois with former President Donald Trump at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida in April 2022 (Mary Miller campaign)
Incumbent Rep. Mary Miller has defeated her primary challenger, fellow House Republican Rep. Rodney Davis, in the GOP primary race to represent Illinois' newly redrawn 15th Congressional District.
Endorsed by former President Trump, Miller, a first-term representative in Illinois' 15th Congressional District, looks to retain her seat in the House for a district which has been dramatically redrawn in the once-in-a-decade redistricting process. Davis represented the neighboring 13th District for more than a decade and the newly redrawn 15th District contained large swaths of his current district.
Fox News' Paul Steinhauser contributed to this update.
The race was called by The Associated Press.
The campaigns for Rep. Markwayne Mullin and T.W. Shannon to represent Oklahoma in the Senate has not ended yet. Mullin and Shannon will now face off against one another in a primary runoff election.
Both Mullin and Shannon are seeking to replace Sen. Jim Inhofe, R-Okla., whose resignation sparked the special election.
The race was called by The Associated Press.
Rep. Lee Zeldin, R-N.Y. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
Lee Zeldin has won the Republican nomination to represent the party later this year as he seeks to defeat Democratic incumbent Gov. Kathy Hochul in the general election.
Zeldin, a four-term lawmaker who represents New York’s 1st Congressional District, which covers the eastern half of Long Island, topped a field that also included Rob Astorino, the former Westchester County executive and 2014 GOP gubernatorial nominee; Andrew Giuliani, who served in former President Donald Trump’s administration and is the son of former New York City mayor and former Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani; and Harry Wilson, a businessman, investor and restructuring expert who poured millions of his own money into his gubernatorial bid.
Zeldin will now face off in November against Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul, the state’s former lieutenant governor who was sworn in last August as New York’s first female governor, after three-term Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo resigned in disgrace amid multiple scandals.
To read more from Fox News' Paul Steinhauser, click here.
The race was called by The Associated Press.
Incumbent Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, has won the Republican nomination to represent the state's Senate election later this year.
First elected in 2010, Lee defeated two Republican primary challengers to advance to November's general election.
The race was called by The Associated Press.
Incumbent Rep. Sean Casten, D-Ill., secured his party's nomination and defeated his progressive rival, incumbent Rep. Marie Newman, D-Ill., the Associated Press projects, and will advance to the general election against a Republican this fall as he hopes to continue representing residents of Illinois' 6th Congressional District in the House.
Casten, who had 64% of the vote when the AP called the race, swept the Tuesday primary race after new boundaries were drawn as part of a redistricting effort for the 6th District, with both Casten and Newman losing some of their former voters. As with eight other primary elections taking place across the country this year, the battle for the 6th District in Illinois featured an incumbent-to-incumbent face off.
Casten, a graduate from Dartmouth College who is viewed as a more moderate Democrat in the House, has represented the 6th District in Congress since 2019. He was first elected in 2018 after he defeated six-term incumbent Republican Rep. Peter Roskam, marking the first time a Democrat had held the 6th district seat since 1972. Casten was re-elected in 2020.
The race was called by The Associated Press.
Heidi Ganahl has clinched the Republican Party's nomination in the Colorado gubernatorial race.
Ganahl's primary challenger, Greg Lopez, was also a Republican candidate for governor of Colorado in 2018. Lopez, the former mayor of Parker, lost that primary election also.
Ganahl will face off in November against incumbent Democratic Gov. Jared Polis, along with several other candidates.
The race was called by The Associated Press.
Polls have officially come to a close in Utah.
In Utah, Trump-endorsed GOP incumbent Sen. Mike Lee is running for reelection against two primary challengers. The winner will face off later this year against Evan McMullin, an independent candidate backed by the Democratic party.
Republican incumbents in Utah’s 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th Districts are all facing primary challenges. Incumbent Reps. Chris Stewart, of the 2nd District, and Burgess Owens, of the 4th District, were recently endorsed by former President Trump.
Incumbent Rep. Michael Guest, R-Miss., defeated Michael Cassidy in a GOP primary runoff election to represent Mississippi's Third Congressional District in Congress.
Cassidy criticized Guest over his support for the Jan. 6 commission.
Guest will now face off against Shuwaski Young, the Democratic nominee to represent the state's Third District, in the November general election.
The race was called by The Associated Press.
Rep. Lauren Boebert (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
Incumbent Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., has defeated her primary challenger and garnered her party's nomination as she seeks to continue representing Colorado's Third Congressional District in the House.
Boebert faced a primary challenge by Don Coram, a member of the Colorado State Senate. Vying for her second term in Congress, Boebert will now face off against Democratic nominee Diane Mitsch Bush in the November general election.
The race was called by The Associated Press.
Darren Bailey, who currently serves as a state senator in Illinois and obtained support from former President Trump in his gubernatorial bid, has clinched the GOP nomination for governor of Illinois.
Bailey will now face off against incumbent Democratic Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker in November's general election.
The race was called by The Associated Press.
Joe O'Dea has clinched the Republican nomination to represent his party later this year in the general election, defeating Ron Hanks, his primary challenger.
Hanks won the top line designation in the Republican primary ballot in April at the state GOP’s state assembly in Colorado Springs. But the state party did not make an endorsement in the race. Five other Senate candidates who were running for the Republican nomination were eliminated at the party gathering. O’Dea landed his name on the primary ballot by getting at least 1,500 valid signatures from each of Colorado’s eight congressional districts.
O'Dea will now face off against incumbent Sen. Michael Bennett, D-Colo., in November.
The race was called by The Associated Press.
Fox News' Paul Steinhauser contributed to this update.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul debates in the race for governor at the studios of WNBC4-TV June 16, 2022, in New York City. ( Photo by Craig Ruttle-Pool/Getty Images)
Incumbent New York Gov. Kathy Hochul has won the Democratic nomination to represent the party in the November general election as she seeks to retain her seat at the helm of the Empire State.
While the GOP gubernatorial primary race for governor of New York has not been decided, Hochul will likely face off against leading Republican candidate Lee Zeldin.
The race was called by The Associated Press.
New York GOP gubernatorial hopeful Rep. Lee Zeldin, R-N.Y. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
Polls have officially closed in New York and Colorado after voters in each state cast their ballots in primary elections.
A closely watched race in the Empire State is the four-way Republican primary, where Rep. Lee Zeldin, R-N.Y., is expected to win. The Republican victor will likely take on Kathy Hochul, who is being challenged by two Democrat opponents.
Colorado’s 3rd Congressional District primary saw multiple Democrats running for a chance to represent their party later this year. Incumbent Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., was faced with two primary challengers.
Should he clinch his party's nomination Tuesday, incumbent Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Colo., will face off against a Republican challenger in November. Republican candidates Joe O’Dea, Ron Hanks, and write-in Daniel Hendricks are vying for the nomination.
For election results on a state-by-state basis, click here.
Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker speaks during a ceremonial groundbreaking at the Obama Presidential Center in Jackson Park on September 28, 2021 in Chicago, Illinois. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)
Incumbent Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker has won the Democratic Party's nomination for governor, defeating Beverly Miles, his primary challenger. Miles' platform included Medicare for All and reparations for descendants of slave.
Pritzker's GOP challenger for the general election has yet to be determined.
The race was called by the Associated Press.
Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt speaks at a bill-signing ceremony April 12, 2022, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)
Incumbent Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt has won the Republican nomination for the state's gubernatorial race. His Democratic challenger for the general election in November has yet to be determined.
Incumbent Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla., also defeated multiple primary challengers and clinched the GOP nomination for Senate in the state.
Both races were called by The Associated Press.
Rep. Sean Casten, D-Ill., is seen the U.S. Capitol Visitor Center after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy addressed Congress about the Russian invasion on Wednesday, March 16, 2022. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
Polls have closed in Illinois and Oklahoma, with primary voters in both states making their final decisions on who they want to represent them.
In Illinois’ 15th Congressional District, the incumbent-versus-incumbent GOP primary race has been closely watched, as Trump-endorsed Rep. Mary Miller goes head-to-head with Rep. Rodney Davis. Due to redistricting and the loss of a House seat, two Democrat incumbents, Reps. Maire Newman and Sean Casten, were forced into a duel for the 6th District seat in Illinois. Longtime Rep. Danny Davis, D-Ill., who represents the state's 7th Congressional District, also hopes to retain his House seat as he seeks to fend of his progressive primary challenger Kina Collins.
Six candidates also battled it out Tuesday for the GOP nomination in the state governor’s race against incumbent Gov. Pritzker, who faces one primary challenger in the Democratic primary.
Following Oklahoma Sen. Jim Inhofe’s announced retirement, a special election for the seat has thirteen GOP candidates competing in the solid Republican state. If no candidate receives more than 50% of the vote in the primary, a top two runoff will take place on August 23. Also on Oklahoma’s ballot is Incumbent Sen. James Lankford, who has two opponents in the primary but is expected to come out on top.
Crowds outside the Supreme Court reacting to the Dobbs ruling. (Joshua Comins/Fox News)
Americans in seven states will head to the polls Tuesday for the first primary election since last week's landmark Supreme Court decision that overturned Roe v. Wade. Those primary races will be the first indicators of how significantly the Dobbs ruling could motivate voters to get to the polls this election season.
Previously, factors such as inflation and the economy were expected to be the main drivers behind voter turnout. An NPR/PBS Newshour/Marist Poll poll, taken shortly after the Dobbs v. Jackson Womens' Health Organization ruling was released, asked registered voters whether the court's decision made them more likely to vote. Sixty-two percent stated they are more likely to vote, while 26% said the ruling made no difference.
Now that the constitutional right to abortion has officially been struck down, some believe the issue of federalizing access to abortion will play a significant, maybe even defining, role in the 2022 elections.
To read more from Fox News' Kate Ahlborn, click here.
Kina Collins hosts a discussion on abortion access and reproductive rights at the Kehrein Center for the Arts in Chicago on May 16, 2022. (Terrence Antonio James/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
A Justice Democrats-backed candidate seeking to represent Illinois' 7th Congressional District is no stranger to controversy, offering several comments over the last few years that have directly aligned her with the Democratic Party's deeply progressive wing in the House.
Kina Collins, who formerly served on President Joe Biden's transition team and task force for gun violence prevention, is once again challenging incumbent Rep. Danny Davis, D-Ill., who has represented the 7th District since 1997. Collins ran against Davis in the district's 2020 primary election and was defeated by a wide margin, earning only 13.8% of the vote compared to Davis' 61.4%.
Collins is supported by Justice Democrats, a far-left organization that has helped to elect progressive candidates, such as "Squad" members Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., Jamaal Bowman, D-N.Y., and Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich. In addition, she has received endorsements from the Center for Racial and Gender Equity and the Illinois Youth Climate Movement.
To read more, click here.
Rep. Mary Miller says former President Donald Trump's endorsement is "huge" ahead of her primary election in Illinois against fellow House Republican Rep. Rodney Davis.
Miller is a first-term representative in Illinois' 15th Congressional District, which has been dramatically redrawn in the once-in-a-decade redistricting process. Davis, who for a decade has represented the neighboring 13th District, is running against Miller for the new, heavily red seat in the central part of the state, which contains large swaths of his current district.
To read more from Fox News' Paul Steinhauser, click here.
In a Democratic primary race to represent Illinois' First Congressional District, Chris Butler faced off Tuesday against 15 other candidates. (Chris Butler campaign)
A pro-life Democrat seeking to represent Illinois' First Congressional District in the House is speaking out against backlash pro-life Democrats have received in the wake of the Supreme Court's ruling on abortion, saying he believes pro-choice members of the party need to "make room at the table" for those who share his view and that the high court made a "step in the right direction."
Chris Butler, a pastor of a local church and graduate from Northeastern Illinois University, offered the remarks in an interview with Fox News Digital on Tuesday ahead of his primary election in the state.
Implementing certain ideas around his pro-life leanings, Butler said he believes in a "life-affirming value."
"When I looked at the over representation of poor people and people of color in abortion rates, it more closely mirrored the things we were working against than the things we were working for," Butler said, reflecting on time he spent working on justice issues throughout his community. "You see the same old representation that you see in incarceration rates, that you see in poverty rates, that you see in, you know, lack of educational attainment. That was a real red flag for me. It made me begin to think this might be something that is more a tool of injustice than a tool of justice."
To read the full story, click here.
Rep. Lee Zeldin say he’s "taking nothing for granted," but on the eve of the New York State primary the front-runner for the GOP gubernatorial nomination touted that he’s the Republican who can oust Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul in November.
Looking to Tuesday’s primary, Zeldin predicted that "We’re going to win. We’re going to win big. And the best way to win in November is to crush this primary. We’re well on the way to be able to get that done as long as all of our supporters show up on primary day."
Zeldin made his prediction in an interview with Fox News in this Orange County town about 90 minutes north of New York City, which was the last stop on his final five day swing across the Empire State ahead of the primary.
To read from from Fox News' Paul Steinhauser, click here.
Voters head to polls in eight states on Tuesday for the first time since the Supreme Court’s monumental opinion overturning the landmark half century old Roe v. Wade abortion ruling.
The move on Friday by the high court’s conservative majority, which opens the door for roughly two dozen states to quickly ban abortions, could upend November’s midterm elections, when the Democrats will be defending their razor-thin House and Senate majorities as they face historical headwinds as well as an extremely difficult political climate fueled by skyrocketing gas prices, soaring inflation and President Biden’s underwater approval ratings.
And primaries Tuesday in New York State, Illinois, Colorado, Utah, and Oklahoma, runoff elections in Mississippi and South Carolina, and a special election in Nebraska, could give us a glimpse of how the blockbuster ruling may be reshaping political dynamics.
Since most Republicans stand far apart from Democrats on the combustible issue of abortion, the campaign impact of the high court’s ruling will likely be felt in November rather than in the primaries, but Tuesday’s contests and the ensuing intra-party elections throughout the summer could give us a taste of enhanced turnout due to the issue, and may serve as a sign of things to come in the autumn.
To read more from Fox News' Paul Steinhauser, click here.
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