About Last Night: Primaries in MI, MO, KS, AZ, and WA

Voters in Des Moines precincts 43, 61 and 62 cast their ballots at Roosevelt High School.
3 November 2020. Photo by Phil Roeder

Primaries return after a few quite weeks on the midterm election front, with Missouri, Kansas, Michigan, Washington, and Arizona going to the polls.

Missouri:

In a relief to the Republican party and a win for decent human beings everywhere, former Missouri Governor Eric Greitens came in a distant third in the GOP primary for US Senate. Greitens had resigned from office in scandal, and since had faced allegation of abusing a woman he was having an affair in and also mired in a divorce and custody battle with more accusations of abuse. Republican Eric Schmitt will move on to face Democrat Trudy Busch Valentine in a seat that is expected to remain in the GOP camp.

Kansas:

In a surprise, the “Value Them Both” abortion amendment has been voted down:

A “yes” vote on the measure would remove from the state Constitution the right to an abortion and hand the issue back to the state legislature. A “no” vote on the measure would make no changes, keeping abortion rights enshrined in the state Constitution.

Kansas Reflector:

Kansas voters in a landslide Tuesday defeated a constitutional amendment that would have stripped residents of abortion rights, defying polling and political observers who expected a close result.

The ballot measure was failing by a 60-40 margin late Tuesday after voters responded to an intense and costly campaign marked by dubious claims by amendment supporters and the unraveling of protections by the U.S. Supreme Court.

The question before voters, in the form of a confusingly worded constitutional amendment, was whether to end the right to abortion in Kansas by voting “yes” or preserve the right by voting “no.”

“You guys, we did it,” said Rachel Sweet, campaign manager for Kansans for Constitutional Freedom, as she addressed a crowd of abortion-rights supporters at a watch party in Overland Park. “We blocked this amendment. Can you believe it?”

The outcome could have far-reaching political implications, with a governor’s race and congressional seats on the ballot in November. It also means reproductive health care will remain available in a state where six girls younger than 14 were among nearly 8,000 patients who received an abortion last year.

“I’ve always maintained that a woman’s reproductive health care decisions should be between her and her physician,” said Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly, in a statement to campaign supporters. “I’m proud to say that Kansans stood up for our fundamental rights today.”

The proposed constitutional amendment is a reaction to a 2019 decision by the Kansas Supreme Court, which struck down a state law banning a common second-term abortion procedure. The court determined that the right to bodily autonomy in the state constitution’s Bill of Rights includes the decision to terminate a pregnancy.

That meant abortion remained legal in Kansas when the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, allowing each state to determine its own rules for reproductive health care. Kansas attracted national attention as the first state to vote on abortion rights in the post-Roe world.

In the US Senate races, Democrat Mark Holland won a three-way race and will face Senator Jerry Moran. For governor incumbent Laura Kelly will be challenged by Republican Derek Schmidt in the fall.

Also of note: Kris Kobach, who lost in the Kansas GOP senate race two years ago, narrowly won his primary for AG, moving on to face Democrat Chris Mann.

Michigan:

AP:

Businesswoman and conservative commentator Tudor Dixon won the Republican primary for Michigan governor on Tuesday, setting up a tough race against Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer as anger and division within the state GOP threaten the party’s efforts in the battleground state this fall.

Dixon, who was endorsed by former President Donald Trump last week, defeated four male candidates in a race between little-known political newcomers. She also had backing from the prominent Michigan Republican family of Betsy DeVos, who was education secretary in Trump’s Cabinet but was critical of him and resigned after the Jan. 6, 2021, riot, as well as the Michigan Chamber of Commerce and several anti-abortion groups.

Taking the stage at a victory party, Dixon pledged to fight for families who struggled through COVID-19 lockdowns that Whitmer imposed and who can’t afford to put gas in their vehicles and pay bills. She called the first-term governor “the queen of lockdowns” and recounted how her own grandmother died in a nursing home, alone, during the pandemic.

“Frankly Michigan, we deserve better,” Dixon said. “Now we have the opportunity to truly hold Gretchen Whitmer accountable for the pain she has inflicted on each and every one of us during the past four years.”

Whitmer, who did not have a Democratic opponent, was seen as potentially vulnerable heading into 2022 because of anger over her pandemic restrictions, rising gas and food prices, and her ties to President Joe Biden, whose approval ratings are low. But some of those hopes were dashed after top Republican candidates didn’t make the ballot because they didn’t file enough valid nominating signatures and the remaining field struggled to compete in fundraising with Whitmer and her multimillion-dollar campaign fund. None of the GOP candidates had held public office, and many had baggage that could hurt in a general election.

Dixon is a former steel industry executive who also hosted a conservative program on a streaming channel and once acted in low-budget zombie movies in what her campaign described as an “admittedly lame” hobby.

Washington:

In a state where the top two move on to the general election, US Senator Patty Murray will look to hold off Republican Tiffany Smiley.

Also, from King5 News:

Incumbents from all 10 of Washington’s Congressional districts are facing at least one challenger.

In a closely-watched race, Democrat incumbent Kim Schrier leads with 49% of the vote, following an initial round of returns counted. Republican challengers Matt Larkin and Reagan Dunn trail Schrier in a tight race.

Representatives are elected to a two-year term and serve people in specific districts. The number of voting representatives for all 50 states in the U.S. House is no more than 435.

Secretary of state

Sen. Steve Hobbs, who was sworn into the position last November following an appointment by Democratic Gov. Jay Inslee to fill the seat, is leading with 41% of votes counted, following an initial round of returns counted. Julie Anderson (NP) trails Hobbs with 13%, followed by Republicans Bob Hagglund and Keith Wagoner.

Arizona:

In the US Senate race, Blake Masters is holding a lead over Jim Lamon in the GOP primary to see who will challenge incumbent Democrat Mark Kelly. For governor, Katie Hobbs easily won the Democratic nomination, and awaits the winner of Karrin Taylor Robson v Kari Lake matchup on the GOP side. Robson holds a lead with about 70% of the vote counted.