Kansas Upheld Abortion Rights And Other Key Updates From The Aug. 2 Elections
Filed under 2022 Election
After a mostly primary-free July, we’re back in full force tonight with primaries in Arizona, Michigan, Missouri, Kansas and Washington. And this Tuesday marks just the first of many in August where we’ll be live blogging — so be sure to join us!
The headlines going into tonight have had a lot to do with former President Donald Trump’s bizarre endorsement of “Eric” in Missouri’s GOP Senate primary. That’s right — Trump purposefully didn’t specify which Eric he meant between former Gov. Eric Greitens and Attorney General Eric Schmitt, both of whom are running. His statement instead read: “I trust the Great People of Missouri, on this one, to make up their own minds.”
Greitens, as Nathaniel, will detail more on the live blog, is a scandal-ridden candidate, having first resigned as governor in 2018 amid allegations that he kidnapped and blackmailed a woman he was having an affair with. But on the big issues, there isn’t necessarily that much daylight between the Erics. For instance, both deny the legitimacy of the 2020 election. Schmitt joined the Texas lawsuit that tried to overturn the results of the election, while Greitens has been an avid promoter of Trump’s false election claims, including pushing unsubstantiated theories of fraud in Missouri — a state Trump handily won.
But it’s Arizona where election denying candidates are on full display. Maybe there’s just something about the desert, as Kaleigh writes in her preview of election-denying candidates, as both the New Mexico and Nevada primaries also featured a lot of election-denying candidates. In fact, in all four of Arizona’s statewide races: governor, U.S. Senate, attorney general and secretary of state, there’s the strong possibility that an election-denying candidate wins.
Most of Kansas’s competitive elections will actually be waged in the fall, but we’ll be paying special attention to the vote on the Value Them Both constitutional amendment, as this will be the first test of how voters are thinking about the legality of abortion since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June. Amelia will be covering this ballot measure in great detail and will have more for you in a minute.
Finally, one trend that Geoffrey will be keeping an eye on this evening is the fate of three House Republicans who voted to impeach Trump after the attack on the Capitol on Jan. 6: Rep. Peter Meijer of Michigan’s 3rd District and Reps. Dan Newhouse and Jaime Herrera Beutler of Washington. So far, pro-impeachment House Republicans are just 1 for 2 this cycle, so tonight will be a big test for whether more can survive their primary challengers.
OK! That’s it from me. And that’s, of course, just a quick rundown of some of the key highlights we’re watching tonight. There’s a lot more going on the live blog, and as always, thanks for following along. If you have any questions, ping us @538politics, and I’ll try to get your question answered on the live blog!