What Went Down In The June 7 Primaries

While most of the races are in California tonight, the races that involve Big Lie-supporting candidates, or those who back Trump’s false claims that the 2020 election was fraudulent, are largely taking place in other states. Even outside of the Golden State, there are fewer Big Lie races this evening.

Mississippi only has one race we’re watching tonight, but it might have the highest Big Lie stakes tonight as scandal-plagued Big Lie proponent Republican Rep. Steven Palazzo could be in trouble. Palazzo voted not to certify some election results, and supported a lawsuit out of Texas that aimed to overturn results. He’s also been under investigation by the Office of Congressional Ethics, so simply being the incumbent might not be enough to win. Challenging him are six other Republicans, including others who have questioned the 2020 election results. However, his closest competitors have been less outspoken about the Big Lie. State Sen. Brice Wiggins has been fairly quiet on the Big Lie front, but did tweet praise of Mississippi Sen. ​​Roger Wicker for voting to certify the election results. Meanwhile, retired banker Clay Wagner and Jackson County Sheriff Mike Ezell don’t have a stated position on the 2020 election. So suffice to say, if Palazzo is not the GOP candidate, it will likely be someone who hasn’t championed the Big Lie the way he has.

Another race to watch is the Republican primary for governor in New Mexico. Each of the five candidates in that race has, at the very least, raised some questions about the 2020 election. The front-runner, former local weatherman Mark Ronchetti, dodged a debate question about election fraud, but does have a section of his campaign website devoted to “election integrity,” which is often a dog-whistle of sorts to the Big Lie crowd.

Meanwhile, in Iowa, there’s a hot race for Republican nominee in the state’s 3rd Congressional District, where the GOP is hoping to unseat the state’s lone Democrat, Cindy Axne. One of those candidates is Gary Leffler, a farmer who rides his American flag-painted tractor at campaign events, and has been outspoken about his belief that the election was stolen. In 2020, he attended the “Stop the Steal” rally preceding the attack on the U.S. Capitol building on Jan. 6. He even posed for photos from the steps of the Capitol, though he said he did not go inside. However, he’s a fringe candidate who is unlikely to win.

It’s perhaps not surprising to find that in traditionally blue California, Republicans were less likely to be vocal about Trump’s claim that the 2020 election was stolen — we found most candidates didn’t have a stated position on it one way or the other. But a handful bucked the trend. Take California’s 22nd Congressional District, where Republican Rep. David Valadao is being primaried by two contenders, one of whom has endorsed the Big Lie. Rancher Chris Mathys has said Trump would have won if votes had been “properly counted.” It looks likely though that Valadao will easily cruise to the November general election. Below is a table of all the Big Lie candidates I’ll be tracking tonight: