What Went Down In Elections In Minnesota, Wisconsin, Vermont And Connecticut

There are a handful of Trump endorsees to watch on today’s ballot, with a majority hailing from Wisconsin. Here are some highlights:

• Staunch Trump ally Sen. Ron Johnson is running for a third term, and he’s expected to cruise to renomination against nominal opposition. So the real question for Johnson is whether his loyalty to Trump — one of the senator’s top aides reportedly offered to provide an “alternate slate” of electors for Wisconsin and Michigan for the certification of 2020 election results — will pay off against presumptive Democratic nominee Mandela Barnes, who hasn’t made Johnson’s ties to Trump a focal point … yet.
• Meanwhile, the race where Trump’s endorsement could have the most impact is in Wisconsin’s GOP gubernatorial primary. Trump has backed wealthy construction businessman Tim Michels who faces former Wisconsin Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch. Kleefisch has her own assortment of endorsers, ranging from her former boss, Gov. Scott Walker, to former White House press secretary and likely future Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, so today’s results will once again be a proxy for how significant Trump’s endorsement is compared to that of other high-profile Republicans.
• Finally, Derrick Van Orden is hoping to represent Wisconsin’s 3rd District, currently held by retiring Democratic Rep. Ron Kind. Van Orden is an ardent supporter of Trump’s fraudulent claims surrounding the validity of the 2020 election, but he has denied reports that prove his presence at the Capitol during the Jan. 6 insurrection and allegations that he used campaign funds to bankroll the trip. He’s running unopposed in the primary, but given this district has a partisan lean of R+9, it remains possible that Van Orden will face stiff competition in the general against one of the four Democratic contenders hoping to succeed Kind.

Below is a table of all the Trump endorsees I’ll be keeping an eye on tonight: