Primary elections held Tuesday in five states – Idaho, Kentucky, North Carolina, Oregon and Pennsylvania – should determine what candidates will be on the ballot during the midterm elections this November.
Out of the primaries held for the 50 open seats throughout these states, 12 have been identified as “battleground” primaries by Ballotpedia, a non-profit encyclopedia of U.S. elections. At least two of the candidates in these elections might already be familiar to Americans since they have appeared on TV shows.
To determine battleground elections, Ballotpedia analyzed the following: the 2020 winner’s margin of victory, the results of the 2020 presidential election in the district, whether an incumbent was seeking re-election, whether an incumbent is serving his or her first term in Congress, and predictions from political analysts.
Senate
One senate seat is up for election in each of the five states. Of these, the North Carolina Republican primary and both the Democratic and Republican primaries in Pennsylvania have been identified as battleground elections.
In Pennsylvania, the Republican primary gained media attention in April, when former President Donald Trump announced his support for candidate Mehmet Oz, a celebrity doctor known for his Emmy-winning “Dr. Oz” TV show. Other candidates in the race include: Kathy Barnette, Jeff Bartos, George Bochetto Sean Gale, David McCormick and Carla Sands.
As for the Democrats in Pennsylvania, John Fetterman, Malcolm Kenyatta, Alexandria Khalil and Conor Lamb are facing off in a battleground race.
Candidates who win the election will face off Nov. 8 to replace incumbent Republican Sen. Pat Toomey, who is not seeing reelection.
A large group of 14 North Carolina Republicans has joined the battleground primary in that state: Jennifer Banwart, Lee Brian, Leonard Bryant, Ted Budd, Drew Bulecza, Marjorie K. Eastman, David Flaherty, Benjamin Griffiths, Kenneth Harper Jr., Pat McCrory, Charles Moss, Lichia Sibhatu, Debora Tshiovo and Mark Walker.
In order to keep the seat, the Republican candidate must run against one the large group of candidates running in North Carolina’s Democratic primary. They include: Greg Antoine, Cheri Beasley, Chrelle Booker, James Carr Jr., Robert Colon, Alyssia Hammond, Constance Johnson, Tobias LaGrone, B.K.
Maginnis, Everette Newton and Marcus Williams.
House of Representatives
Overall, 45 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives are up for election this year throughout the five states with primaries held this Tuesday. Currently, 19 are held by Democrats and 28 are held by Republicans – at least one existing Congressional seat that would be up for reelection has been eliminated through redistricting.
In North Carolina – where July 26 has been scheduled as a runoff election day – six primaries for these seats have been identified as battleground races. In Oregon, four primaries have been identified as battleground races and in Kentucky one race has been identified as a battleground primary.
Each of North Carolina’s 14 House districts have seats up for election in November. Currently, five of the seats are held by Democrats and eight are held by Republicans.
In the state’s 11th district, incumbent Republican Rep. Madison Cawthorn – who has been the subject of controversy for his claim that other politicians engage in orgies, as well as leaked photos of him in women’s lingerie and a nude video – is one of the candidates in a battleground primary. Cawthorn is running against: Matthew Burril, Chuck Edwards, Rod Honeycutt, Wendy Nevarez, Bruce O'Connell, Kristie Sluder, Michele Woodhouse and Bynum Lunsford.
Ballotpedia has also identified the Democratic primary in the 11th district as a battleground race. Candidates include: Jasmine Beach-Ferrara, Jay Carey, Katie Dean, Marco Gutierrez and Bo Hess. David Coatney is a Libertarian candidate for North Carolina’s 11th district.
Republican and Democratic primaries in North Carolina’s 13th Congressional District have been identified as battleground races. Democratic primary candidates include: Jamie Campbell Bowles, Nathan Click, Denton Lee, Wiley Nickel and Sam Searcy. Republican primary candidates include: DeVan Barbour IV, Kelly Daughtry, Renee Ellmers, Bo Hines, Kent Keirsey, Jessica Morel, Chad Slotta and Kevin Alan Wolff.
Additionally, primaries for both parties in North Carolina’s 1st Congressional District are considered battleground races. Democratic Party Democratic primary candidates include: Jullian Bishop Sr., Donald Davis, Erica Smith and Jason Spriggs. Republican Party Republican primary candidates include Will Aiken, Brad Murphy, Ernest Reeves, Brent Roberson, Sandy Roberson, Sandy Smith, Billy Strickland and Henry Williams. Eshan Patel is an Independent candidate in the district.
Clay Aiken, who finished in second place during the second season of the singing competition TV Show American Idol nearly two decades ago, is one of the candidates in the Democratic primary battleground race for North Carolina’s 4th Congressional District. Other candidates include: Nida Allam, Crystal Cavalier, Valerie Foushee, Matt Grooms, Stephen J. Valentine, Ashley Ward and Richard Watkins.
The Republican primary for this district is not considered a battleground race. Courtney Geels and Robert Thomas are the only two candidates.
All of Oregon’s battleground races are Democratic primaries.
In Oregon’s 4th Congressional District, the candidates are: Sami Al-Abdrabbuh, Doyle Canning Val Hoyle, Andrew Kalloch, Steve Laible, Jake Matthews, John Selker, G. Tommy Smith. In Oregon’s 5th Congressional District: incumbent Kurt Schrader and Jamie McLeod-Skinner. In Oregon’s 6th Congressional District: Ricky Barajas, Carrick Flynn, Greg Goodwin, Kathleen Harder, Teresa Alonso Leon, Steven Cody Reynolds, Andrea Salinas Loretta Smith and Matt West.
In Kentucky’s 3rd Congressional District, the Democratic primary is a battleground race. The party’s primary candidates are Morgan McGarvey and Attica Scott.
Gubernatorial
Primaries for candidates who want to run for governor in November were also scheduled Tuesday in Idaho, Oregon, Pennsylvania.
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