(Reuters) – Voters in Arizona, Michigan, Kansas, Missouri and Washington will choose candidates for the U.S. Congress, governor and other offices, as former President Donald Trump’s effort to maintain dominance over the Republican Party is tested anew.
Here are the key races to watch:
ARIZONA GOVERNOR
The Republican contenders include former news anchor Kari Lake, who is endorsed by Trump and has echoed his false claims that the 2020 election was fraudulent. Her main rival is developer Karrin Taylor Robson, who is backed by several establishment Republicans, including Trump’s former vice president, Mike Pence, and Arizona Governor Doug Ducey.
On the Democratic side, the leading candidate is Arizona Secretary of State Katie Hobbs, who has built a national profile by vociferously denying Trump’s allegations. She is facing Marco Lopez, a former Obama administration official and former mayor of Nogales, a border city.
ARIZONA U.S. SENATE
A bitter fight to decide who will challenge incumbent Democratic Senator Mark Kelly in November has come down to three Republican candidates. Blake Masters, chief operating officer of Thiel Capital and president of the Thiel Foundation, has the financial backing of tech billionaire Peter Thiel and Trump’s endorsement. Recent polling shows him leading state attorney general Mark Brnovich and Jim Lamon, a former power company executive.
ARIZONA SECRETARY OF STATE
On the Republican side, the front-runner is Trump-endorsed state Representative Mark Finchem, who was present at the Jan. 6, 2021 rally that preceded the attack on the U.S. Capitol and has embraced Trump’s stolen election claims. He faces several opponents. The Democratic contest pits former Maricopa County Recorder Adrian Fontes against state House of Representatives Minority Leader Reginald Bolding.
KANSAS GOVERNOR
Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt, who has Trump’s endorsement, is expected to defeat an underfunded opponent in the Republican contest. The winner will challenge incumbent Democratic Governor Laura Kelly, who is among the most vulnerable Democratic governors in November.
KANSAS ABORTION VOTE
Voters in Kansas will decide whether the state constitution should go on protecting abortion rights in the first statewide electoral test of abortion rights since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, the landmark 1973 ruling that legalized abortion nationwide.
The ballot question asks whether voters want to amend the state constitution to assert there is no right to abortion. The amendment’s passage, which requires a simple majority, would reverse a 2019 state Supreme Court ruling that established a right to abortion in Kansas.
MICHIGAN GOVERNOR
A field of Republicans is vying to take on Democratic Governor Gretchen Whitmer, whose aggressive approach to closing down businesses during the coronavirus pandemic has made her a top target for conservatives.
The chaotic Republican primary saw several candidates disqualified after a scandal involving falsified signatures on petitions to get on the ballot. In June, the FBI arrested candidate Ryan Kelley, a real estate broker, on misdemeanor charges stemming from the U.S. Capitol attack, though he has continued to campaign. Other Republican candidates include Tudor Dixon, a conservative commentator who has echoed Trump’s false election fraud allegations, and Kevin Rinke, a businessman. Trump has not endorsed anyone.
MICHIGAN’S 3RD CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT
Incumbent Representative Peter Meijer, one of the 10 Republicans to vote for Trump’s second impeachment, is facing a primary challenge from John Gibbs, a former Trump administration official who has the former president’s endorsement. Meijer is a moderate Republican in a district that Democrats see as a potential pickup. The campaign arm for House Democrats angered some supporters by running ads to promote Gibbs, who is seen as an easier target in November.
MISSOURI U.S. SENATE
Eric Greitens, the former Missouri governor who resigned in disgrace after sexual assault and campaign finance fraud scandals, has slipped in the polls after a barrage of attack ads and calls from within his own party for him to withdraw over fears that his nomination could cost the party a safe seat.
State Attorney General Eric Schmitt and U.S. Representative Vicky Hartzler are the other top contenders. Trump declined to back Hartzler but did not endorse Greitens, as many advisors had pushed him to do.
WASHINGTON STATE’S 3RD CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT
Representative Jaime Herrera Beutler, one of 10 Republicans to vote for Trump’s impeachment in 2021, is facing a primary challenge from Joe Kent, a former Green Beret officer who has been endorsed by Trump. Herrera Beutler has held the seat since 2010.
(Reporting by Joseph Ax, Moira Warburton and Gabriella Borter, Editing by Ross Colvin and Alistair Bell)
