Congressional primaries to watch: House races in Illinois, Ohio and more
House incumbents in Ohio and Illinois are facing tough primary challenges, battleground matchups will be set and California could send a new member to Congress.
Joe Biden and Donald Trump may have secured their parties’ presidential nominations, but there is plenty of intrigue further down the ballot heading into the next primary day Tuesday.
While much of the focus will be on Ohio’s Senate race, where Republicans are competing to take on Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown, Tuesday’s results will set the stage this fall for pivotal House battleground races in the Buckeye State and in Illinois. Two incumbents in Illinois are also facing competitive primary challenges in safe seats. And in California, voters will decide whether Republicans’ narrow House majority will receive an immediate jolt.
Here are four dynamics to watch in Tuesday’s House primaries.
Trump’s endorsement will be put to the test in Illinois’ 12th District, where his preferred candidate, GOP Rep. Mike Bost, is facing a primary challenge from former state Sen. Darren Bailey.
Bailey had Trump’s endorsement in the 2022 gubernatorial race, when he lost to incumbent Democrat J.B. Pritzker by 13 percentage points. But last month, Trump instead backed Bost, who leads the House Veterans' Affairs Committee, writing on his Truth Social platform, “While I like and respect Darren Bailey, and was proud to campaign for him in 2022, Mike Bost was one of the first House Committee Chairmen to endorse my Campaign, and Mike was a stalwart supporter of our America First agenda during my record-setting Administration.”
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