2022 Midterms: Primary elections were held today in 5 states

In Missouri, scandal-mongering former governor Eric Greitens; is attempting a political comeback. In Michigan, a crowded field of Republican gubernatorial candidates includes; a man charged in the January 6 attack on the US Capitol. In Arizona, a prominent figure in the the QAnon conspiracy movement is running for the US House.

These are among the most notable contests in Tuesday’s five-state primary.

Arizona, narrowly won by Democrat Joe Biden in 2020, is a top target for former President Donald Trump, who he tried in vain to reverse his defeat. He has endorsed a slate of candidates up and down the ballot who have promoted his own false allegations of stolen elections.

Trump has also zeroed in on the 10 House Republicans who voted to impeach him over the uprising of January 6;. Three of them are on the ballot Tuesday in Washington state and Michigan, as are two members of “The Team,” Democratic Reps. Cory Bush of Missouri and Rashida Tlieb of Michigan.

Meanwhile, Kansas voters could clear the way for the Republican-controlled Legislature to further restrict or ban abortions if they approve a proposed state constitutional change. It is the first referendum on abortion policy by a state since then The US Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June.

Ohio also holds primaries for state legislative races on Tuesday, three months after its statewide and congressional contests — a divided system that grew out of legal battles over redistricting.

Trump’s endorsed candidates in Arizona all have one thing in common: They have loudly spread misinformation about the legitimacy of the 2020 election, despite election officials and Trump’s own attorney general saying there is no credible evidence the race was tainted.

In the governor’s race, Trump endorsed former TV news anchor Kari Lake;who said she would not have certified Arizona’s 2020 election results. entrepreneur Karrin Taylor Robsonwho is backed by former Vice President Mike Pence and outgoing Gov. Doug Ducey.

Secretary of State Katie Hobbs, a staunch advocate of the 2020 election, is heavily favored to win the Democratic nomination for governor.

In the Republican primary for the US Senate, Trump supported technology investors Blake Masters as a candidate to take on incumbent Democrat Mark Kelly in the fall. Masters, whose campaign was funded by billionaire Peter Thiel, has called for a reduction in legal immigration and has espoused the baseless “great replacement” conspiracy theory, arguing that Democrats are trying to “replace Americans born here.”

Attorney General Mark Brnovich, another Senate candidate, has been weighed down by lackluster fundraising and heavy criticism from Trump, who says Brnovich has done little to advance his allegations of voter fraud. Another top contender, Jim Lamonfounder of a solar energy company, was a fake voter for Trump in 2020, signing a certificate that falsely said the then-president had won the state.

The Republican primary for the secretary of state includes Trump-backed lawmaker Mark Finchem, a state representative who worked to overturn Trump’s loss in 2020. State Shawnna Bolick, who introduced a bill that would allow lawmakers to ignore election results and choose their own presidential electors. and state Sen. Michelle Ugenti-Rita, who has long pushed to overhaul election laws. The GOP establishment has rallied around ad executive Beau Lane in the race.

Ron Watkins, who has ties to the QAnon conspiracy theory, is considered a long shot in the House. Watkins, a Republican, served as the longtime administrator of the online message boards that became the home of the anonymous “Q.” The conspiracy theory centers on the baseless belief that Trump has waged a secret campaign against enemies in the “deep state” and that a group of satanic, cannibalistic pedophiles secretly rule the world.

In the state legislature, Arizona Speaker of the House Rusty Bowerswho testified at a Jan. 6 hearing on Trump’s push to overturn the 2020 election, is facing a Trump-backed candidate in his bid for the state Senate.

The Republican primary for governor was a wild one from the start, with five candidates being kicked off the ballot for not submitting enough valid signatures.

Several of the remaining candidates have baggage that could hurt in a general election against Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.

Real estate agent Ryan Kelly has pleaded not guilty to misdemeanor charges after authorities said he rallied Trump supporters to storm the US Capitol. Businessman Kevin Rinke sued in the 1990s for sexual harassment and racial discrimination — allegations he says were false. Chiropractor Garrett Soldano used supplements he falsely claimed treated COVID-19. Conservative commentator Tudor Dixonwho was it endorsed by Trumphe has previously starred in low-budget horror pictures.

All the candidates are falsely saying the 2020 election was rigged, with Dixon, Kelly and Soldano saying the election was stolen by Trump.

Republican Rep. Peter Meijer hopes to retain his seat after the vote to impeach Trump. The former president argued businessman and missionary John Gibbs;who worked in the Trump administration under Housing Secretary Ben Carson.

Greitens’ political career appeared to be over when he resigned as governor in 2018, following his admission to an extramarital affair and charges of racketeering and campaign finance violations. On Tuesday, the former Navy SEAL has a chance to redeem himself in the Republican primary for the seat he held retired GOP US Sen. Roy Blunt;.

Greitens, Attorney General Eric Schmitt and U.S. Rep. Vicky Hartzler are the frontrunners in a crowded 21-person GOP field that includes U.S. Reps. Billy Long and Mark McCloskey, the attorney for St. Louis who along with his wife pointed guns at racial injustice protesters who came out onto their private driveway.

On Monday, Trump expressed his support in a social media post for “ERIC,” meaning either Schmidt or Greitens, without choosing between them.

The GOP winner in Missouri, a solidly Republican state, will be favored in November. But Republican leaders have long been concerned that Greitens — his His ex-wife also accused him of abuseclaims Greitens called “baseless” — he could win the primary but lose the general election.

On the Democratic side, the nomination appears to be a win-win Lucas Koonsveteran marine and self-proclaimed populist, and Trudy Busch Valentineheir to the Busch beer fortune who has largely self-funded her campaign.

Two Republican members of the House of Representatives from Washington state who voted to impeach Trump face the primary challengers he supports.

Representative Jaime Herrera Beutler, who has been in Congress since 2011, said she voted for the impeachment because she had a “constitutional obligation.” Trump has endorsed Joe Kenta former Green Beret and a conservative television show echoing the former president’s complaints about the outcome of the 2020 election.

Agent Dan Newhouse, a member of Congress since 2015, said he voted to impeach Trump for inciting and refusing to immediately stop the Jan. 6 uprising. Among his challengers are Loren Culpa former small-town police chief backed by Trump who refused to concede the 2020 gubernatorial bid to Democrat Jay Inslee.

In Washington, the top two vote-getters in each race, regardless of party, advance to November.

Voters will decide whether to approve a change to the state constitution that could allow the Legislature to restrict or ban abortions despite a 2019 state Supreme Court ruling that access to abortion is a fundamental right. It is the first state abortion referendum since Roe v. Wade was overturned.

In statewide races, Republican Chris Kobach is running for attorney general as he attempts a political comeback after defeats in races for governor and US Senate in previous years. Kobach, the former state secretary of state, served as vice chairman of a short-lived Trump commission on voter fraud after the 2016 election.

Associated Press writers Jonathan J. Cooper in Phoenix. Sara Burnett in Chicago; Jim Salter in O’Fallon, Missouri; Chris Grygiel in Seattle. and John Hanna in Topeka, Kansas. contributed to this report.