Former Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper won the Democratic primary for Senate on Tuesday, setting up a November matchup with incumbent Republican Senator Cory Gardner.
Hickenlooper, who ran an unsuccessful campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination, captured 60% of the vote to defeat Andrew Romanoff.
The contest between Hickenlooper and Gardner will be one of the most closely watched as Democrats try to take control of the Senate from Republicans.
In another Colorado race, Lauren Boebert, a businesswoman who advocates strong gun rights and who opened her restaurant in defiance of state coronavirus restrictions, defeated five-term incumbent Congressman Scott Tipton in the Republican primary for the 3rd congressional district.
Tipton had the endorsement of President Donald Trump, but after the race was called Tuesday night the president tweeted congratulations to Boebert on a “really great win!”
Former state lawmaker Diane Mitsch Bush will be Boebert’s opponent in November, after defeating James Iacino in the Democratic primary Tuesday.
In Oklahoma, Republican Senator Jim Inhofe easily won his primary Tuesday. His November opponent will be Democrat Abby Broyles, an attorney and former television reporter, who defeated three primary challengers.
Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman James Inhofe, R-Okla., speaks to reporters following a GOP policy meeting on Capitol Hill, Tuesday, June 30, 2020, in Washington.
In House races, Democrat Kojo Asamoa-Caesar won his primary and will face incumbent Republican Congressman Kevin Hern.
Republican Congressman Markwayne Mullin easily defeated two challengers to set up a November race with Democratic challenger Danyell Lanier.
Republican Congressman Tom Cole handily won a four-way race and will next go up against Democrat Mary Brannon.
Democratic Congresswoman Kendra Horn won her primary Tuesday, but will have to wait until a late August runoff election to find out her opponent. There were nine Republicans competing in that party’s primary, and with no candidate earning the necessary 50% of the vote, candidates Terry Neese and Stephanie Bice advanced to the runoff.
Voters in Oklahoma also narrowly approved an expansion of the Medicaid health insurance program for low-income residents over the opposition of state leaders who expressed concerns about future costs for the state. The expansion will bring coverage to tens of thousand of people who meet the eligibility requirements of single incomes up to $17,200 or $35,500 for a family of four.
In Utah, former Governor and U.S. ambassador to China and Russia Jon Huntsman Jr. was locked in a tight battle with Lieutenant Governor Spencer Cox and two other candidates for the Republican nomination to be the state’s next governor. The winner will face Democrat Chris Peterson in November.
With 75% of precincts reporting, Cox had a lead of 37% to Huntsman’s 34%.
There were close battles Tuesday in both the Democratic and Republican primaries for the 1st congressional district, with candidates vying to fill the seat of retiring Republican Congressman Rob Bishop.
Darren Parry led Jamie Cheek 53% to 48% with 60% of precincts reporting in the Democratic race. Republicans Blake Moore and Bob Stevenson were both at 30% of the vote with 80% of precincts reporting.
In the 4th congressional district, Republican Burgess Owens defeated three challengers in a primary battle for the right to go up against incumbent Democratic Congressman Ben McAdams.
Earlier Tuesday, election officials in Kentucky announced results from last week’s elections after counting a huge number of mail-in ballots.
Former Marine fighter pilot Amy McGrath won the Senate Democratic nomination, setting up a November contest against one of the most powerful political figures in the country, Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell.
McGrath, who lost a bid for a House of Representatives seat in 2018, faces an uphill fight against McConnell, a long-standing political fixture in the mid-South state and staunch supporter of President Donald Trump’s legislative agenda in Washington. But numerous national Democratic leaders, including Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer, are supporting her.
In many U.S. elections, voters have come to expect results on the night of the election, but with concerns about in-person voting because of the coronavirus pandemic, states have seen an increase in mail-in votes. Election experts have cautioned that could very much be the cast come November 3, when the nation votes for president, all 435 House seats and 35 of the Senate’s 100 seats.
New York voters are still waiting on some results from last week’s primaries as well, but election officials said mail-in ballots will not be counted until next week.
Prominent outstanding races include the 16th congressional district in which former middle school principal Jamaal Bowman led Congressman Eliot Engel, the chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, 61% to 36% before the mail-in votes.
In the 12th district, congresswoman Carolyn Maloney, who chairs the House Oversight Committee, held a slight lead over lawyer and activist Suraj Patel before the mail-in ballots were counted in their race.