November general election slates for 16 congressional, four gubernatorial, and three U.S. Senate races were set in Wisconsin, Minnesota, Connecticut, and Vermont in the Aug. 9 primary elections.
Among first-glance takeaways are triumphs by four candidates endorsed by former President Donald Trump and the narrow victory by “squad” leader Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) in her Democratic primary. A Minnesota Republican congressional candidate won two races on the same day, and Vermont voters are positioned to elect the state’s first woman to Congress.
Trump Endorsements
The former president backed three victorious candidates in Wisconsin and one in Connecticut.
Leora Levy won the Republican U.S. Senate primary in Connecticut and will challenge incumbent two-term Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.).
Trump-endorsed Derrick Van Orden, a former Navy SEAL, won his Wisconsin congressional district primary, as did two-term incumbent Republican Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.).
In Wisconsin’s Republican gubernatorial primary, Trump-backed businessman Tim Michels won by 4 percentage points over a party rival endorsed by former Vice President Mike Pence.
With Michels’s triumph, Trump took a 2–1 lead over Pence in head-to-head gubernatorial endorsements.
In May, Pence-supported Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp easily defeated Trump-supported challenger David Perdue. In the Aug. 2 primaries, Trump-endorsed Kari Lake defeated Pence-backed Karrin Taylor Robson in Arizona.
Gubernatorial Primaries
Republicans elected challengers to face incumbent Democrats in Wisconsin and Minnesota, while three-term Vermont Gov. Phil Scott, a Republican, rolled to an easy primary win and will square off against Democrat Brenda Siegel, who was uncontested in her party primary.
Michels, who owns a construction company, entered the Wisconsin Republican gubernatorial primary race in April, secured Trump’s endorsement in June, and poured $12 million of his own money into TV ads, portraying himself as a businessman and an outsider.
Michels trumped former Wisconsin Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch, who was backed by Pence, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), and former Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker.
By John Haughey
