What to watch for as 7 states head to the polls


Midterm primaries are back after a brief hiatus, this time in California, Iowa, Mississippi, Montana, New Jersey, New Mexico, and South Dakota.
California appears relatively drama-free at the moment — Gov. Gavin Newsom (D), Democratic Sen. Alex Padilla, and Attorney General Rob Bonta (D) are all expected to fare well in their respective races, notes MSNBC's Steve Benen. Meanwhile, in the state's 40th District, GOP rising star Rep. Young Kim is working to fend off a far-right challenger Greg Raths.
Over in Iowa, the Democratic Senate contest — the winner of which will take on longtime GOP lawmaker and "heavy favorite" Sen. Chuck Grassley — has been "surprisingly competitive," Benen writes.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
And we'll see how GOP incumbent Rep. Steve Palazzo performs out of Mississippi as he fends off six other Republican candidates looking to snag his controversy-laden seat. Elsewhere, former Secretary of the Interior and Trump administration official Ryan Zinke is running for the House in Montana's newly-formed 1st District.
In New Mexico, keep an eye on the Republican gubernatorial primary, the winner of which will take Democratic incumbent Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham. Meanwhile, we'll wait and see whether South Dakota's Trump-chastised Sen. John Thune (R) prevails in his primary.
And finally, in New Jersey, look out for Rob Menendez, son of Sen. Bob Menendez (D), who is running to replace the retiring Rep. Albio Sires (D) in the state's 8th District.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Brigid Kennedy worked at The Week from 2021 to 2023 as a staff writer, junior editor and then story editor, with an interest in U.S. politics, the economy and the music industry.
-
The new Gwada negative blood type
Under The Radar Rare discovery means a woman is the only person on the planet who's compatible solely with herself
-
June 29 editorial cartoons
Cartoons Sunday's political cartoons include the AI genie, Iran saving face, and bad language bombs
-
A tall ship adventure in the Mediterranean
The Week Recommends Sailing aboard this schooner and exploring Portugal, Spain and Monaco is a 'magical' experience
-
Canadian man dies in ICE custody
Speed Read A Canadian citizen with permanent US residency died at a federal detention center in Miami
-
GOP races to revise megabill after Senate rulings
Speed Read A Senate parliamentarian ruled that several changes to Medicaid included in Trump's "One Big Beautiful Bill" were not permissible
-
Supreme Court lets states ax Planned Parenthood funds
Speed Read The court ruled that Planned Parenthood cannot sue South Carolina over the state's effort to deny it funding
-
Trump plans Iran talks, insists nuke threat gone
Speed Read 'The war is done' and 'we destroyed the nuclear,' said President Trump
-
Trump embraces NATO after budget vow, charm offensive
Speed Read The president reversed course on his longstanding skepticism of the trans-Atlantic military alliance
-
Trump judge pick told DOJ to defy courts, lawyer says
Speed Read Emil Bove, a top Justice Department official nominated by Trump for a lifetime seat, stands accused of encouraging government lawyers to mislead the courts and defy judicial orders
-
Mamdani upsets Cuomo in NYC mayoral primary
Speed Read Democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani beat out Andrew Cuomo in New York City's Democratic mayoral primary
-
Supreme Court clears third-country deportations
Speed Read The court allowed Trump to temporarily resume deporting migrants to countries they aren't from