Primaries to watch in Wisconsin, Vermont, Connecticut, and Minnesota


Primary season continues on Tuesday, as voters in Wisconsin, Vermont, Minnesota, and Connectict head to the polls to decide their party's candidate for the general election in November.
In Wisconsin, watch for another gubernatorial proxy battle between former President Donald Trump and former Vice President Mike Pence, who are betting on Republican candidates Tim Michels and Rebecca Kleefisch, respectively. And in the Senate, Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes (D) will likely win the nomination to take on Republican Sen. Ron Johnson, "who faces no serious challenger in the primary," in November, per ABC News.
Over in Vermont, Democratic Rep. Peter Welch is aiming to replace retiring Sen. Patrick Leahy in the Senate, meaning Welch's House seat is up for grabs. Lt. Gov. Molly Gray and state Senate President Pro Tempore Becca Balint are the leading Democratic candidates in the scramble for the spot; the winner of the contest is expected to prevail against the Republican candidate in November, per The Associated Press. Looks like Vermont is finally on the cusp of losing its status as the only state never represented in Congress by a woman.
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Meanwhile, in Minnesota, incumbent and progressive "Squad" member Rep. Ilhan Omar (D) is fending off what ABC News describes as a "formidable primary challenger" in her bid for re-election. Voters will also determine whether they want to send "either Republican Brad Finstad or Democrat Jeff Ettinger to Washington to finish out late U.S. Rep. Jim Hagedorn's term," Axios writes.
And finally, in Connecticut, we'll see who Republicans pick to presumably take on Democratic incumbent Sen. Richard Blumenthal, who's expected to win the nomination, reports The New York Times.
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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.
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