Welcome to a special edition of At the Races! Throughout the 2026 primary season, watch for these updates from the CQ Roll Call campaign team on what you need to know for Election Day. Know someone who’d like to get this newsletter? They can subscribe here.
Tuesday brings the busiest primary day of the midterm election cycle so far, with key contests in California, Iowa and New Jersey.
California
Redistricting scrambled several races in the Golden State. Under the state’s nonpartisan primary rules, the top two finishers — regardless of party — secure spots on the November ballot.
In the 1st District in Northern California, which shaded bluer after redistricting, educator Audrey Denney and state Sen. Mike McGuire are competing to succeed Rep. Doug LaMalfa, who died earlier this year. But there will also be a special primary Tuesday to fill the remainder of LaMalfa’s term, which will be held under the existing district lines. Republican Assembly member James Gallagher is favored in that race — and if he captures more than 50 percent of the vote in the primary, he will hold the seat until this Congress ends in January. Gallagher is also running for a full term but faces an uphill battle under the new map.
The 3rd District, currently held by Republican-turned-independent Kevin Kiley, was redrawn to make it more hospitable to Democrats. Democratic Rep. Ami Bera, who currently represents the 6th District, pivoted to the 3rd. He faces two progressive Democrats, Army veteran Chris Bennett and Nevada County Supervisor Heidi Hall, among other candidates.
Kiley shifted to the 6th District, centered on Sacramento. He’ll compete against a crowd of Democrats including former state Sen. Richard Pan, Sacramento County District Attorney Thien Ho, West Sacramento Mayor Martha Guerrero and Planned Parenthood official Lauren Babb Tomlinson.
The 22nd District, in the heart of the Central Valley, is a fiercely contested battleground that could determine which party controls the House. The seat grew a shade bluer under the new map. Republican Rep. David Valadao is fending off a pair of Democrats: Randy Villegas, a left-leaning populist backed by Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, and Jasmeet Bains, a physician who has the endorsement of the campaign arm of the centrist Blue Dogs and is part of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee “Red to Blue” program.
The 48th District, currently held by retiring Rep. Darrell Issa, is a competitive San Diego-area seat featuring two leading Democrats: former Obama administration official Ammar Campa-Najjar and San Diego Councilmember Marni von Wilpert. The Republican frontrunner, San Diego County Supervisor Jim Desmond, has the backing of both Donald Trump and Issa and is expected to advance to the November ballot.
Other factors are also shaping California primaries, including the generational divide within the Democratic Party. Several longtime Democratic House members face challenges from younger opponents. In the Northern California–anchored 4th District, moderate Democratic Rep. Mike Thompson is being challenged by former venture capitalist Eric Jones. And in the Sacramento area, Rep. Doris Matsui faces a primary against Mai Vang, a progressive member of the Sacramento City Council.
In San Francisco, three leading Democrats are vying to succeed former Speaker Nancy Pelosi: state Sen. Scott Wiener; former tech executive Saikat Chakrabarti, the former chief of staff for Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez; and San Francisco supervisor Connie Chan, who has Pelosi’s backing.
California voters will also set the field for the governor’s race. A slew of candidates are competing, including Republican Steve Hilton and Democrats Tom Steyer and former Rep. Xavier Becerra, to succeed term-limited Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom.
Iowa
Republicans began the cycle heavily favored to keep the Senate seat held by Sen. Joni Ernst.
But with Ernst retiring and the political winds shifting, Iowa represents a pickup opportunity for Democrats. Tuesday’s primary pits state Rep. Josh Turek, a two-time Paralympic gold medalist who describes himself as a “commonsense prairie populist,” against state Sen. Zach Wahls, a progressive backed by Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren running on an anti-corruption platform. Rep. Ashley Hinson is heavily favored to win the Republican nod for the Senate seat.
On the House side, Republican Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks is once again facing a challenge from self-described “conservative constitutional Christian” David Pautsch. Miller-Meeks is the favorite, but the underfunded Pautsch made the 1st District race unexpectedly close in 2024, winning 44 percent of the vote. University of Iowa law professor Christina Bohannan is the front-runner for the Democratic nomination.
Three Democrats and two Republicans are vying to succeed Hinson in the 2nd District, including Trump-backed Joe Mitchell and Democratic state Rep. Lindsay James.
New Jersey
New Jersey voters head to the polls Tuesday after a weekend of protests at the Delaney Hall immigration detention center in Newark. The facility has underscored immigration as a key political issue in the state this year.
Democratic voters in the 12th District will pick the party’s nominee to succeed retiring Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman, and Tuesday’s winner will be the overwhelming favorite in the deep blue district this fall.
Adam Hamawy appears to be the front-runner in a 13-way race, having consolidated progressive support and led the field in fundraising. American Priorities, a super PAC that formed to counter the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, has spent over $1.5 million supporting his campaign.
Other leading candidates include Sue Altman, who ran in the 7th District in 2024, East Brunswick Mayor Brad Cohen, state Rep. Verlina Reynolds-Jackson and Plainfield Mayor Adrian Mapp.
But Hamawy, a physician and Army veteran, has come under scrutiny for his ties to Sheikh Omar Abdel Rahman, who was convicted of planning terrorist plots against the United States. Hamawy was never accused of wrongdoing and told the New Jersey Globe that he hadn’t heard anything from district voters about the issue.
Elsewhere in the Garden State, Democratic voters in the battleground 7th District will pick their nominee to challenge Rep. Thomas H. Kean Jr., who is running for a third term even as he has been absent from Capitol Hill since March as he seeks treatment for an unexplained medical situation.
The primary has been whittled down to four candidates: former Navy helicopter pilot Rebecca Bennett, physician Tina Shah, businessman Brian Varela and Michael Roth, a former interim leader of the Small Business Administration during the Biden administration.
The 7th District is likely to be one of the most competitive House races come November, and the seat has flipped in each of the last midterm years, with Democrat Tom Malinowski winning it in 2018 and Kean beating him in 2022. Inside Elections with Nathan L. Gonzales rates the race as a Toss-up.
Other states
Several other states will hold congressional primaries Tuesday. Voters in Montana will select nominees to succeed retiring Republican Sen. Steve Daines. Former U.S. Attorney Kurt Alme is Daines’ choice, while the Democratic primary features five contenders. The winner of both primaries will face former University of Montana president Seth Bodnar, who is running as an independent.
Republican Rep. Ryan Zinke isn’t seeking reelection in the 1st District and is backing his former congressional staffer Aaron Flint, who also has Trump’s endorsement. The Democratic field includes former gubernatorial candidate Ryan Busse and smokejumper and union leader Sam Forstag, who is supported by Sanders.
South Dakota’s sole member of the House, Republican Dusty Johnson, is running for governor, leaving state Attorney General Marty Jackley, who is supported by Trump, as the apparent front-runner for the at-large seat.
And in New Mexico, Democratic Sen. Ben Ray Luján faces a longshot challenge from community organizer Matt Dodson.
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