From California To Iowa, Here’s What Happened In Tuesday’s Primary Elections

Source: The road to the midterms is fully in swing, as New Jersey, South Dakota, Iowa, New Mexico, Montana, and California held their primary elections on Tuesday evening. Here’s everything we know about how some of the key races played out. California’s Governor’s Race Is Too Close To Call, And Yet Another Reality TV Star [...]

Jun 3, 2026 0

From California To Iowa, Here’s What Happened In Tuesday’s Primary Elections

The road to the midterms is fully in swing, as New Jersey, South Dakota, Iowa, New Mexico, Montana, and California held their primary elections on Tuesday evening. Here’s everything we know about how some of the key races played out.

California’s Governor’s Race Is Too Close To Call, And Yet Another Reality TV Star Ascends

For being such a staunchly anti-Trump place, it’s wild that a contingent of Los Angeles voters haven’t put two and two together and realized that electing a reality TV star with no experience usually doesn’t end well. Despite recent history giving us a roadmap for how this story plays out, NBC News reports that Spencer Pratt is currently in second place in Los Angeles’ mayoral race with 30% of the vote as of this writing. Incumbent Mayor Karen Bass is currently leading the vote count with 34% of the vote.

While city councilwoman Nithya Raman is currently sitting in third with 22.3% of the vote, there are still 290,000 ballots to be counted, with Raman slowly closing in on Pratt. As none of the candidates will gain a majority of the vote, Bass will face whoever finishes second in a runoff election this November.

On the state level, California’s governor’s race is still too close to call. Republican candidate Steve Hilton is currently leading the race with 27.8% of the vote. The Democratic candidates, former Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra, and billionaire activist Tom Steyer, are narrowly behind with 25% and 20% of the vote, respectively. The primary race for California’s gubernatorial election uses a “jungle primary,” in which all candidates run regardless of party, with the top two advancing to the general election.

There were concerns among Democratic officials that the crowded field in the governor’s race would split the vote and allow Republicans to potentially take both spots in the governor’s race. While it appears that either Becerra or Steyer will likely be the Democratic candidate for governor, the fact that a Republican is leading the vote count in such a deeply Blue state gives some credence to those concerns.

Democrats See Opportunity in Iowa

While Iowa has largely voted for Republican candidates over the last decade, the state has shown slipping support for Trump over his handling of the economy, tariff policy, and the ongoing war in Iran. The waning support for Trump revealed itself on Tuesday, as NPR reports that businessman Zach Lahn beat Trump-endorsed Rep. Randy Feenstra (R-Iowa) to become the Republican nominee for Iowa governor. This was a rare L for Trump, as the primaries so far have been a showcase of his continued hold on the Republican Party. Lahn will run against Iowa state auditor Rob Sand, a Democrat who has shown an ability to win in the traditionally Red state.

Tuesday’s primaries also saw Iowa’s Senate matchup set, with state Rep. Josh Turek securing the Democratic nomination. Nationally, Democrats believe that Turek, a two-time gold medal Paralympian, will be able to beat Republican Rep. Ashley Hinson in the race for Iowa’s Senate seat. Turek’s campaign appealed to independent voters, who are overwhelmingly negative on Trump. Turek already flipped a solid red seat in the state House, so Democrats are hoping he can do it once more on the national stage.

Speedrunning All The Other Developments

Alright, here are all the other notable developments from Tuesday’s primaries. In New Jersey, Democrat Rebecca Bennett won the primary in Congressional District 7, which is currently held by Republican Rep. Thomas Kean Jr. Kean has been one of the more bizarre stories of the election cycle, as he’s been absent from Congress for weeks over an unspecified health issue. He has missed 100 votes since March 5, and it’s unclear when or if he’ll be able to campaign for his seat, making District 7 competitive for a truly odd reason.

Democrats also see opportunity in Montana, as Republicans, Sen. Steve Daines and Rep. Ryan Zinke, announced they won’t be running for reelection shortly before the filing deadline. So it should come as no surprise that the Democratic primary to fill Zinke’s seat is still too close to call.

Sam Forstag, a smokejumper who is endorsed by progressive Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), currently leads against Author Ryan Busse. Whoever wins will face the Trump-endorsed radio host Aaron Flint in the general election.

So there ya have it, folks. While Republicans nationwide have tried to redistrict their way to a midterm win, the results on Tuesday show Democrats are looking competitive in places they traditionally aren’t, with several opportunities to flip seats.

Now, Los Angeles, please do your boy a favor and don’t vote for Spencer Pratt. I mean, how are you gonna complain about your house burning down due to a lack of water and then do most of your campaign ads with AI, a resource that famously drains a lot of water? Make it make sense, y’all.

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