The contours of a premier U.S. Senate race took shape Tuesday night in Iowa, while President Donald Trump’s endorsement streak ran into a roadblock there.
Democrats chose a nominee for a U.S. House race in New Jersey that could decide control of the chamber. But much of the focus is on California, home to Hollywood but not a governor’s race packing much star power.
Here are takeaways from primary elections in California, Iowa, Montana, New Jersey, New Mexico and South Dakota.
Iowa Democrats rally behind former Paralympian in marquee Senate race
Democrats stunned by how Trump has remade American politics have spent the past decade debating which type of candidate is best positioned to energize voters and win elections, not moral victories.
Iowa marked the latest stop in this sometimes agonizing conversation.
The party’s establishment supported Josh Turek, a state representative who presented a compelling personal biography that included competing for the U.S. in four Paralympics. State Sen. Zach Wahls, meanwhile, offered himself as a more disruptive player, refusing to back Chuck Schumer as Democratic leader if he were elected.
Democratic voters united behind Turek, who will face Republican Ashley Hinson in the fall.
At this point, many of the party’s most fractious races are behind them. But Turek’s win could be closely watched in Michigan, where one of the last major Democratic primaries will unfold on Aug. 4. Rep. Haley Stevens is emerging as the establishment candidate there vying against state Sen. Mallory McMorrow and progressive Abdul El-Sayed.
Both races are important for Democrats increasingly bullish about retaking the Senate majority in November. To get there, they must protect their Michigan seat while looking for pickup opportunities in places like Iowa.
The results in the fall could have longer-term implications as Democrats look to rebuild their standing in the Midwest, which swung to Trump in 2024.
Trump’s endorsement streak faces setback in Iowa
In just the past month, the power of Trump’s endorsement helped end the political careers of two senators — John Cornyn of Texas and Bill Cassidy of Louisiana — and Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky.
But the president was unable to lift Rep. Randy Feenstra to victory in Iowa’s Republican primary for governor. Trump jumped in with his backing last week but Feenstra narrowly lost to Zach Lahn.
The development is a rare setback for Trump, who basks in his ability to sway the vote among Republicans with his endorsement. And it sets up what Democrats see as one of their best opportunities to pick up a governorship this year.
Democrats nominated Rob Sand, who ran unopposed in the primary. A native of Decorah, Iowa, he has the rural roots that have become rare among Democrats. Perhaps most importantly, he’s a proven winner in a Republican-leaning state, having been elected twice as auditor.
Lahn was not well known in Iowa politics when he launched his campaign in November, but he built support among conservatives. He championed policies including a total ban on abortion and keeping liberal ideology out of public school classrooms.
Lahn criticized Feenstra for not showing up to debate his primary opponents and spending limited time on the campaign trail. He was endorsed by former U.S. Rep. Steve King, who Feenstra unseated in the 2020 Republican congressional primary.
California’s dramatic race for governor drags on
California’s crowded primary for governor remained unresolved early Wednesday after three leading candidates tested voters’ appetites for an experienced politician or promises of sweeping change.
Though votes were still being counted, Democrats Xavier Becerra and Tom Steyer and Republican Steve Hilton started looking to November, laying out their visions for leading the nation’s most populous state and one of the world’s largest economies.
Only two will advance to the general election, however, and The Associated Press has not yet called the primary for any candidate. The state has a history of substantial vote updates after Election Day that can sometimes shift the outcome of elections as late-arriving mail and drop-off votes are counted. Hilton and Becerra were leading so far, with Steyer running slightly further back.
“Change is coming to California, and it’s long overdue,” Hilton told supporters after polls closed, reflecting his campaign message that the state needs a dramatic reset after more than 15 years of Democratic rule.
Steyer also campaigned on change, though through a vastly different lens. A former hedge fund manager turned climate activist, he pledged to raise taxes on corporations and the ultrawealthy like himself. He declared Tuesday that he would prevail over monied interests that strived to defeat him.
Becerra, meanwhile, pitched himself as the steady hand who can lead the state against intrusions from the Trump administration, touting his decades in public service in Congress, as state attorney general and as federal health secretary. Speaking to supporters, he said voters came around to his message after he initially was counted out.
“The underdog stayed in the fight,” Becerra said to applause.
California puts all candidates on a single primary ballot regardless of party, and the top two finishers advance to the November general election. About 60 candidates were on the ballot, most of them largely unknown to the state’s roughly 23 million voters.
Gubernatorial hopeful Xavier Becerra spoke before a crowd of supporters in downtown Los Angeles as early polling returns indicate he’s the leading Democratic candidate in the race. Lolita Lopez reports for the NBC4 News at 11 p.m. on Tuesday, June 2, 2026.
Independents emerge in red-state Senate races
If Democrats hope to compete in red-state Senate contests this fall, they may have to abandon their party’s nominees and rally around independents.
That’s one of the takeaways after voters on Tuesday finalized general election matchups in Montana and South Dakota, where little-known Democrats earned their party’s nominations. In both states, however, higher-profile independent candidates also qualified for the general election ballot.
It’s much the same in Idaho and Nebraska, which held Senate primaries last month. Democratic leaders in Nebraska are openly endorsing independent Dan Osborne over their party’s nominee, who has promised to drop out to make it easier for Osborne to win.
In Montana, independent Senate candidate Seth Bodnar, the former University of Montana president, looks like the strongest opponent to Republican Kurt Alme — on paper, at least. Bodnar raised more money than all of the five Democratic primary candidates combined. He’s even significantly outraised Trump-backed Alme.
In South Dakota, three-term incumbent Republican Mike Rounds cruised to his party’s nomination Tuesday. He’ll face Democrat Julian Beaudion, a former highway patrol trooper and small business owner, on the November ballot. But it’s a former Democrat now running as an independent, military veteran Brian Bengs, who some Democrats believe may be the tougher challenger.
The Democrats shift toward independents reflects the party’s toxic brand in Republican strongholds.
Absent congressman gets a Democratic challenger
One of the most closely watched U.S. House races is set.
Democrats nominated Rebecca Bennett to take on incumbent Republican Rep. Tom Kean Jr. in New Jersey’s 7th congressional district.
The district, which stretches from the New York City suburbs to the Pennsylvania border, is critical for Republicans as they defend a narrow majority in Congress. The race was always going to be one of the most competitive on a map that has been increasingly gerrymandered to protect both parties. But it’s under particularly close scrutiny because of Kean’s extended and unexplained medical absence.
He’s missed more than 100 votes since casting his last one on March 5.
Bennett, a former Navy pilot, was among the Democrats in the primary who made the absence and the lack of clarity surrounding it an issue, arguing Kean wasn’t around to protect money for a new rail tunnel connecting New Jersey and New York City. That line of attack will likely only grow heading into the general election.
Trump reiterated his endorsement of Kean on Monday. And the congressman released a statement Tuesday saying he is “focused on my recovery” and would return to “in person work within a matter of weeks.”
New Mexico could make history in governor’s race
The stage is set for Deb Haaland to make history this fall after the former U.S. interior secretary secured the Democratic nomination for governor in New Mexico.
Haaland, who served under Biden for four years, was the first Native American to serve as a presidential cabinet secretary. And this fall, the citizen of Laguna Pueblo could become the first Native American woman elected governor of any U.S. state.
She defeated Albuquerque-based District Attorney Sam Bregman, the father of Chicago Cubs All-Star Alex Bregman, in a Democratic primary campaign that emphasized her ancestral roots in addition to lowering costs and her governing experience.
Haaland will face Republican Greggory Hull in the general election.
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Associated Press writer Hannah Fingerhut in Des Moines, Iowa contributed to this report.
