Lucy Campbell Millions of voters across the country are heading to the polls today in crucial primaries in a slew of key gubernatorial, Senate and House races. Here’s a quick rundown of what we’re watching: CaliforniaVoters are casting ballots on who should lead the nation’s most populous state (and the world’s fourth largest economy), where there is no clear leader among candidates vying to advance in the race to succeed term-limited Democratic governor Gavin Newsom. The race for Los Angeles mayor is also on the ballot, along with a series of high-stakes US House contests in the state’s newly redrawn congressional districts – which are set to play an outsized and potentially decisive role in the battle for power in Washington in November’s midterm elections. My colleague Lauren Gambino has more: IowaPer my colleague Chris Stein, with Trump’s approval ratings deep underwater, gas prices high and historical political trends favoring the party out of power, Democrats this year are considering a comeback in Iowa, putting the state at the center of their campaigns to win back control of both the US House and the Senate. That effort for a “once-in-a-generation” breakthrough in the GOP-dominated state is being led by pro-hunting Democrat Rob Sand, who is running for governor. Chris wrote about him below. Democrats also believe they have a shot at winning three of the state’s US House seats and a competitive chance at securing a US Senate seat, where the GOP frontrunner recently called Trump’s war on Iran a “political liability”. New Jersey One of this year’s most closely watched House midterms will take place in the battleground district currently represented by now-infamous Republican Tom Kean Jr, who has drawn public scrutiny and concern after missing more than 100 House votes due to an undisclosed illness. Voters are deciding which Democrat will run against him in November – and the seat is a must-win for the party. The frontrunner, veteran army trauma surgeon and political newcomer Adam Hamawy, has secured endorsements from the likes of Bernie Sanders, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Ilhan Omar. My colleague Joseph Gedeon has more: New MexicoContests in the state include primaries for congressional seats, a US Senate seat and a long list of statewide offices, but the governor’s race is the main event. Deb Haaland, who was Joe Biden’s interior secretary, is running for the Democratic nomination, which could put her on a historic path for Native American leaders. MontanaIn Montana, a five-way Democratic fight is under way for the retiring Republican senator’s seat. Independent Seth Bodnar, former president of the University of Montana, is outraising them all at the moment but they’re refusing to step aside, Politico reports this morning. South DakotaThe race is on for state governor, Sioux Falls mayor, a US Senate and House seat, a Republican primary for local lawmakers. The incumbent GOP governor Larry Rhoden faces three primary challengers in his first run for a full term. He stepped up into the role from the lieutenant governorship when the former governor, the since-ousted Kristi Noem, left to lead the Department of Homeland Security. The Associated Press contributed reporting Key events Polls close in New Jersey Polls have closed in New Jersey and parts of South Dakota. South Dakota spans two time zones and results are not released until the final polls have closed at 9 pm ET. In New Jersey, we’re paying close attention to the House race where now-infamous Republican Tom Kean Jr, who has drawn public scrutiny and concern after missing more than 100 House votes due to an undisclosed illness, is vying for his party’s nomination while veteran army trauma surgeon and political newcomer Adam Hamawy competes for the Democratic nomination. The Guardian follows the Associated Press in calling an election. We’ll bring you the results from all of tonight’s primary elections as the AP calls the races. With the first polls of the evening set to close shortly, here are some images from the elections happening across the country: Ballots are counted at the L.A. County Ballot Processing Center during the California primary election on Tuesday, June 2, 2026, in City of Industry, Calif. (AP Photo/William Liang) Photograph: William Liang/AP Voting messages are displayed on a car at a primary election night watch party for Rebecca Bennett, Democratic candidate for New Jersey’s 7th Congressional District, Tuesday, June 2, 2026, in Bridgewater, N.J. (AP Photo/Ryan Murphy) Photograph: Ryan Murphy/AP Sam Bregman, third from right, speaks with voters on primary Election Day, Tuesday, June 2, 2026, at Valley High School in Albuquerque, New Mexico. (AP Photo/Jon Austria) Photograph: Jon Austria/AP Blaire Massa waits with her dog, Norman, while her husband casts his ballot at a polling location on primary Election Day, Tuesday, June 2, 2026, in Des Moines, Iowa. (AP Photo/Bryon Houlgrave) Photograph: Bryon Houlgrave/AP Election workers process ballot security drop bags during the California primary election at the Los Angeles County Ballot Processing Center in City of Industry, California, U.S., June 2, 2026. REUTERS/Daniel Cole Photograph: Daniel Cole/Reuters Senate hopeful Ken Paxton, a Republican from Texas, met with Donald Trump and other Republican leaders in Washington today. Trump endorsed Paxton ahead of his primary last month, where Paxton beat four-term incumbent John Cornyn. Paxton will face off against Democrat James Talarico in November’s general election. The Associated Press reported Paxton’s scheduled meeting with Trump, citing a person with knowledge of the president’s plans who was not authorized to discuss them publicly. Paxton is also expected to meet with Senate majority leader John Thune, who backed Cornyn. Although Senate Republicans accused Paxton of “repulsive and disgusting” behavior during the primary, Paxton’s meeting with Thune signals the party may be working to ameliorate its relationship with the nominee. Voters in Maine won’t head to the polls until next week, but the state’s primary election has been shaken up by recent news about Senate hopeful Graham Platner. According to information his wife shared with his campaign last year, Platner exchanged sexually explicit texts with other women during his marriage, the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal reported, and which the Guardian has confirmed. My colleagues Shrai Popat, George Chidi and Chris Stein have more: Graham Platner met on Tuesday with Democratic leaders in Washington DC as the embattled Maine Senate candidate contends with yet another revelation threatening his campaign, which is at the center of his party’s hopes of regaining control of Congress. Platner did not respond to questions from reporters and quickly entered a waiting car as he exited the meeting, which stretched for more than an hour and a half at the headquarters of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC). A spokesperson for the DSCC did not respond to a request for comment. Platner’s campaign has been captivating and tumultuous in turns before the 9 June primary. A political unknown before 2025, the Maine oyster fisher and marine combat veteran’s plainspoken progressive pitch to voters resonated on social media and sparked conversation about the way Democratic candidates should position themselves against authoritarianism. Joseph Gedeon On the day Donald Trump endorsed him as a tireless advocate for New Jersey’s seventh district, the representative Tom Kean Jr was, as he has been since early March, nowhere to be found. Kean, a New Jersey Republican, was last seen when he cast a House floor vote on 5 March, and he is running unopposed in Tuesday’s Republican primary. The Democratic race in his district, meanwhile, has attracted multiple candidates and ample fundraising. In late April, his office said he was dealing with a “personal medical issue” and would be back “very soon”. He told the New Jersey Globe last month he expected to return within “the next couple of weeks”. In the meantime, Kean’s social media accounts have continued posting regularly, with staff attending ribbon-cuttings and graduation ceremonies on his behalf. New Mexico voters to decide who will advance to governor’s race in November In my home state of New Mexico, voters from both parties will nominate candidates to become the next governor, as Michelle Lujan Grisham is set to step down from the seat she’s filled since 2019. Increasingly recognized as a solidly blue state, the Democratic nominee is likely to win the general election. Candidates for governor of New Mexico participate in a public forum in Rio Rancho, N.M., on April 28, 2026, ahead of a June 2 primary election: From left to right, they are Democratic Bernalillo County District Attorney Sam Bregman, Republican businessman Doug Turner; Republican cannabis entrepreneur and health care expert Duke Rodriguez, Democratic former U.S. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland, and Republican former Rio Rancho mayor Gregg Hull. (AP Photo/Morgan Lee) Photograph: Morgan Lee/AP Democratic voters will choose to nominate either Deb Haaland, who served as Joe Biden’s interior secretary, or Sam Bregman, the Bernalillo County district attorney. Haaland has polled safely in the lead in the run-up to the election. Her win would be a victory for Native American advocates across the country and a rebuke of the Trump administration. A single, working mother, Haaland came on the national scene in 2018 when she was elected to Congress alongside a wave of freshman, female lawmakers known as “The Squad” who’d run in reaction to Donald Trump’s election in 2016. Haaland resigned from the House of Representatives in 2021 when Joe Biden chose her to lead his interior department, making her the first Native American to serve in the roll, which includes overseeing much of the nation’s public lands and the Bureau of Indian Affairs. During her time in congress, Haaland – who is from Laguna Pueblo – introduced legislation to stem the crisis of Missing and Murdered Indigenous People, and as interior secretary she oversaw the formation of a new Missing & Murdered Unit (MMU) within the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Last year, New Mexico became the fourth state in the country to create its own law enforcement alert system for missing Indigenous people. Haaland also launched a historic effort to investigate the legacy of Native American boarding schools. If elected in the November general election, Haaland would become the first Native American woman governor elected in the country. United States President Joe Biden looks on as US Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland delivers remarks during a signing ceremony to restore and protect 3 national monuments on the North Lawn of the White House in Washington, DC. Photograph: REX/Shutterstock Haaland has campaigned as a fierce critic of Donald Trump, saying in campaign ads that, “Governors are the first line of defense against the horrific policies of the Trump administration.” Since Trump returned to office, New Mexico has been one of few Democratic strongholds in the south-west – with the state working to shore up protections for abortion patients, transgender people and SNAP and Medicaid recipients. California’s primary elections, including its fiercely fought gubernatorial contest, will be at the mercy of a notoriously slow vote-counting system after the polls close on Tuesday, and it could be days or even weeks before the outcomes of the tightest races become clear. Voting experts expect the state’s 58 county elections offices to be deluged with last-minute absentee ballots, as they have been in the last few election cycles, and spend weeks undertaking a painstaking ballot-by-ballot verification process. That presents a procedural problem whenever races are close, as they tend to be in the state’s most competitive congressional districts, and the whole country is left waiting – as it was in 2020, 2022 and 2024 – to find out which party controls the House of Representatives. Knocking on strangers’ doors on a warm May afternoon in Trenton, New Jersey, Adam Hamawy did not seem fazed when more than a few went unanswered. It’s his first time running for office, but this is an area where he has experience. After returning from a medical mission in Gaza in 2024, Hamawy went to Washington to describe the crisis – which he viewed as a US-funded genocide – to lawmakers, only to encounter “too many doors that were closed, that didn’t even want to listen”. “I could only define it as a genocide, because I saw the bodies of the people that came in,” the veteran army trauma surgeon and political newcomer reflected, while walking between houses. “And it wasn’t an accident. You can’t have an accident, every single day for three years. Rob Sand, the best known Democrat in Iowa, is running to lead a state that Republicans have come to dominate under Donald Trump, and Democrats believe his candidacy for governor could be the breakthrough needed to win key Iowa offices in the November midterm elections. With Trump’s approval ratings deep underwater, gas prices high and historical political trends favoring the party out of power, Democrats this year are considering a comeback in Iowa, putting the state at the center of their campaigns to win back control of both the US House of Representatives and the Senate. On Tuesday, voters will cast ballots in primary elections that set the stage for months of what is likely to be fevered campaigning by candidates of both parties. “I think this is a once-in-a-generation opportunity for us to be able to win here in Iowa. I mean, this is a state that has completely hit the bottom,” said Josh Turek, a state representative who is one of two Democrats vying to represent Iowa in the US Senate. Voters in six states have been casting their ballots in the US midterm election primaries. Here are some of the images from polling stations that have dropped on the news wires today: A voter fills out their ballot as Prairie Oak Lodge is used as a polling place in Marion, Iowa. Photograph: Stephen Maturen/Getty Images Colton Kapicka, 18, gets some help from his mother, Kelly Kapicka as he marks his ballot while voting in his first election, in Sacramento, California. Photograph: Rich Pedroncelli/AP A sheriff’s deputy and his dog inspect ballots at the LA county ballot processing center in City of Industry, California. Photograph: William Liang/AP Election workers process ballots during the California primary election in City of Industry, California. Photograph: Daniel Cole/Reuters Fabiola Cineas A wave of Democratic doctors, scientists and public health professionals across the country are seeking office in the midterm elections in a rebuke to Donald Trump and Robert F Kennedy Jr’s health policies. They share a diagnosis of what ails American governance – disinformation, funding cuts and the rollback of research, among other things – and the belief that their clinical and scientific training equips them to treat it. They have watched the Trump administration’s health policies play out in their exam rooms, their labs and the communities they serve, and they want to stop the bleeding. Explained: what is California’s ‘jungle primary’? Uwa Ede-Osifo In California, voters can select any candidate among the long list of gubernatorial hopefuls, regardless of which party they have registered with. The system was put in place under former governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, who supported the open primary, or “jungle primary”, as a way to create more competition in races that Democrats won year after year. Schwarzenegger, who left office in 2011, was the last Republican elected to statewide office in California. In a crowded race like this year’s gubernatorial primary, the system could cause some unexpected results – such as the possibility that emerged earlier this year of two Republicans advancing to the general election in deep blue California. That situation now appears unlikely, but the possibility has prompted some Democrats to push to overhaul the way the state votes. Lucy Campbell Millions of voters across the country are heading to the polls today in crucial primaries in a slew of key gubernatorial, Senate and House races. Here’s a quick rundown of what we’re watching: CaliforniaVoters are casting ballots on who should lead the nation’s most populous state (and the world’s fourth largest economy), where there is no clear leader among candidates vying to advance in the race to succeed term-limited Democratic governor Gavin Newsom. The race for Los Angeles mayor is also on the ballot, along with a series of high-stakes US House contests in the state’s newly redrawn congressional districts – which are set to play an outsized and potentially decisive role in the battle for power in Washington in November’s midterm elections. My colleague Lauren Gambino has more: IowaPer my colleague Chris Stein, with Trump’s approval ratings deep underwater, gas prices high and historical political trends favoring the party out of power, Democrats this year are considering a comeback in Iowa, putting the state at the center of their campaigns to win back control of both the US House and the Senate. That effort for a “once-in-a-generation” breakthrough in the GOP-dominated state is being led by pro-hunting Democrat Rob Sand, who is running for governor. Chris wrote about him below. Democrats also believe they have a shot at winning three of the state’s US House seats and a competitive chance at securing a US Senate seat, where the GOP frontrunner recently called Trump’s war on Iran a “political liability”. New Jersey One of this year’s most closely watched House midterms will take place in the battleground district currently represented by now-infamous Republican Tom Kean Jr, who has drawn public scrutiny and concern after missing more than 100 House votes due to an undisclosed illness. Voters are deciding which Democrat will run against him in November – and the seat is a must-win for the party. The frontrunner, veteran army trauma surgeon and political newcomer Adam Hamawy, has secured endorsements from the likes of Bernie Sanders, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Ilhan Omar. My colleague Joseph Gedeon has more: New MexicoContests in the state include primaries for congressional seats, a US Senate seat and a long list of statewide offices, but the governor’s race is the main event. Deb Haaland, who was Joe Biden’s interior secretary, is running for the Democratic nomination, which could put her on a historic path for Native American leaders. MontanaIn Montana, a five-way Democratic fight is under way for the retiring Republican senator’s seat. Independent Seth Bodnar, former president of the University of Montana, is outraising them all at the moment but they’re refusing to step aside, Politico reports this morning. South DakotaThe race is on for state governor, Sioux Falls mayor, a US Senate and House seat, a Republican primary for local lawmakers. The incumbent GOP governor Larry Rhoden faces three primary challengers in his first run for a full term. He stepped up into the role from the lieutenant governorship when the former governor, the since-ousted Kristi Noem, left to lead the Department of Homeland Security. The Associated Press contributed reporting Post navigation “অন্তত 1টি কাজাখ ইকুইটি ফান্ড কোম্পানি এই বছর হংকংয়ে তালিকাভুক্ত হবে” ক্যালিফোর্নিয়া: ব্যাকার্সফিল্ড পুলিশ বোমার হুমকির জবাব দেয় যখন লোকটি ব্যাঙ্কে ঝগড়া করে
Lucy Campbell Millions of voters across the country are heading to the polls today in crucial primaries in a slew of key gubernatorial, Senate and House races. Here’s a quick rundown of what we’re watching: CaliforniaVoters are casting ballots on who should lead the nation’s most populous state (and the world’s fourth largest economy), where there is no clear leader among candidates vying to advance in the race to succeed term-limited Democratic governor Gavin Newsom. The race for Los Angeles mayor is also on the ballot, along with a series of high-stakes US House contests in the state’s newly redrawn congressional districts – which are set to play an outsized and potentially decisive role in the battle for power in Washington in November’s midterm elections. My colleague Lauren Gambino has more: IowaPer my colleague Chris Stein, with Trump’s approval ratings deep underwater, gas prices high and historical political trends favoring the party out of power, Democrats this year are considering a comeback in Iowa, putting the state at the center of their campaigns to win back control of both the US House and the Senate. That effort for a “once-in-a-generation” breakthrough in the GOP-dominated state is being led by pro-hunting Democrat Rob Sand, who is running for governor. Chris wrote about him below. Democrats also believe they have a shot at winning three of the state’s US House seats and a competitive chance at securing a US Senate seat, where the GOP frontrunner recently called Trump’s war on Iran a “political liability”. New Jersey One of this year’s most closely watched House midterms will take place in the battleground district currently represented by now-infamous Republican Tom Kean Jr, who has drawn public scrutiny and concern after missing more than 100 House votes due to an undisclosed illness. Voters are deciding which Democrat will run against him in November – and the seat is a must-win for the party. The frontrunner, veteran army trauma surgeon and political newcomer Adam Hamawy, has secured endorsements from the likes of Bernie Sanders, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Ilhan Omar. My colleague Joseph Gedeon has more: New MexicoContests in the state include primaries for congressional seats, a US Senate seat and a long list of statewide offices, but the governor’s race is the main event. Deb Haaland, who was Joe Biden’s interior secretary, is running for the Democratic nomination, which could put her on a historic path for Native American leaders. MontanaIn Montana, a five-way Democratic fight is under way for the retiring Republican senator’s seat. Independent Seth Bodnar, former president of the University of Montana, is outraising them all at the moment but they’re refusing to step aside, Politico reports this morning. South DakotaThe race is on for state governor, Sioux Falls mayor, a US Senate and House seat, a Republican primary for local lawmakers. The incumbent GOP governor Larry Rhoden faces three primary challengers in his first run for a full term. He stepped up into the role from the lieutenant governorship when the former governor, the since-ousted Kristi Noem, left to lead the Department of Homeland Security. The Associated Press contributed reporting
Polls close in New Jersey Polls have closed in New Jersey and parts of South Dakota. South Dakota spans two time zones and results are not released until the final polls have closed at 9 pm ET. In New Jersey, we’re paying close attention to the House race where now-infamous Republican Tom Kean Jr, who has drawn public scrutiny and concern after missing more than 100 House votes due to an undisclosed illness, is vying for his party’s nomination while veteran army trauma surgeon and political newcomer Adam Hamawy competes for the Democratic nomination. The Guardian follows the Associated Press in calling an election. We’ll bring you the results from all of tonight’s primary elections as the AP calls the races.
With the first polls of the evening set to close shortly, here are some images from the elections happening across the country: Ballots are counted at the L.A. County Ballot Processing Center during the California primary election on Tuesday, June 2, 2026, in City of Industry, Calif. (AP Photo/William Liang) Photograph: William Liang/AP Voting messages are displayed on a car at a primary election night watch party for Rebecca Bennett, Democratic candidate for New Jersey’s 7th Congressional District, Tuesday, June 2, 2026, in Bridgewater, N.J. (AP Photo/Ryan Murphy) Photograph: Ryan Murphy/AP Sam Bregman, third from right, speaks with voters on primary Election Day, Tuesday, June 2, 2026, at Valley High School in Albuquerque, New Mexico. (AP Photo/Jon Austria) Photograph: Jon Austria/AP Blaire Massa waits with her dog, Norman, while her husband casts his ballot at a polling location on primary Election Day, Tuesday, June 2, 2026, in Des Moines, Iowa. (AP Photo/Bryon Houlgrave) Photograph: Bryon Houlgrave/AP Election workers process ballot security drop bags during the California primary election at the Los Angeles County Ballot Processing Center in City of Industry, California, U.S., June 2, 2026. REUTERS/Daniel Cole Photograph: Daniel Cole/Reuters
Senate hopeful Ken Paxton, a Republican from Texas, met with Donald Trump and other Republican leaders in Washington today. Trump endorsed Paxton ahead of his primary last month, where Paxton beat four-term incumbent John Cornyn. Paxton will face off against Democrat James Talarico in November’s general election. The Associated Press reported Paxton’s scheduled meeting with Trump, citing a person with knowledge of the president’s plans who was not authorized to discuss them publicly. Paxton is also expected to meet with Senate majority leader John Thune, who backed Cornyn. Although Senate Republicans accused Paxton of “repulsive and disgusting” behavior during the primary, Paxton’s meeting with Thune signals the party may be working to ameliorate its relationship with the nominee.
Voters in Maine won’t head to the polls until next week, but the state’s primary election has been shaken up by recent news about Senate hopeful Graham Platner. According to information his wife shared with his campaign last year, Platner exchanged sexually explicit texts with other women during his marriage, the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal reported, and which the Guardian has confirmed. My colleagues Shrai Popat, George Chidi and Chris Stein have more: Graham Platner met on Tuesday with Democratic leaders in Washington DC as the embattled Maine Senate candidate contends with yet another revelation threatening his campaign, which is at the center of his party’s hopes of regaining control of Congress. Platner did not respond to questions from reporters and quickly entered a waiting car as he exited the meeting, which stretched for more than an hour and a half at the headquarters of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC). A spokesperson for the DSCC did not respond to a request for comment. Platner’s campaign has been captivating and tumultuous in turns before the 9 June primary. A political unknown before 2025, the Maine oyster fisher and marine combat veteran’s plainspoken progressive pitch to voters resonated on social media and sparked conversation about the way Democratic candidates should position themselves against authoritarianism.
Joseph Gedeon On the day Donald Trump endorsed him as a tireless advocate for New Jersey’s seventh district, the representative Tom Kean Jr was, as he has been since early March, nowhere to be found. Kean, a New Jersey Republican, was last seen when he cast a House floor vote on 5 March, and he is running unopposed in Tuesday’s Republican primary. The Democratic race in his district, meanwhile, has attracted multiple candidates and ample fundraising. In late April, his office said he was dealing with a “personal medical issue” and would be back “very soon”. He told the New Jersey Globe last month he expected to return within “the next couple of weeks”. In the meantime, Kean’s social media accounts have continued posting regularly, with staff attending ribbon-cuttings and graduation ceremonies on his behalf.
New Mexico voters to decide who will advance to governor’s race in November In my home state of New Mexico, voters from both parties will nominate candidates to become the next governor, as Michelle Lujan Grisham is set to step down from the seat she’s filled since 2019. Increasingly recognized as a solidly blue state, the Democratic nominee is likely to win the general election. Candidates for governor of New Mexico participate in a public forum in Rio Rancho, N.M., on April 28, 2026, ahead of a June 2 primary election: From left to right, they are Democratic Bernalillo County District Attorney Sam Bregman, Republican businessman Doug Turner; Republican cannabis entrepreneur and health care expert Duke Rodriguez, Democratic former U.S. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland, and Republican former Rio Rancho mayor Gregg Hull. (AP Photo/Morgan Lee) Photograph: Morgan Lee/AP Democratic voters will choose to nominate either Deb Haaland, who served as Joe Biden’s interior secretary, or Sam Bregman, the Bernalillo County district attorney. Haaland has polled safely in the lead in the run-up to the election. Her win would be a victory for Native American advocates across the country and a rebuke of the Trump administration. A single, working mother, Haaland came on the national scene in 2018 when she was elected to Congress alongside a wave of freshman, female lawmakers known as “The Squad” who’d run in reaction to Donald Trump’s election in 2016. Haaland resigned from the House of Representatives in 2021 when Joe Biden chose her to lead his interior department, making her the first Native American to serve in the roll, which includes overseeing much of the nation’s public lands and the Bureau of Indian Affairs. During her time in congress, Haaland – who is from Laguna Pueblo – introduced legislation to stem the crisis of Missing and Murdered Indigenous People, and as interior secretary she oversaw the formation of a new Missing & Murdered Unit (MMU) within the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Last year, New Mexico became the fourth state in the country to create its own law enforcement alert system for missing Indigenous people. Haaland also launched a historic effort to investigate the legacy of Native American boarding schools. If elected in the November general election, Haaland would become the first Native American woman governor elected in the country. United States President Joe Biden looks on as US Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland delivers remarks during a signing ceremony to restore and protect 3 national monuments on the North Lawn of the White House in Washington, DC. Photograph: REX/Shutterstock Haaland has campaigned as a fierce critic of Donald Trump, saying in campaign ads that, “Governors are the first line of defense against the horrific policies of the Trump administration.” Since Trump returned to office, New Mexico has been one of few Democratic strongholds in the south-west – with the state working to shore up protections for abortion patients, transgender people and SNAP and Medicaid recipients.
California’s primary elections, including its fiercely fought gubernatorial contest, will be at the mercy of a notoriously slow vote-counting system after the polls close on Tuesday, and it could be days or even weeks before the outcomes of the tightest races become clear. Voting experts expect the state’s 58 county elections offices to be deluged with last-minute absentee ballots, as they have been in the last few election cycles, and spend weeks undertaking a painstaking ballot-by-ballot verification process. That presents a procedural problem whenever races are close, as they tend to be in the state’s most competitive congressional districts, and the whole country is left waiting – as it was in 2020, 2022 and 2024 – to find out which party controls the House of Representatives.
Knocking on strangers’ doors on a warm May afternoon in Trenton, New Jersey, Adam Hamawy did not seem fazed when more than a few went unanswered. It’s his first time running for office, but this is an area where he has experience. After returning from a medical mission in Gaza in 2024, Hamawy went to Washington to describe the crisis – which he viewed as a US-funded genocide – to lawmakers, only to encounter “too many doors that were closed, that didn’t even want to listen”. “I could only define it as a genocide, because I saw the bodies of the people that came in,” the veteran army trauma surgeon and political newcomer reflected, while walking between houses. “And it wasn’t an accident. You can’t have an accident, every single day for three years.
Rob Sand, the best known Democrat in Iowa, is running to lead a state that Republicans have come to dominate under Donald Trump, and Democrats believe his candidacy for governor could be the breakthrough needed to win key Iowa offices in the November midterm elections. With Trump’s approval ratings deep underwater, gas prices high and historical political trends favoring the party out of power, Democrats this year are considering a comeback in Iowa, putting the state at the center of their campaigns to win back control of both the US House of Representatives and the Senate. On Tuesday, voters will cast ballots in primary elections that set the stage for months of what is likely to be fevered campaigning by candidates of both parties. “I think this is a once-in-a-generation opportunity for us to be able to win here in Iowa. I mean, this is a state that has completely hit the bottom,” said Josh Turek, a state representative who is one of two Democrats vying to represent Iowa in the US Senate.
Voters in six states have been casting their ballots in the US midterm election primaries. Here are some of the images from polling stations that have dropped on the news wires today: A voter fills out their ballot as Prairie Oak Lodge is used as a polling place in Marion, Iowa. Photograph: Stephen Maturen/Getty Images Colton Kapicka, 18, gets some help from his mother, Kelly Kapicka as he marks his ballot while voting in his first election, in Sacramento, California. Photograph: Rich Pedroncelli/AP A sheriff’s deputy and his dog inspect ballots at the LA county ballot processing center in City of Industry, California. Photograph: William Liang/AP Election workers process ballots during the California primary election in City of Industry, California. Photograph: Daniel Cole/Reuters
Fabiola Cineas A wave of Democratic doctors, scientists and public health professionals across the country are seeking office in the midterm elections in a rebuke to Donald Trump and Robert F Kennedy Jr’s health policies. They share a diagnosis of what ails American governance – disinformation, funding cuts and the rollback of research, among other things – and the belief that their clinical and scientific training equips them to treat it. They have watched the Trump administration’s health policies play out in their exam rooms, their labs and the communities they serve, and they want to stop the bleeding.
Explained: what is California’s ‘jungle primary’? Uwa Ede-Osifo In California, voters can select any candidate among the long list of gubernatorial hopefuls, regardless of which party they have registered with. The system was put in place under former governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, who supported the open primary, or “jungle primary”, as a way to create more competition in races that Democrats won year after year. Schwarzenegger, who left office in 2011, was the last Republican elected to statewide office in California. In a crowded race like this year’s gubernatorial primary, the system could cause some unexpected results – such as the possibility that emerged earlier this year of two Republicans advancing to the general election in deep blue California. That situation now appears unlikely, but the possibility has prompted some Democrats to push to overhaul the way the state votes.
Lucy Campbell Millions of voters across the country are heading to the polls today in crucial primaries in a slew of key gubernatorial, Senate and House races. Here’s a quick rundown of what we’re watching: CaliforniaVoters are casting ballots on who should lead the nation’s most populous state (and the world’s fourth largest economy), where there is no clear leader among candidates vying to advance in the race to succeed term-limited Democratic governor Gavin Newsom. The race for Los Angeles mayor is also on the ballot, along with a series of high-stakes US House contests in the state’s newly redrawn congressional districts – which are set to play an outsized and potentially decisive role in the battle for power in Washington in November’s midterm elections. My colleague Lauren Gambino has more: IowaPer my colleague Chris Stein, with Trump’s approval ratings deep underwater, gas prices high and historical political trends favoring the party out of power, Democrats this year are considering a comeback in Iowa, putting the state at the center of their campaigns to win back control of both the US House and the Senate. That effort for a “once-in-a-generation” breakthrough in the GOP-dominated state is being led by pro-hunting Democrat Rob Sand, who is running for governor. Chris wrote about him below. Democrats also believe they have a shot at winning three of the state’s US House seats and a competitive chance at securing a US Senate seat, where the GOP frontrunner recently called Trump’s war on Iran a “political liability”. New Jersey One of this year’s most closely watched House midterms will take place in the battleground district currently represented by now-infamous Republican Tom Kean Jr, who has drawn public scrutiny and concern after missing more than 100 House votes due to an undisclosed illness. Voters are deciding which Democrat will run against him in November – and the seat is a must-win for the party. The frontrunner, veteran army trauma surgeon and political newcomer Adam Hamawy, has secured endorsements from the likes of Bernie Sanders, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Ilhan Omar. My colleague Joseph Gedeon has more: New MexicoContests in the state include primaries for congressional seats, a US Senate seat and a long list of statewide offices, but the governor’s race is the main event. Deb Haaland, who was Joe Biden’s interior secretary, is running for the Democratic nomination, which could put her on a historic path for Native American leaders. MontanaIn Montana, a five-way Democratic fight is under way for the retiring Republican senator’s seat. Independent Seth Bodnar, former president of the University of Montana, is outraising them all at the moment but they’re refusing to step aside, Politico reports this morning. South DakotaThe race is on for state governor, Sioux Falls mayor, a US Senate and House seat, a Republican primary for local lawmakers. The incumbent GOP governor Larry Rhoden faces three primary challengers in his first run for a full term. He stepped up into the role from the lieutenant governorship when the former governor, the since-ousted Kristi Noem, left to lead the Department of Homeland Security. The Associated Press contributed reporting