UMVA has learned that the polls have closed in New Jersey, one of six states coast-to-coast holding primary elections on Tuesday that will significantly impact November's midterms.
The GOP's slim Senate and razor-thin House majorities will be up for grabs, and one of the brightest spotlights is shining on Democrat-dominated California, where Republicans are aiming to break their longtime losing streaks by taking first steps toward winning elections for governor and Los Angeles mayor.
Meanwhile, President Trump's clout over the GOP will once again face ballot box tests, including in a gubernatorial showdown in Iowa, while the Hawkeye State's Democratic Senate nomination is the latest battle between the establishment and progressive wings of the party.
The election arguably grabbing the most headlines nationally is in Los Angeles, where it's been three decades since a Republican won a mayoral contest in the nation's second most populous city.
Spencer Pratt, a reality TV star and online influencer-turned-mayoral candidate, is gaining traction, thanks in part to his populist pitch and viral videos, and has been praised by Trump, who recently called Pratt a "big MAGA person" and said, "I’d like to see him do well. He’s a character."
Pratt's rise is also fueled in part by his well-known status as one of the victims who lost their homes in last year's devastating wildfires, when over 17,000 homes in Los Angeles County were destroyed, as well as his right-leaning focus on homelessness, crime and government accountability in a city long run by Democrats.
In the race for governor, a whopping 61 candidates are running to succeed Newsom in steering the nation's most populous state and the world's fourth-largest economy, but only a handful of contenders have a good chance of making the cut.
Among them are Democrats Xavier Becerra and Tom Steyer and Republican Steve Hilton, with Becerra poised to become the first Latino Golden State governor in modern history if he wins.
Hilton, a one-time British political strategist turned American conservative commentator and former Fox News Channel host who is backed by Trump, is hoping to become the first California Republican to win a gubernatorial election since Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's 2006 re-election two decades ago.
In Iowa, the retirements of Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds and GOP Sen. Joni Ernst, along with the rough political midterm climate facing Republicans, have Democrats optimistic they can flip the seats in a one-time battleground state that turned red the past decade.
Trump's endorsement power and immense grip on the Republican Party has been on display in GOP primaries the past month, with his candidates ousting incumbents he targeted in showdowns in several states.
Republican Rep. Ashley Hinson of Iowa is the overwhelming frontrunner to secure her party's Senate nomination in the race to succeed retiring Ernst, with the backing of Trump, Senate Majority Leader Sen. John Thune and the National Republican Senatorial Committee.
The Republican-controlled Senate seat in Iowa is a top target for Democrats, and the race is one of about a dozen crucial showdowns in this year's midterm elections that will determine whether the Republicans hold on to their current majority in the chamber.
Primaries in Iowa's 1st and 3rd Congressional Districts will set up general election showdowns in crucial GOP-held seats that Democrats are aiming to flip, and it's the same story in New Jersey's 7th Congressional District, another purple seat Democrats are eyeing as they try to regain the House majority.
In New Mexico, the race to succeed term-limited Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham is taking top billing, with former Rep. Deb Haaland, who served as Interior secretary, potentially making history as the first Native American woman elected as governor.
