All Eyes on Georgia as 2022 Midterm Primaries Ramp Up

ATLANTA — Georgia takes center stage in Tuesday’s primary elections as Governor Kemp and Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger try to fight back challengers endorsed by President Trump, who is seeking revenge for his 2020 election defeat in the state.Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia is testing Republican voters’ tolerance for controversy in her primary. On the Democratic side, Representatives Lucy McBath and Carolyn Bourdeaux are facing off after Ms. McBath switched districts because of redistricting.In Alabama, three Republicans are in a tight race for the nomination to replace Senator Shelby, who is retiring. In Arkansas, the former White House press secretary, Sarah Sanders, is a front-runner for the Republican nomination for governor.In Texas, two runoffs are drawing outsize attention: Attorney General Ken Paxton is trying to hold off Land Commissioner George P. Bush, while Representative Henry Cuellar is trying to fend off his progressive challenger in a rematch from 2020.What to watch in Tuesday’s primaries in Georgia, Alabama, Arkansas, Texas and Minnesota:GEORGIAMr. Trump’s desire for vengeance has fueled the primary challenges to Messrs. Kemp and Raffensperger, both of whom defied his pressure to overturn Georgia’s 2020 presidential election results.Mr. Trump recruited Senator Perdue to take on Mr. Kemp for the Republican gubernatorial nomination, but Mr. Perdue has lagged in polls and fundraising. Mr. Kemp has been increasingly confident the GOP will send him forward to a November rematch with Stacey Abrams, who is unopposed for the Democratic nomination.Mr. Raffensperger, the state’s top elections official, is facing a tough challenge from Representative Jody Hice, who has promoted Mr. Trump’s lies that widespread voter fraud or tampering cost him the 2020 election.Mr. Trump’s candidate for Senate, football legend Herschel Walker, appears to be cruising to the Republican nomination despite some GOP leaders warning that Mr. Walker will be unelectable in November against the Democratic incumbent, Senator Warnock. Mr. Walker has been accused of threatening his ex-wife’s life, exaggerating his business record and lying about graduating from the University of Georgia.Ms. Greene, a political lightning rod, is trying to stave off multiple Republican challengers. The Trump-backed firebrand was stripped of her committee assignments last year over racist remarks, her embrace of conspiracy theories and allegations of endorsing violence. A group of voters tried but failed to knock her off the ballot, accusing her of helping foment the January 6 riot at the Capitol.In the Atlanta area, an unfavorable new district led Ms. McBath to jump into a Democratic primary against her fellow incumbent, Ms. Bourdeaux. Ms. McBath said her push to stay in Congress was about fighting for gun safety on behalf of her son Jordan, who was killed in a shooting 10 years ago.ALABAMAMr. Shelby’s retirement launched a heated and expensive primary for the GOP nomination for the seat.Representative Mo Brooks faces the former leader of the Business Council of Alabama, Katie Britt, and Mr. Shelby’s former chief of staff, and businessman Mike Durant, best known as the helicopter pilot shot down and held captive in the events chronicled in “Black Hawk Down.”Mr. Trump initially endorsed Mr. Brooks last year but withdrew the endorsement in March after their relationship soured. Mr. Trump has not made another endorsement in the race. The fractured field increases the chances the race will go to a June 21 runoff.The Republican governor, Kay Ivey, is attempting to avoid a runoff as she faces several challengers from her right flank.Lindy Blanchard, who was Trump’s ambassador to Slovenia, and businessman Tim James have criticized Ivey’s support of a gas tax increase and her handling of the Covid pandemic that included a temporary mask mandate and appeals for people to get vaccinated. They also criticized Ms. Ivey over a charter school that welcomed LGBTQ students.Ms. Ivey has emphasized her conservative record, including signing legislation — now blocked by the courts — to make abortion a felony at any stage of pregnancy. In one campaign commercial, the governor pulls a handgun out of her purse to note her support of permitless concealed carry.ARKANSASIn Arkansas, a two-term senator, John Boozman hopes to fend off a challenge from three Republican rivals in a race in which he’s had to rely on his endorsement from Mr. Trump as well as the state’s top GOP figures.The mild-mannered Mr. Boozman has taken a more aggressive tone in his campaign ads, vowing to complete the wall along the border with Mexico.Mr. Boozman’s rivals include former NFL player Jake Bequette, who has the support of a super PAC that’s aired ads attacking Mr. Boozman as not conservative enough, and a conservative activist and former TV reporter, Jan Morgan.Ms. Sanders, Mr. Trump’s former spokesperson, is heavily favored in her Republican primary for governor. She faces a long-shot primary challenge from former talk show radio host Doc Washburn.Ms. Sanders has shattered fundraising records and has focused mainly on national issues, running spots criticizing President Biden on issues like inflation while ignoring her rivals.Five Democrats are seeking the party’s nomination for governor, with nuclear engineer and ordained minister Chris Jones the front-runner.The candidates are running to succeed Governor Hutchinson, who is barred by term limits from seeking reelection.TEXASTexas held the first primary of 2022 back in March, but runoffs will finally settle two major races.One puts the Bush family dynasty on the line: Republican George P. Bush, a son of the former Florida Governor, Jeb Bush, has spent the past year mounting a primary challenge to Mr. Paxton, the two-term attorney general.George P. Bush is the last of his family still in public office and finished 20 percentage points behind Mr. Paxton in a four-way primary. Since then, Mr. Bush’s efforts to close the gap have centered on emphasizing Mr. Paxton’s legal troubles, including an ongoing FBI investigation into corruption accusations and a separate 2015 indictment on securities fraud charges.Mr. Paxton, who has denied wrongdoing, has broad party support and Mr. Trump’s endorsement.On the Democratic side, Mr. Cuellar’s bid for a 10th term has run head-on into a reenergized national battle over abortion rights. His position as one of the last anti-abortion Democrats in Congress has become a central issue in his runoff against a 28-year-old immigration attorney and abortion rights supporter, Jessica Cisneros.Democratic House leaders have lined up behind Mr. Cuellar. Ms. Cisneros trailed Mr. Cuellar by roughly 1,000 votes in March, but Mr. Cuellar didn’t hit the 50 percent threshold to avoid a runoff.MINNESOTAA primary Tuesday in southern Minnesota’s 1st Congressional District is a first step for replacing a Republican congressman, Jim Hagedorn, who died of cancer in February. A special general election to fill the rest of Mr. Hagedorn’s term in the Republican-leaning district is scheduled for August 9.Mr. Hagedorn’s widow, Jennifer Carnahan, has been making the most overt appeals to Mr. Trump’s supporters. She was state chairwoman of the Republican Party of Minnesota until being forced out last August after a prominent donor was indicted on sex trafficking charges.A state representative, Jeremy Munson, who founded a hard-right faction that broke from the main Minnesota House GOP Caucus, has been endorsed by Senators Cruz of Texas and Paul of Kentucky.A former state representative, Brad Finstad, has the backing of several Minnesota GOP officeholders. He has reminded voters he was Mr. Trump’s Minnesota director for USDA Rural Development.On the Democratic side, the candidate endorsed at the party’s district convention earlier this month is former Hormel Foods chief executive Jeffrey Ettinger. His opponents include University of Minnesota law professor Richard Painter, a former White House ethics lawyer for President George W. Bush.

All Eyes on Georgia as 2022 Midterm Primaries Ramp Up

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