“Democrats didn’t take many chances in critical November battlegrounds on Tuesday,” Politico reports.

“Voters played it safe in picking establishment-backed Josh Turek to take on GOP Rep. Ashley Hinson for an open Senate seat in Iowa and putting up moderate military veteran Rebecca Bennett against Republican Rep. Tom Kean Jr. in one of the most competitive House districts in the country.”

“The results were more mixed in bluer territory. In Los Angeles, embattled Mayor Karen Bass advanced to a runoff early Wednesday morning. But in New Jersey, progressive Adam Hamawy, a U.S. Army veteran with a complicated personal history who has been sharply critical of Israel’s war in Gaza, emerged from a 12-candidate primary to succeed progressive retiring Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman in a safe district.”

“It’s a split screen that shows Democrats are attempting to reconcile their desire for electability in tough races with the demands of a base that has shifted to the left on Israel and other key issues.”

“Republican voters in Iowa dealt a shock defeat to President Trump on Tuesday, narrowly rejecting his chosen candidate for governor in favor of another conservative contender who ran as a political outsider,” the New York Times reports.

“The primary loss for Representative Randy Feenstra, whom the president endorsed on Friday afternoon, came at a time of mixed signals of Mr. Trump’s power over the Republican Party. He has won a series of dominant primary victories over Republican opponents, but has faced rising pushback from his party in Congress.”

“Californians wrapped voting in their state’s primary elections Tuesday, but results for the messy gubernatorial and the Los Angeles mayor’s race could take a while to be finalized,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

“A drawn-out count would be a fitting end to two unpredictable primaries that have featured scandals and unconventional candidates.”

New York Times: “California has been using the top-two primary system for 15 years, but it has never caused as much consternation as it did this election.”

“Democratic fears that two Republicans could sweep the governor’s race — in one of the nation’s bluest states — triggered a new effort to repeal the system this spring.”

CNN: “Many of the results from California will take a while to learn, given the state’s late poll-closing time and slow vote-counting.”

There’s a big slate of high-stakes primaries that will help shape the 2026 midterms tonight.

California, Iowa, New Mexico and South Dakota all hold gubernatorial primaries, with several contests likely to set the terms for competitive races in November.

Iowa also features a closely watched Democratic primary for U.S. Senate, where the nominee could determine whether the party has a real shot at making the race competitive.

House control will also be on the line, with voters choosing nominees in a number of battleground districts. Among the key races: California’s 22nd and 48th districts, New Jersey’s 7th District and Montana’s 1st District.

And in Los Angeles, the mayor’s race has become one of the most closely watched local contests in the country.

Here are the poll closing times:

• 8 p.m. ET – New Jersey and South Dakota
• 9 p.m. ET – Iowa and New Mexico
• 10 p.m. ET – Montana
• 11 p.m. ET – California

Leave your thoughts in the comments as the results come in.

“Rep. Thomas Kean Jr., a Republican running for re-election in a competitive swing district in New Jersey, has not been seen publicly in nearly three months as he recovers from what his aides have described only as a ‘personal medical condition,’” the New York Times reports.

“Primary Day was no different. Mr. Kean, 57, voted by mail and had no scheduled public appearances. A knock at the door of his home in Westfield, N.J., went unanswered.”

“Then, three hours before polls closed, Mr. Kean’s office released a statement attributed to the congressman that suggested it might be several more weeks before he was healthy enough to return to public life or to the campaign trail.”

Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) “issued a scathing takedown of Graham Platner as the leading Democratic candidate in Maine’s Senate race has become embroiled in a scandal over reports that he sent sexual text messages to women who were not his wife,” CNN reports. 

Fetterman also likened Platner to a “Nazi sympathizer” over a now-infamous tattoo resembling a Nazi symbol.

Said Fetterman: “When I was growing up, if someone had a clear Nazi tattoo on them, you probably could conclude that they’re a Nazi sympathizer. Are you going to continue to defend that or dismiss that?”