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Lacy Clay, Watkins lose to challengers as five states hold primaries

Voters, wearing masks and distancing themselves while standing in line, wait Tuesday for the chance to vote in the Missouri primary in Olivette, Mo. Photo by Bill Greenblatt/UPI
1 of 2 | Voters, wearing masks and distancing themselves while standing in line, wait Tuesday for the chance to vote in the Missouri primary in Olivette, Mo. Photo by Bill Greenblatt/UPI | License Photo

Aug. 4 (UPI) -- Democratic Rep. William Lacy Clay of Missouri lost his party's nomination to run for an 11th term in office to progressive challenger Cori Bush and Rep. Steve Watkins of Kansas saw the GOP nomination for his seat go to state Treasurer Jake LaTurner as five states held primaries on Tuesday.

Michigan

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Democratic Rep. Rashida Tlaib was leading Detroit City Council President Brenda Jones in the race to represent Michigan's 13th District with 65.8% of the vote to 34.2% late Tuesday.

The two have competed four times in two years. Tlaib narrowly defeated Jones in a six-person race in 2018, going on to become a well-recognized member of Congress as part of a group of first-term representatives that came to be known as "The Squad," alongside Reps. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn.; Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y.; and Ayana Pressley, D-Mass.

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The winner will face the winner of the Republican primary, which is down to Michigan Republican Party Chairman David Dudenhoefer, retired mechanical engineer Al Lemmo and retired nurse Linda Sawyer.

In the 3rd District, Iraq War veteran Peter Meijer was posed to beat four other Republican candidates seeking to fill the seat vacated by Rep. Justin Amash after he resigned.

With less than a third of precincts left to report, Meijer received nearly 50% of the vote with Rep. Lynn Afendoulis in second with 25%.

Laura Cox, chairwoman of the Michigan Republican Party, was quick to congratulate Meijer while taking a jab at Amash, who left the GOP after supporting the impeachment of President Donald Trump earlier this year, accusing him of abandoning his constituents.

"Peter is a conservative veteran who will bring strong, stable and effective representation to West Michigan -- and never turn his back on us," she said in a statement on Facebook.

State Rep. Shane Hernandez, businesswoman Lisa McClain and retired Air Force Brig. Gen. Doug Slocum will battle for the Republican nomination to fill the seat to be vacated by Rep. Paul Mitchell in the 10th District, while web director Kimberly Bizon will seek to earn the Democratic nomination for the second time as she faces off against Army nurse Kelly Noland.

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Missouri

The race for Missouri's 1st District saw progressive challenger Cori Bush unseat longtime incumbent Democratic Rep. William Lacy Clay, who was seeking his 11th term in office.

Tuesday's election was a rematch of 2018, when Bush lost to Clay by just 28,000 votes, the closest challenge to Clay's seat since he was first elected.

On Tuesday, Bush narrowly beat Clay, Missouri's longest-serving Congress member, with 49 percent of votes cast.

In response to her win, Bush wrote on Twitter: "Not me, US."

In the 7th District, Republican U.S. Rep. Billy Long fended off primary challenges from Eric Harleman, Kevin Vanstory, Steve Chentik and Camille Lombardi-Olive, while Democrat Terese Montseny and Libertarian Camille Lombardi-Olive are running unopposed.

Missouri Gov. Mike Parson won a four-way battle for the Republican nomination and will face State Auditor Nicole Galloway, who beat four other Democrats for the right to challenge come November.

Voters also voted to expand Medicaid services.

Kansas

In Kansas, Rep. Steve Watkins lost the Republican nomination in the 2nd District to Kansas state Treasurer Jake LaTurner.

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Last month, Watkins was charged with three felonies and a misdemeanor in an investigation into whether he voted illegally in a municipal election in 2019. He has described the charges as "hyper political" and "very suspicious."

The Democratic primary for the 2nd District saw Topeka Mayor Michelle De La Isla handily beat progressive candidate James Windholz with nearly 75% of the vote.

U.S. Rep. Roger Marshall came out victorious in a field of 11 Republican candidates edging out Kris Kobach in the race to replace Sen. Pat Roberts, who did not seek re-election after first taking office in 1996.

Physician Barbra Bollier handily won the Democratic race, defeating Robert Tillman.

Arizona

Democratic Rep. Tom O'Halleran will face off in the 1st District race against progressive Eva Putzova, a onetime Flagstaff city councilor whose platform pushes for Medicare for All, the Green New Deal and tuition-free college.

Farmer and lawyer Tiffany Shedd, who lost to O'Halleran in 2018, will battle attorney Nolan Reidhead as Republicans seek to flip the historically Democratic district.

Republican Sen. Martha McSally, who was appointed to fill John McCain's seat after he died in 2018, won a Republican challenge from entrepreneur Daniel McCarthy in the special contest to fill the seat.

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Astronaut Mark Kelly easily won the Democratic nomination in the Senate and will face McSally in the general election.

Washington

Gov. Jay Inslee faced a wide field of challengers but advanced over fellow Democrats Cairo D'Almeida, Gene Hart, Don Rivers and Omari Tahir Garrett, and primary Republican challengers including Loren Culp, Tim Eyman and Joshua Freed.

Republican Rep. Jaimy Herrera Beutler is projected to face off in a rematch of the 2018 race against college professor Carolyn Long in the 3rd District after winning their last battle by five points.

A seat left open by Democratic U.S. Rep. Denny Heck in the 10th District has drawn interest from state Rep. Beth Doglio, former state Rep. Kristine Reeves and Tacoma Mayor Marilyn Strickland. If elected, Reeves or Strickland would be the first Black lawmakers sent to Congress from Washington state.

Under Washington's primary system, the Democratic candidates will share a ballot with the eight Republicans vying for the seat, including Army veteran Nancy Dailey Slotnick and former prosecutor Jackson Maynard.

Results reported by The New York Times and The Hill.

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