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Primaries: Voters oust 2 Republicans who impeached Trump

Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler, R-Wash., was one of several Republicans who voted to impeach former President Donald Trump last year. She faces re-election this year. File Photo by Al Drago/UPI
1 of 3 | Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler, R-Wash., was one of several Republicans who voted to impeach former President Donald Trump last year. She faces re-election this year. File Photo by Al Drago/UPI | License Photo

Aug. 2 (UPI) -- Voters in six states cast ballots in their respective primaries Tuesday, including in three races involving Republicans who voted to impeach former President Donald Trump last year.

Of those Republicans on the ballot, Reps. Jaime Herrera Beutler in Washington and Peter Meijer in Michigan were poised to be ousted early Wednesday with only Rep. Dan Newhouse, also of Washington, seemingly about to head into November's election.

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Primaries were held Tuesday in Arizona, Kansas, Michigan, Missouri, Ohio and Washington to determine which candidates will be on the ballots come Election Day in November.

Kansans, meanwhile, voted down a ballot measure to eliminate protections for abortion in the state.

Arizona

Among the races to keep an eye on was the Arizona gubernatorial fight, where current Republican governor, Doug Ducey, is term-limited and unable to run for re-election. In the Republican primary, Trump endorsed former TV anchor Kari Lake, while former Vice President Mike Pence backed developer Karrin Taylor Robson.

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The polls closed as 7 p.m., and returns from the secretary of state's office early Wednesday showing Robson with 46.5% of the vote to Lake's 43.5%.

Businessman Scott Neely is also running for the Republican nomination. He had less than 4% of the vote share.

Arizona Secretary of State Katie Hobbs ran away with the Democratic nomination with nearly 73%. Former Nogales, Ariz., Mayor Marco Lopez Jr. trailed with 22% and former U.S. Rep. Lieberman had less than 5% of the vote.

Ohio

In Ohio, voters headed back to the polls for the state's second primary -- this time for statehouse seats. Voters decided on nominations for governor, U.S. Senate and the U.S. House in May.

Michigan

Trump-endorsed Tudor Dixon, a former actress and right-wing media commentator, was on track to snag the Republican nomination to take on Democrat and incumbent Gretchen Whitmer in November's gubernatorial election.

The former president bestowed his endorsement upon Dixon late last month, calling her a "Conservative Warrior" who is "pro-God, pro-Gun and pro-Freedom."

According to unofficial state results, Tudor was in the lead with nearly 38% of the vote.

"Thank you, Michigan!" she said on Twitter. "We will take the fight to Gretchen Whitmer for our children, our grandparents, our business owners and every single Michigander affected by her disastrous policies."

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As she appeared poised to win, the conservative Christian anti-abortion group American Principles Project congratulated Dixon on her campaign but said the hardest test was yet to come.

"Whitmer's anti-family policies have been a disaster for Michigan," APP President Terry Schilling said in a statement. "Defeating Whitmer would be a huge boost for the pro-family movement, and we are confident Tudor Dixon is the candidate to do it."

Whitmer ran unopposed.

"The stakes in this election are high. But I don't back down from a tough fight," the incumbent said on Twitter. "We're going to keep building our momentum and continue our historic progress of Michiganders."

In another closely watched race in the state, incumbent Rep. Peter Meijer was project to lose to Trump-backed John Gibbs.

Meijer was one of 10 Republican congressmen who voted to impeach Trump last year over inciting the Jan. 6, 2021, riots at the U.S. Capitol.

"Just got a call from President Trump congratulating me and my team on tonight's big win!" Gibbs said in a statement early Wednesday. "Thank you, Mr. President for your support!"

In the Democratic Party, lawyer Hillary Scholten ran unopposed for the 3rd Congressional District seat and will taken on Gibbs come November.

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Before polls closed, Scholten invited the Republican nominee to a debate on "the most pressing issues facing West Michiganders."

"There is so much on the line this election," she said in a statement. "The voters of Michigan's Third Congressional District deserve to hear first-hand from my opponent why the Michigan and national GOP continue to put party politics over people's lives and livelihoods."

Missouri

Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt appeared poised early Wednesday to secure the Republican nomination for the U.S. Senate seat up for grabs over scandal-riddled former Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens.

With all precincts reporting, Schmitt had received 45.6% of the vote share to Greitens' 18.9%, which also trailed Congresswoman Vicky Hartzler's nearly 22%, according to the state's unofficial results.

Heading into the race, some saw Trump's endorsement as a potential direction for his loyalists to follow, though it only served to provide confusion as he gave his support Monday to "ERIC."

Both Schmitt and Greitens claimed it as an endorsement for themself. On his Twitter page, Schmitt penned a "thank you" missive to the former president for his endorsement. Greitens posted a photoshopped picture of himself with Trump to his account to promote Trump's backing.

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On the Democratic side, Trudy Busch Valentine, daughter of August Busch, the chief executive officer of Anheuser-Busch, was positioned to take on Schmitt in November, netting 43% of the vote to closest challenger Lucas Kunce, a Marine veteran and attorney, who got 38% of the vote.

Washington

Two Republican incumbents up for re-election in the state also voted to impeach Trump -- Reps. Jaime Herrera Beutler and Dan Newhouse.

Trump endorsed former Army Green Beret Joe Kent in the 3rd District race against Herrera Beutler in a contest that also includes Republicans Leslie French, Vicki Kraft and Heidi St. John as well as Democrats Marie Gluesenkamp Pérez and Davy Ray; independent Chris Byrd; and Oliver Black of the American Solidarity Party.

Unofficial state results show Pérez is leading the pack with 31.7% of the vote followed by Beutler with nearly 25% and Kent with 20.1%

In the 4th District, Trump backed challenger Loren Culp over Newhouse in a race that also includes Republicans Benancio Garcia III, Corey Gibson, Brad Klippert, Jacek Kobiesa and Jerrod Sessler; and Democrat Doug White.

Newhouse led the pack late Monday night with 27.3% of the vote followed by White with nearly 26% and Culp in third with nearly 22%

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