Mississippi lawmaker with ethics woes forced into GOP runoff
LOS ANGELES » Republican U.S. Rep. Steven Palazzo of Mississippi was forced into a runoff Tuesday after a congressional ethics watchdog raised questions about his campaign spending and he faced his largestever field of primary challengers.
In heavily Democratic California, Republican House members faced primary rivals in races that will help determine control of Congress. The districts will be among the country’s marquee races in November. Two of the House members are trying to surmount challenges tied to former President Donald Trump: One voted to support the former president’s impeachment after the U.S. Capitol insurrection, while the other fought against it.
Elsewhere Tuesday, former Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke is competing against several other Republicans for a chance to capture a new U.S. House district in western Montana.
In Iowa, Republican state Sen. Zach Nunn won the GOP spot to take on the state’s lone Democratic House member, Rep. Cindy Axne, in a newly drawn district with a stronger GOP tilt.
A look at key U.S. House races as polls closed across the country:
Runoff in Mississippi
Republican U.S. Rep. Steven Palazzo of Mississippi is headed to a June 28 runoff.
The congressman first elected in 2010 failed to win the GOP nomination outright on Tuesday, earning less than 50% of the vote.
His opponent will either be Jackson County Sheriff Mike Ezell, who is also campaigning on border security, or Clay Wagner, a retired banker who says he wants to limit taxation and regulation.
A 2021 report by the Office of Congressional Ethics found “substantial reason to believe” Palazzo, a military veteran who serves on the Appropriations and Homeland Security committees, abused his office by misspending campaign funds, doing favors for his brother and enlisting staff for political and personal errands. His then-spokesperson, Colleen Kennedy, said the probe was based on politically motivated “false allegations.”
The Trump factor in California
Two Republican congressmen are facing challenges tied to Trump, but for different reasons.
In a Democratic-tilting district in the state’s Central Valley farm belt, Republican Rep. David Valadao is highlighting an independent streak while contending with GOP fallout for his vote to impeach Trump over the Jan. 6 insurrection. Republican Chris Mathys has made Valadao’s vote a centerpiece in his campaign to oust him.
In a Democratic-leaning district north of Los Angeles, three Democrats are vying for the chance to take on Republican Rep. Mike Garcia, who captured the seat in 2020. Garcia, a former Navy fighter pilot who was endorsed by Trump in 2020, joined House Republicans who rejected electoral votes from Arizona and Pennsylvania and opposed Trump’s impeachment after the Capitol insurrection.
Early returns showed Garcia and Democrat Christy Smith at the top of the field, with other candidates far back. Garcia defeated Smith by 333 votes in 2020.
California uses a top-two election format in which only the two leading votegetters advance to the November general election, regardless of party.
In the Central Valley, Republican Connie Conway won a special election to complete the term of former Rep. Devin Nunes, who resigned to head Trump’s media company.
The return of Zinke
Montana gained a second congressional district this year thanks to its growing population, and Zinke, an Interior Department secretary under Trump, is one of five Republicans on the primary ballot for the open seat.
Zinke’s rivals have been drawing attention to his troubled tenure at the agency, which was marked by multiple ethics investigations. One investigation determined Zinke lied to an agency ethics official about his continued involvement in a commercial real estate deal in his hometown. He’s faced a smear campaign over his military service from the extreme right wing of his party and questions about his residency following revelations that his wife declared a house in California as her primary residence.
Zinke, a former Navy SEAL, is widely considered the de facto incumbent, since he twice won elections for the state’s other House seat before stepping down in 2017 to join the Trump administration.
His primary opponents include former state Sen. Al “Doc” Olszewski, an orthopedic surgeon and hard-line conservative who has tried to paint Zinke as a “liberal insider.” The winner will face Olympic rower and attorney Monica Tranel, a Democrat, in the general election.
Incomplete returns showed Zinke locked in a tight race with Olszewski.
Tough fight in Iowa
A Republican state senator has captured the slot to take on Democratic Rep. Cindy Axne this fall in a newly drawn district that appears more favorable for the GOP.
Axne is the only Democrat in Iowa’s House delegation.
State Sen. Zach Nunn easily outdistanced rivals Nicole Hasso, a financial services worker, and Gary Leffler, who works in the construction industry, to claim the GOP spot. Nunn, an Air Force pilot who has served in the Legislature since 2014 and has worked to cut taxes, was the best known among the GOP contenders.
In previous elections, Axne was elevated by her strong support in the Des Moines area, even as she struggled in rural counties that typically lean Republican. The new district includes several counties in southern Iowa known to turn out strongly for Republicans, increasing the pressure on Axne to drive up her numbers in Democratfriendly Des Moines and its suburbs.
Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel promised that Iowa would “send the first congressional delegation to Washington that’s fully Republican since 1957.”