Republican incumbents face House primaries in Democratic California
LOS ANGELES >> A slate of Republican U.S. House members in heavily Democratic California are facing primary challengers on Tuesday in races that will help determine control of Congress.
No incumbents appear at risk of losing their primary, but 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 on 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, a trio of Republicans is jockeying to take on the state's lone Democratic U.S. House member in a newly drawn district with a stronger GOP tilt. And in Mississippi, Republican U.S. Rep. Steven Palazzo is running for reelection after a congressional ethics watchdog raised questions about his campaign spending.
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. Two other Republicans are also on the ballot.
California uses a top-two election format in which only the top two vote-getters advance to the November general election, regardless of party.