The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Inflation, crime on voters’ minds in latest primaries
Crime, homelessness and Democratic divisions over the issues took center stage Tuesday as a liberal prosecutor in San Francisco was recalled and seven states held primaries that helped mold each party’s image heading into November’s fight for control of Congress, statehouses and major cities across the country.
Soaring inflation, gun violence and abortion rights were on voters’ minds Tuesday as they headed to the polls. Republicans are seizing on rising costs and crime to try to retake the House and narrowly divided Senate this fall. They have sought to pin those problems on the Biden administration and liberal policies.
California
The recall of San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin — a Democrat whom critics called too lenient — came as concerns over liberal leaders’ approach to public safety also loomed large in a contest for Los Angeles mayor, where Rep. Karen Bass, D-calif., and billionaire businessman Rick Caruso will advance to a runoff. Caruso, a former Republican, has pitched himself as a different kind of Democrat who will fix long-simmering crises in the nation’s second-largest city.
Turning in their ballots for Caruso together, a group of neighbors wished for “a better future” before taking a selfie. One woman said crime was her biggest concern — her husband’s brother had been robbed at gunpoint a day earlier in Burbank.
Surrounded by supporters at a bar Tuesday night, Boudin said the recall campaign “exploited an environment in which people are appropriately upset.”
“They were given an opportunity to voice their frustration and their outrage, and they took that opportunity,” he said.
Iowa
“I’d like to get a functional country again,” said Iowa voter Mehgin Lawrence, who was torn between several Democratic candidates vying to challenge Republican Charles Grassley, 88, the country’s longest-serving sitting Republican senator. “There is a lot of dysfunction in general on both sides of the aisle.” Grassley won renomination and is favored to keep the seat. In the Democratic race, retired Navy Vice Adm. Mike Franken beat former Rep. Abby Finkenauer. Franken has sought to appeal to Iowa’s swing voters.
Mississippi
The race between Republican Rep. Michael Guest and challenger Michael Cassidy is expected to go to a runoff. Cassidy targeted Guest’s vote last year for a commission to investigate the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection by a protrump mob at the U.S. Capitol.
Rep. Steven Palazzo, R-miss., was forced into a runoff after an ethics body’s finding that he may have misspent campaign money.
New Jersey
In the 7th Congressional District — one of many the GOP hopes to flip this year — Tom Kean Jr. defeated challengers who attacked him as not conservative enough. Republicans say Kean, the son of a former governor, is well-positioned to win the seat.
Montana
One of former President Donald Trump’s Cabinet members — former Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke, who resigned during an ethics investigation — was in a tight race for the Republican nomination in a new congressional district. Montana got a second House seat after the 2020 Census.
New Mexico
Former local TV weatherman Mark Ronchetti won in a crowded GOP field to take on New Mexico Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, as Republicans see room for gains even in a state controlled by Democrats.
South Dakota
Republican Sen. John Thune, who has clashed with Trump, won renomination.