On Tuesday, four states will be holding primary elections for the U.S. Congress. Many races are expected to have a competitive nature after many longtime legislators decided to retire to allow a younger generation to replace them.

Kansas, Michigan and Washington State are hosting several high-profile primary elections for state and federal offices. Michigan is holding a Senate primary, and the race has attracted national attention since Sen. Debbie Stabenow decided not to run for re-election.

In Missouri, the focus will be on a progressive Democrat from the “Squad”, to see if they can survive the floods of cash coming in from pro-Israel organizations, as well as the race for governor, where the former president Donald Trump has endorsed several candidates. Kansas’s lone House Democrat who represents the only swing seat in the state will also discover her Republican opponent.

Michigan

Stabenow’s retirement decision in Michigan sparked a firestorm on both sides as they raced to find a candidate who could win the state’s battleground.

Democrats are largely united around Rep. Elissa slotkin (D-MI), a Michigan Democrat who represents a district in flux that she has narrowly won since being elected to Congress in 2018. She won her 7th Congressional District with only 52% of votes in the midterm elections of 2022. Slotkin will be facing actor Hill Harper in her primary.

On the Republican side, former Rep. Mike Rogers is leading the primary field against Justin Amash, a former House Republican-turned-libertarian, and physician Sherry O’Donnell, a former congressional candidate.

Rogers hopes to become the Michigan Republican Senator in 24 years. This feat seems more achievable now that the presidential race is at the forefront of the ballot. Cook Political Report changed the Senate race from a “toss up” to a “tossup” after the debate between former President Donald Trump and President Joe Biden. Trump’s Michigan lead has shrunk to just 1% since Biden ended his endorsement of Vice President Kamala Harirs and stepped aside.

The Detroit News poll and WDIV-TV Channel 4 found Slotkin ahead of Rogers by five points, 46% versus 41%. Slotkin is leading Rogers by 5 points, 46% to 41%.

Slotkin is in a strong financial position in this race, as her campaign finance records show that she earned $1.5 million in the first two-and-a-half weeks of July. Rogers only brought in $356,000. According to the Detroit News, she had $8.7m cash on hand at the end of July compared with Rogers’s $2.5m.

In Michigan, the race is also on to replace Slotkin as well as Rep. Dan Kildee. Kildee announced that he would not seek a seventh term. Both Democrat Curtis Hertel, and Republican Tom Barrett are former state senators who have run unopposed for their respective primaries in Slotkin’s District. The 7th District narrowly supported Trump in 2016, and Biden in 2019, so it is likely that the seat will follow Slotkin’s lead and remain purple.

Three Democrats and three Republicans will compete in the primary to replace Kildee. His family has held this seat since 1970. The GOP views Kildee’s district as an opportunity to pick up seats for their party. Redistricting in 2022 is expected to make it harder for Democrats to retain the seat.

Missouri

Missouri holds elections for the governor, Senate and Attorney General, as well as the U.S. House. Trump has endorsed multiple candidates in the races for attorney general and governor, which will lead to a showdown between Trump supporters on Tuesday.

The Republican candidates for governor have spent the majority of their campaign attacking each other over their loyalty towards Trump. Former President Barack Obama endorsed three out of nine GOP candidates for governor’s office: Jay Ashcroft Mike Kehoe Bill Eigel.

Ashcroft’s bid for governor last year was highly anticipated. He benefits from a large bankroll and his name recognition, as he is the son of John Ashcroft who served as Missouri Governor and Attorney General under George W. Bush. Kehoe is backed by the American Dream PAC which spends more than $8,000,000 on advertising. Eigel, a state senator and Air Force veteran, has a PAC that spends thousands of dollars on ads featuring Trump’s endorsement.

Trump also endorsed the two GOP candidates running for Attorney General: current Attorney General Andrew Bailey, and former Trump lawyer Will Scharf. He surprised his followers when he announced a dual support on Truth Social. He said both men were “truly outstanding”, and “NEITHER” would let down the state.

On the House Democratic Side, all eyes will be on Rep. Cori bush’s (DMO) primary. She will face a stiff challenge from St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Wesley Bell. Bell has taken advantage of Bush’s antisemitic sentiments, and the millions of dollars from American Israel Public Affairs Committee PAC.

Bush, the second “Squad Democrat” to lose reelection, could be in danger of becoming the second Democrat to lose a reelection due to recent polls showing Bell ahead by six points (48% to 42%). Rep. Jamaal BOWMAN (D-NY), who lost his primary after AIPAC, its allies and other donors poured millions of dollars into the race to make it the most expensive in U.S. History, could become the second “Squad” Democrat to lose reelection.

Sen. Josh Hawley, R-MO, is the only Republican running in his primary. Marine veteran Lucas Kunce, and state senator Karla May are competing for the Democratic nomination against Hawley. Kunce holds a substantial financial advantage over May.

Kansas

Kansas’s House elections are attracting attention, especially after Rep. Jake LaTurner announced he was retiring from Congress following only two terms.

Five GOP candidates, two Democrats and one independent are all running for LaTurner’s seat in 2nd District. Cook Political Report rated the seat as a solid Republican, with an 11 point advantage for the GOP.

Derek Schmidt, a former attorney general of the state who unsuccessfully ran against Gov. Laura Kelly will be running in 2022. According to the Associated Press, former LaTurner aide Jeff Kahrs, rancher Shawn Tiffany, and others are also running, but Schmidt is leading the pack in terms of campaign contributions.

Matt Kleinmann and former U.S. Rep. Nancy Boyda are in a primary battle on the Democratic side. Boyda was the 2nd district’s representative in Congress from 2007 until 2009, when she lost her reelection bid. Kleinmann was a basketball player at the University of Kansas and is an advocate for community health.

Rep. Sharice Davi (D-KS), who is the only Democratic representative in Kansas, will learn her Republican opponent for the general election. She won 55% of votes in her 2022 reelection campaign, but the 3rd District has a swing vote — Trump won by 48% against Hillary Clinton in 2016 but Biden won 51% in 2020.

In the 3rd District, the GOP nominees are Prasanth reddy, a physician and entrepreneur.