Primary elections - AS IT HAPPENED Trump-endorsed Kris Kobach in bitter fight for Republican nomination for Kansas governor
Primaries take place in four US states - with a special House election in Ohio
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Your support makes all the difference.Four US states are held primary elections with a fifth having a special House vote. A number of the races were a test for Donald Trump and the amount of sway he holds with voters ahead of crucial midterm elections.
Michigan, Missouri Kansas and Washington had a mixture of governor and senate races, preparing the states for the November polls.
Voters in Ohio's 12th district, where Mr Trump personally stumped for Troy Balderson, were split nearly down the middle, though the GOP hopeful claimed victory in the race to succeed resigning Republican representative Pat Tiberi.
Republicans had scrambled to avoid an embarrassing defeat in a seat the party has held for decades. Mr Balderson faced Democrat Danny O'Connor in the last special congressional election before the midterms. A win for Democrats would have signalled further danger for Republicans in November.
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The GOP previously lost a similar race in Pennsylvania and saw one in Arizona get too close for comfort.
In the Republican race to pick a candidate for Kansas governor, Mr Trump has backed Kris Kobach, a conservative agitator for strict immigration and voter ID laws.
He is facing Kansas Governor Jeff Colyer, who raised more money than Kobach, received the endorsement of the National Rifle Association, brandished his anti-abortion credentials and has the backing of Kansas political legend Bob Dole.
While some White House advisers had reportedly asked the president to stay clear of the race, amid fears Mr Kobach would lose in the midterms, Mr Trump's tweet endorsement could tip the scales in a competitive race, as some other recent Trump endorsements have done. Mr Trump's tweet backing Georgia Republican governor hopeful Brian Kemp vaulted him to an easy primary runoff win two weeks ago. Trump also has recently given a boost to GOP primary candidates in Florida, South Carolina and Alabama.
Mr Trump also endorsed in two Michigan primaries: state Attorney General Bill Schuette in the gubernatorial contest and John James for Senate.
For the Democrats, the battle between progressive candidates and the establishment will continue on Tuesday. Both Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a round progressive who surprisingly beat an establishment candidate earlier this summer, have endorsed Abdul El-Sayed, who is running for governor in Michigan, and Brent Welder, who is running in Kansas’ 3rd District. Mr El-Sayed has trailed the establishment-backed Gretchen Whitmer in polling, but progressives are pushing for an upset.
With many of the races too close to call, we will give you all the latest on the elections, with results expected to come in late this evening.
Additional reporting by Reuters and AP.
Hello and welcome to The Independent's coverage of primary elections in four sates - Michigan, Missouri Kansas and Washington have a mixture of governor and senate races.
Voters in Ohio's 12th district will also be choosing a replacement for resigning Republican Representative Pat Tiberi. That race is a key test for President Trump, who will be a key part of the Republican playbook in the midterms.
Republicans are scrambling to avoid an embarrassing defeat in a seat that the party has held for decades. Mr Trump has backed Republican Troy Balderson, who is facing Democrat Danny O'Connor in the last special congressional election before the midterms. A win for Democrats would signal further danger for Republicans in November.
Eric Trump has already been calling for people to head out and vote for Mr Balderson. The president has retweeted his son.
The script for Ohio's special election is a familiar one: An experienced Trump loyalist, two-term state Senator Troy Balderson, is fighting off a strong challenge from a fresh-faced Democrat, 31-year-old county official Danny O'Connor, in a congressional district held by the Republican Party for more than three decades. In an early, election morning tweet, President Donald Trump said Mr Balderson would make a "great congressman."
Mr Trump himself campaigned at Mr Balderson's side just 72 hours before Election Day, a weekend appearance to help energise his support base in a district the president carried by 11 percentage points.
But there was little evidence of enthusiasm on the eve of the election as Mr Balderson tried to connect with voters over the phone during a brief stop at a campaign phone bank. He appeared equally uncomfortable answering questions from reporters about whether Mr Trump's appearance might blunt the impact of the recent endorsement from a prominent Trump adversary, Republican Governor John Kasich.
Mr Balderson said simply that it was an honor and "incredible" to appear with and be supported by the president. He called the race "very close."
"It's going to be tough, but we feel very positive, we feel very good with the amount of volunteers that we've had here, the enthusiasm, the amount of hours that we've put in," Mr Balderson said.
If you need some more information on a few of the states I haven't I haven't mentioned. Here is the lowdown on Michigan:
Today, 62 more women will run in primaries across Kansas, Michigan, Missouri and Washington. They hope to join the 244 women who’ve won races for federal and statewide positions so far this year.
President Trump has also tweeted his support for Tony Balderson in Ohio's special election. He has also hit out Nancy Pelosi, Democrat leader in the House of Representatives for "controlling" Mr Balderson's opponent Danny O'Connor.
Republican-backed adverts have been sent out repeatedly making that point - with the GOP sure to look to attack Ms Pelosi as part of their cross-country strategy in November.
Spending has been interesting in that Ohio race.
Democrat Danny O'Connor, 31, has dominated Republican Troy Balderson on the local airwaves. His campaign spent $2.25 million on advertising compared to M Balderson's $507,000, according to campaign tallies of ad spending. The Republican campaign arm and its allied super PAC was forced to pick up the slack, spending more than $4 million between them.
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