Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

As it happenedended

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

Andrew Buncombe
New York
,Emily Shugerman
Tuesday 07 August 2018 11:00 BST
Comments
Michigan, Kansas, Missouri and Washington hold primary elections

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

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.

Please allow a moment for the liveblog to load.

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.

Way to go guys!

Andrew Buncombe8 August 2018 00:00

In Ohio, outgoing congressman Pat Tiberi won the district with a margin of about 37 percentage points in 2016. Today, Emerson, which has published the most recent poll of the battle between Troy Balderson and Danny O'Connor, scores it Balderson 46 and O'Connor 47.

Andrew Buncombe8 August 2018 00:05

Polls are just about to close in Ohio. That shd be when we get some exit-polls results

Andrew Buncombe8 August 2018 00:24

Polls have just closed and CNN has said the race there is too close to call

Andrew Buncombe8 August 2018 00:31

I like this: 

Andrew Buncombe8 August 2018 00:40

At the Ohio special election, with one per cent of votes in, Republican Troy Balderson trails Danny O'Connor 20-80

Andrew Buncombe8 August 2018 00:44

In Ohio, with five per cent of the vote in, Connor leads Balderson 64-36

Andrew Buncombe8 August 2018 00:54

A message from the Michigan Secretary of State where polls close at 8pm local time (9pm EST)

Andrew Buncombe8 August 2018 00:59

Interesting fact about Ohio 12th congressional district being contested tonight is that it was represented by John Kasich, now the state's governor, between 1983-2001 

Andrew Buncombe8 August 2018 01:03

Polls have closed in Missouri and are beginning to close in parts of Kansas and Michigan

Andrew Buncombe8 August 2018 01:08

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in