The countdown to November 2014 takes another step on Tuesday with voters in four different states selecting candidates for the Congressional mid term elections, as lawmakers in Kansas, Michigan, Missouri and Washington State face primary contests.
It might seem odd to some, but August is actually the busiest month of this year when it comes to Congressional primaries, as 14 states will hold primary elections over the next four weeks.
Four states in the East will wrap up the 2014 mid-term primaries on September 9.
Here are some things to look for this week:
1. Obama's distant cousin as Tea Party challenger
In Kansas, veteran Sen. Pat Roberts (R-KS) will try to fend off a challenge from a Tea Party backed candidate named Milton Wolf - Wolf just happens to be a distant cousin of President Obama; the President's mother evidently knew Wolf's mother when they grew up in Kansas. While Wolf's campaign has had its rough spots, Roberts has been on the defensive ever since reporters figured out that he was barely going back to Kansas - in fact, his residence had been a La-Z-Boy recliner at the home of a friend. We'll see if that, and the perception that Roberts had been in office long enough, will trip up the incumbent in this Establishment vs Tea Party battle. Roberts is still considered the favorite here, simply because Wolf has had his own problems - but you never know what the voters will decide.
2. Former Congressmen try to get back to Congress
Another race in Kansas that has attracted attention is one involving Rep. Mike Pompeo (R-KS) and ex-Rep. Todd Tiahrt. Tiahrt gave up the seat a few years ago when he ran unsuccessfully for U.S. Senate; he has tried to undermine Pompeo by accusing him of being too liberal for the district, which includes Wichita and most of the southern half of the state of Kansas. Pompeo has pushed back hard and has the backing of outside groups like Club for Growth, which has been attacking Tiahrt for backing wasteful spending items while a member of the Congress. Meanwhile in Michigan, ex-Rep. Hansen Clarke (D) is trying to make his way back to Congress as well; he's seen as a longshot against three other Democrats in the 14th district.
3. Michigan GOP Reps try to fight off Chamber of Commerce
The primary in Michigan isn't exactly setting off gigantic interest among the voters this year - "Record low turnout feared in Michigan primary election," was the recent headline from the AP - but there will be a lot of folks in Washington, D.C. watching the numbers for Rep. Justin Amash (R-MI). The very Libertarian Republican has been ahead in the polls of a challenger backed by the business community, as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce has weighed in on behalf of Brian Ellis, a businessman from Grand Rapids. Last week, Amash was one of only eight lawmakers to vote against $225 million in emergency funding for Israel's "Iron Dome" missile defense system. Also watch the race of Rep. Kerry Bentivolio (R-MI), who is also facing a challenger backed by the Chamber of Commerce, Republican David Trott.
4. "Show Me" the Incumbents
All eight members of the U.S. House from Missouri would seem to be on track to winning their primary elections, as the two Democrats and six Republicans running for re-election have not drawn major opposition. In Missouri, two incumbents in Congress are running unopposed; just four of ten incumbents in Michigan running for re-election have no primary opponent, and there is one unopposed in Kansas as well, which means 15 incumbent lawmakers from those three states have a challenger today. So far, only two sitting members of Congress have been defeated in primaries this year, which doesn't exactly give off the feeling that we are seeing a major anti-incumbent wave in 2014.
5. Washington State - Top Two and Mail It In
I had to stop myself from using the line, "Voters go to the polls in four states," because in Washington State, they don't go to the polls. "Washington State votes by mail," the Secretary of State's office notes. The Evergreen State also uses a "Top Two" primary format, in which all candidates are lumped into one primary on Tuesday, and then the two highest vote getters go to the November election, even if they are members of the same political party. California also uses the same "Top Two" system - that state will have 7 of its 53 U.S. House races involving just one party (it was 8 of 53 in 2012.) Washington State had no Dem vs Dem or GOP vs GOP races in 2012.
Check for primary results from Jamie on Twitter @jamiedupree
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