Candidates backed by Donald Trump prevailed in multiple Republican primaries on Tuesday, while a state-wide ballot initiative in Kansas that would have allowed new restrictions on abortion was soundly rejected.
Pro-choice supporters Alie Utley and Joe Moyer react to the failed constitutional amendment proposal at the Kansas Constitutional Freedom Primary Election Watch Party in Overland Park, Kansas. Photo: DAVE KAUP
The results showed that the former president, and his false claims that the 2020 election was tainted by fraud, still hold sway over Republican voters, while also suggesting that anger over the Supreme Court's June decision to end the nation-wide constitutional right to abortion could fire up Democrats ahead of the November midterm elections.
Kansas voters on Tuesday rejected the state constitutional amendment that would have declared there is no right to abortion, Edison Research projected, delivering a win to abortion rights advocates in a deeply conservative state.
The Kansas vote was the first state-wide referendum on abortion since the US Supreme Court overturned the Roe v. Wade decision in June. The ballot question drew national attention as an early indicator of whether abortion rights will motivate voters in November's midterm elections.
The amendment's failure will prevent Kansas' Republican-led legislature from passing severe abortion restrictions without violating the state constitution.
It will also preserve a key abortion access point in America's heartland. Patients travel to Kansas for abortions from Texas, Oklahoma, Missouri and other states that have banned the procedure almost entirely since the Supreme Court overturned Roe, the 1973 case that legalized abortion nation-wide.
US President Joe Biden said that the win to abortion rights advocates in a deeply conservative state showed that "the majority of Americans agree that women should have access to abortion."
"Congress should listen to the will of the American people and restore the protections of Roe as federal law," the US president said in a statement.
Kansas' Supreme Court ruled in 2019 that the state constitution protected abortion rights. As a result, Kansas has maintained more lenient policies than other conservative neighbours.
The state allows abortion up to 22 weeks of pregnancy with several additional restrictions including a mandatory 24-hour waiting period and mandatory parental consent for minors.
Michigan Republican gubernatorial candidate Tudor Dixon speaks at her primary election night party after winning the nomination. Photo: BILL PUGLIANO
Test for Trump-backed candidates
Tuesday, one of the biggest midterm primary nights of the year, underscored the continued dominance of Trump among Republicans and widespread support for his false claims that the 2020 election was rigged. It was also a warning for any would-be Republican challengers should he seek the White House again in 2024.
In the key battleground state of Arizona, state Representative Mark Finchem won the Republican nomination for secretary of state, a position that would give him enormous sway over the conduct of elections should he prevail against his Democratic opponent in November.
Finchem was present at Trump's Jan. 6, 2021, speech in Washington that preceded the attack on the US Capitol by Trump supporters and has continued to assert that the former president won the 2020 election.
In Michigan, Tudor Dixon, a conservative commentator who has echoed Trump's election claims, won the Republican nomination for governor and will face Democratic Governor Gretchen Whitmer in one of the most high-profile races this November, which will also revolve around abortion rights.
Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt, endorsed by Trump, secured the Republican nomination for governor. He will face Democratic Governor Laura Kelly in November in what is expected to be a highly competitive race.
Blake Masters, a former tech executive who has backed Trump's false fraud claims, secured the Republican nomination in the Senate race, the Associated Press said, and will face Senator Mark Kelly, seen as one of the most vulnerable Democratic incumbents. Masters has Trump's endorsement and the backing of tech billionaire Peter Thiel.
One of only 10 House Republicans who voted to impeach Trump following the U.S. Capitol attack, US Representative Peter Meijer of Michigan, lost to far-right challenger John Gibbs.
Gibbs, backed by Trump, was the beneficiary of Democratic advertising during the Republican primary, part of a risky and highly controversial strategy to try to elevate more vulnerable Republican candidates in swing districts even as party leaders warn they pose a danger to democracy.
Another Republican who voted to impeach Trump, Jamie Herrera Beutler of Washington, also faced a Trump-endorsed primary challenger. The results of that race were not expected to be known until later on Wednesday or Thursday.
Political analysts saw the rejection of the abortion limits ballot initiative as having wider implications for the coming general election.
With Biden's unpopularity weighing on Democrats heading into November's election, party leaders were likely heartened by the Kansas result. Democratic candidates are increasingly coalescing around the abortion issue in some swing districts to fend off challenges by Republicans, who are favored to win control of the House of Representatives and perhaps the Senate.
Control of either chamber would give Republicans the power to stymie Biden's legislative agenda while launching politically damaging hearings.
As he flirts publicly with the possibility of running for president again, Trump has endorsed more than 200 candidates. Most are safe bets - incumbent Republicans in conservative districts - but even in competitive races many of his candidates have prevailed.
"Trump remains really popular with Republican primary voters. I don't think you can underestimate how he has remade the party in his image," said Alex Conant, a Republican strategist. "Republicans who run against Trump tend to get trampled."
On Tuesday, Arizona voters were picking between Trump-backed gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake and Karrin Taylor Robson, who has the backing of Trump's former vice president, Mike Pence.
Lake, a former news anchor, echoes Trump's election falsehoods and has said she would not have certified Biden's statewide victory in 2020. At a recent campaign stop, Lake claimed without evidence that fraud has already occurred during early voting, suggesting she may not accept a defeat on Tuesday.
Arizona Secretary of State Katie Hobbs, who built a national profile by vociferously denying Trump's allegations, easily won the Democratic gubernatorial nomination, Edison Research projected.
In Missouri, Attorney General Eric Schmitt won the Republican nomination for US Senate, boosting his party's chances of holding the seat after scandal-hit former Governor Eric Greitens finished well behind.
- Reuters