The Latest: Michigan Democratic Senate primary is a test between progressives and the establishment

Michigan will offer the country its clearest gauge yet on the direction of the Democratic Party, as primary voters in the battleground state choose between a progressive standard-bearer and an establishment-backed candidate.

Although there have been similar contests around the country, this one will hold extra weight because Michigan is a key state in presidential races. Abdul El-Sayed, backed by Sen. Bernie Sanders, is up against four-term Rep. Haley Stevens, supported by Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer.

Democratic and Republican voters in Michigan are also deciding on their parties’ nominees to succeed term-limited Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.

In Kansas, Missouri, Virginia and Washington state, voters are settling primaries in a host of races, including a key rematch between Democrats in a Missouri House contest. Also in play is whether Democrats, who tried to redraw districts in Virginia to their advantage but were rebuffed by the state supreme court, can pick candidates who can defeat Republicans in the fall.

Here is a look at the Latest:

Line stretches outside Detroit’s Majestic Theatre ahead of El-Sayed’s primary night event

Red and blue lights point down from the ceiling. Red and blue streamers hang from the walls. A podium stands empty with a sign that reads “Michigan is Not For Sale.”

The stage is set at Detroit’s Majestic Theatre for a night that Abdul El-Sayed and his supporters expect to be a celebration. Dozens of media members and cameras filled the music venue as supporters of the Senate candidate filed into an overflow room.

A massive screen on stage displayed CSPAN, where a countdown to Michigan’s first polls closing ticked down to 8 p.m. ET.

Marie Gluesenkamp Perez faces a long-shot challenge from the left

Gluesenkamp Perez has won twice in a district that voted for Trump, and she’s become known nationally for warning fellow Democrats that they’re losing touch with the blue-collar voters she represents.

But she has faced vocal opposition from some on the left angry with her for occasionally voting with Republicans, including for the Laken Riley immigration bill and resolutions censuring progressive House members.

Those votes and others are powering Brent Hennrich’s challenge to Gluesenkamp Perez, though he struggled to raise the money and progressive endorsements that have helped insurgent challengers topple Democratic incumbents in Colorado and New York.

Meanwhile, Republican officials and donors have largely coalesced around John Braun, the state Senate Republican leader.

Under Washington’s top-two primary, Braun will appear alongside Gluesenkamp Perez, Hennrich and several lesser-known candidates on the same ballot, and the top two finishers will advance to the general election in November.

Polls have closed in Virginia

In-person Election Day voting ended at 7 p.m. ET in Virginia. Comparable past elections can offer clues about when to expect the first vote results and how long the vote count might take.

In the 2025 general election for Virginia governor, the AP first reported results at 7:10 p.m. ET, or 10 minutes after polls closed. The last vote update of the night was at 1:52 a.m. ET, with more than 99% of total votes counted.

▶ Follow tonight’s results in Virginia

A court order blocking Kansas abortion laws fuels calls for electing justices

District Judge K. Christopher Jayaram’s order Monday permanently blocked the enforcement of numerous restrictions, including a long-standing law requiring patients to wait 24 hours to have an abortion.

He’d put enforcement on hold in October 2023 ahead of the trial of a lawsuit from abortion providers.

With polls open for primaries Tuesday, the anti-abortion group Kansans for Life cited the decision in urging voters to approve a state constitutional amendment to elect Kansas Supreme Court justices rather than having the governor appoint them. Backers want to push the court to the right.

Jayaram ruled from Johnson County in the Kansas City area about two hours before being sworn in as the Kansas Supreme Court’s newest justice. Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly appointed him to a vacant seat in July.

Maryland lawmakers vote to place redistricting amendment on November ballot

Voters will decide whether to clear the way for a new congressional map that would favor Democrats in all eight of the state’s U.S. House districts. Democrats currently hold seven of the House seats.

If voters approve the constitutional amendment, a redrawn map could kick in for 2028.

Maryland is moving more slowly than the 10 states that have passed new district boundaries for this year’s elections. States usually make new maps only after new census counts are released early each decade.

Detroit couple like Abdul El-Sayed’s support for ‘healthcare for all’

Craig and Regina Kuper were in Detroit’s Eastern Market, where, to their delight, the progressive candidate dropped by Tuesday.

“We just feel that, first of all, healthcare for all is really important,” said Regina Kuper, 78.

“There’s not a lot of humanity in politics,” Craig Kuper, 81, added in, seeming to suggest El-Sayed was an antidote.

While progressive politics, such as El-Sayed’s, are often associated with younger voters, Regina Kuper said support for him in the city runs the gamut, as she listed off the neighborhood’s where she’s seen campaign signs.

A proposal to change the Kansas Supreme Court is shadowed by an earlier abortion vote

Kansas voters were considering a measure that would make the seven justices elected statewide starting in 2028 rather than initially appointed by the governor.

The proposal, an amendment to the state constitution, is backed by Republican legislators, abortion opponents and other conservative activists. They believe voters would choose more conservative justices who would overturn the high court’s landmark 2019 ruling that the Kansas Constitution protects access to abortion.

Those lawmakers and activists backed a proposed amendment in 2022 that would have nullified the decision, but voters soundly rejected it.

Currently, a lawyer-led commission screens Supreme Court applicants and picks three nominees for each vacancy. The governor chooses from that list, and legislators have no role. Voters then decide every six years whether they want each justice to stay on the bench.

Missouri election chief rejects referendum on Trump-backed congressional districts

Missouri’s top election official has rejected a citizens’ petition seeking a statewide referendum on new congressional districts backed by President Donald Trump.

Supporters of the referendum had submitted hundreds of thousands of petition signatures in a bid to force a November election on a new U.S. House map approved by the Republican-led state Legislature. But Republican Secretary of State Denny Hoskins asserted Tuesday that the petition is unconstitutional because congressional redistricting plans cannot be subject to voter referendums.

A group backing the referendum effort has said it will challenge Hoskins’ decision in court.

The new map, which is being used in Tuesday’s primaries, dramatically reshapes the Kansas City-based 5th Congressional District, held by longtime Democratic Rep. Emanuel Cleaver, by stretching it into rural central Missouri to give it a Republican tilt. Republicans already hold six of Missouri’s eight congressional seats and hope to gain another under the new map.

Trump’s influence will be tested in Michigan’s GOP primary for governor

Trump has endorsed U.S. Rep. John James and invited him onstage during a recent rally in the state. Business owner Perry Johnson, who’s also seeking the nomination, held a tailgate with supporters on the same day.

Most of the candidates backed by Trump have won their primaries across the country this year — but not all of them.

In Texas, Trump’s endorsement boosted Ken Paxton in the Republican primary for the U.S. Senate over Sen. John Cornyn. In Louisiana, Trump-backed U.S. Rep. Julia Letlow won the Republican nomination for Senate over Sen. Bill Cassidy, who voted to convict the president during his 2021 impeachment trial.

After Indiana state lawmakers rejected a White House-backed redistricting plan last year, Trump endorsed seven state Senate candidates, most of whom won their primaries in May.

Trump-endorsed candidates who lost their primaries for governor include Rep. Randy Feenstra of Iowa and Burt Jones in Georgia.

In the Democratic primary for Michigan governor, Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson is the frontrunner against Genesee County Sheriff Chris Swanson.

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This item has been corrected to show that Johnson’s event was on the same day as Trump’s speech, but at a different location.

Detroit voter casts ballot for McKinney over incumbent Thanedar for 13th House District seat

Bernie Henderix, 58, of Detroit, voted Tuesday for state Rep. Donavan McKinney in the Democratic 13th House District primary.

McKinney is challenging incumbent Shri Thanedar. Detroit has not had Black representation in Congress since 2022. McKinney is Black. Thanedar was born in India.

Henderix said he’s heard good things about McKinney and it’s important for the city to have Black congressional representation. “But I want the best person I think is going to represent us the best way,” he said.

He also voted for U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens over Abdul El-Sayed in the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate.

“I like the way she talks. I know she talks about she’s going to go up against Trump, so I really like that,” Henderix said. “We need somebody to check him (Trump). He’s out of control.”

Henderix does have concerns about the current state of the Democratic party.

“We’re too weak,” Henderix said, adding that he doesn’t like the split between traditional Democrat and progressives. “We’re Democrats. But I think everybody is getting sick of this Trump mentality.”

El-Sayed voter says his progressive campaign appeals to younger voters eager for change

Jordan Snyder, 20, said she was voting for Abdul El-Sayed because of his advocacy for Palestinians, opposition to data centers and the fact that she views him as “a candidate that I feel like I can trust.”

El-Sayed’s progressive platform has proven popular among younger voters, some of whom say they are disillusioned with both political parties.

“People are feeling like a lot of the people that they’ve trusted that have been in government haven’t really been living up to expectations,” Snyder said.

She believes people are more willing to vote for a progressive candidate than in the past, citing New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who ran a viral social media campaign and was buoyed by younger voters. Snyder said she has heard more directly from El-Sayed on social media and thinks he has a good chance of winning against Republican Mike Rogers in the November general election, especially if a lot of younger people vote.

“As far as me and my friends are concerned, he’s kind of the only candidate we’re interested in,” Snyder said.

Kansas voters are choosing party nominees for an open governor’s race

Two-term Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly cannot run again, and both major parties had contentious campaigns ahead of Tuesday’s primaries.

The departing governor’s party has lost every open race for governor since 1962, but Democrats hope centrist voters unhappy with President Donald Trump and worried about the state shifting hard to the right will help them break that trend.

Republican candidates include Kansas Senate President Ty Masterson, Secretary of State Scott Schwab, Insurance Commissioner Vicki Schmidt and a Kansas City-area businessman Philip Sarnecki.

The Democrats running are state Sens. Ethan Corson and Cindy Holscher and Overland Park Mayor Curt Skoog.

Missouri ballot measure seeks to axe the income tax in favor of more sales taxes

The Missouri measure marks the first time since the modern income tax began over a century ago that a U.S. state legislature has asked voters whether to eliminate the tax.

Amendment 5 would direct the legislature to phase out the individual income tax as state revenue grows. To spur that along, it also allows lawmakers to expand the sales tax to “any goods and services.” It gives them five years to decide which sales to tax without needing further voter approval.

Alaska is the only state so far to impose a general individual income tax and then repeal it, doing so in 1980 by a legislative vote.

Massachusetts voters rejected income tax eliminations in 2008 and 2002 that were initiated by citizens, not lawmakers.

Another Virginia voter says she’d ‘never’ vote for a Democrat

Republican voter Chris Weymouth, 85, cast a ballot in a Richmond suburb for Bert Mizusawa in the Republican Senate primary. The winner of that three-way race will face a stiff general election challenge from Democratic Sen. Mark Warner, the longtime, well-funded incumbent.

Weymouth, who said Democrats have moved so far left she would “never” consider voting for one, said Mizusawa — a decorated Army veteran — won her support in the primary because she believed he would put America first, support the Constitution and protect America’s freedoms. Her faith also guided her vote, she said.

One Virginia voter wants someone ‘gung ho’ on supporting progressive issues

Devin Garcia, 30, voted in suburban Richmond for Salaam Bhatti, a public interest lawyer running for the Democratic nomination in Virginia’s 1st Congressional District. The winner of the seven-way nomination contest will face longtime Republican incumbent Rob Wittman. The 1st district leans red, but Democrats are hopeful they can flip it.

Garcia backed Bhatti over more centrist candidates in the race, including establishment favorite Shannon Taylor, wanting someone “gung ho” about supporting progressive politics, including diversity initiatives, abortion access and affordable health care.

“I do think that we need more bold people that are going to take a real stand. The Trump administration isn’t fighting fair, and I think caught the Democrats on the back foot,” Garcia said.

Stevens voter wants to see bipartisan work, says AIPAC questions have overshadowed primary race

Birmingham resident Nessa Fuller, 51, said she voted for Stevens because she will “fight to get the right things done, and she’ll work with other people.”

Fuller, who wore a Haley Stevens T-shirt outside her polling place, said she has progressive values but no longer identifies with the term as it has swung too far left. Rhetoric within the progressive wing that Fuller describes as antisemitic has overshadowed what she supports, she said, including in El-Sayed’s campaign.

“Here’s the deal with Abdul, I think, in the Jewish community. The question is, do you vote for your values? Do you take Israel out of the equation and say, these are social justice issues that we agree with, and I’m going to vote for you?” Fuller, who is Jewish, said. “I don’t think one issue should crowd out everything else. So it’s a conundrum.”

While Fuller agrees with some elements of El-Sayed’s campaign and said she would vote for him in November if he wins the primary, she isn’t sure all Democratic voters will do the same.

Missouri Republicans are picking a candidate in a congressional district reshaped at Trump’s request

A six-way Republican primary will settle who will try to unseat Democratic Rep. Emanuel Cleaver in a dramatically reshaped district.

Missouri was the second Republican state, after Texas, to respond to Trump’s call last year to redraw congressional districts to the GOP’s advantage ahead of the midterms. The revamped map stretches Cleaver’s Kansas City district eastward into rural central Missouri to give the new 5th District a Republican tilt.

The GOP race features state Sen. Rick Brattin, a Marine veteran and founding member of the conservative Missouri Freedom Caucus. Brattin and fellow primary contestant Taylor Burks both ran unsuccessfully in 2022 for an open seat in Missouri’s 4th District.

Burks is a Navy officer who once served as a local election official in the University of Missouri’s home of Boone County.

Cleaver is unopposed for the Democratic nomination.

Abdul El-Sayed dances to Michigan Democratic Senate primary finish line

El-Sayed stopped by Detroit’s Eastern Market to talk to voters, going at one point to dance with a group of ladies in a Zumba class at the market.

“That’s generally how we operate,” El-Sayed told AP about the joyful tone to end his campaign. “The hope here is we build a world where people are free to actually fully enjoy their lives.”

Michigan lawmaker wants Detroit to have a Black representative in Congress again

Rep. Shri Thanedar is trying to fend off a primary challenge from state Rep. Donavan McKinney in a heavily Democratic district representing Detroit.

Thanedar first won election in 2022, marking the first time since the early 1950s that Detroit had no Black representation in Congress.

McKinney wants to change that. He’s trying to win office in the 13th District, which includes most of Detroit and other parts of Wayne County.

Thanedar was born in Indian. Since 2022, Democrat Rashida Tlaib, who is Palestinian American, has represented the 12th Congressional District, which also includes other parts of Detroit.

McKinney, who is Black, first was elected in 2022 to Michigan’s state House. He has been endorsed by influential progressive U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders and several Detroit-area state lawmakers.

Wildfires disrupt primary voting in eastern Washington

The elections office in Spokane County, where wildfires have forced thousands to evacuate and destroyed hundreds of structures, says some voters are reporting that they had left their ballots behind when their homes were evacuated.

The secretary of state’s office says any voter who needs a replacement ballot should print one off the state’s website or go to a county elections office to receive one. Election officials say they have two centers open in Spokane County to help affected voters.

“We are here to assist them and ensure they can cast a ballot,” Spokane County Auditor Vicky Dalton said in an online post. “This is one small aspect of normalcy we can offer in what is otherwise a traumatic and overwhelming situation.”

The state’s most closely watched primary, in the 3rd Congressional District, was far south of the major wildfires.

Washington conducts its elections almost entirely with mail ballots.

Stevens casts her ballot, says she will focus on local priorities

U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens cast her ballot Tuesday afternoon at a public library in her hometown of Birmingham, Michigan, amid a slow trickle of voters.

“We’re getting everybody all excited and we’re ready for tomorrow,” she said. “I think we’re seeing a lot of great turnout.”

While speaking to the press, she positioned herself as someone who will focus on local priorities.

“Our voices often times get drowned out. They get drowned out by podcasts. They get drowned out by, you know, Twitch streamers. They get drowned out by other national priorities,” she said.