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By Daniela Altimari and Mary Ellen McIntire

American politics is defined by partisan divides, disenfranchised voters, big money and powerful political parties.

Some advocates assert that nonpartisan primaries could solve at least some of those problems. 

Under such a system, all candidates, regardless of party affiliation, compete on the same primary ballot.

Three states currently deploy this approach. In Alaska, the top four candidates advance to the general election ballot, which is decided by ranked choice voting; while in California and Washington state, the top two primary finishers compete in November.

Voters in Massachusetts will consider a ballot question this fall that, if approved, would make the Bay State the fourth.

Supporters say nonpartisan primaries would give unaffiliated voters a greater voice in choosing candidates, which is especially important in states where one party holds most of the political leverage and primaries are, in effect, the general election. 

Such a system would foster greater competition, bolster voter turnout and dilute the power of political parties by forcing candidates to appeal to a broad swath of the electorate, not just the party base, advocates say.

Critics counter that nonpartisan primaries empower big-money interests by allowing deep-pocketed outside influencers and wealthy candidates to spend their way to the top amid crowded fields.

And they say such a system could leave a large chunk of the electorate “orphaned” in November. That’s what happened in California this year, where general elections in several key House races are one-party affairs, including the contest for the redrawn 40th District between Republican Reps. Young Kim and Ken Calvert. 

Those arguments against nonpartisan primaries helped sink similar ballot measures in Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada and South Dakota in 2024.

This week’s outcome in Alaska provides more fodder for opponents of nonpartisan primaries: In a 15-candidate field for the state’s at-large House seat, the person currently in fourth place is Democrat Eric Hafner, a perennial candidate who currently resides in a federal prison in New York. According to the Anchorage Daily News, a shadowy group had spent money boosting Hafner’s candidacy. 

According to The Associated Press, Hafner had 4,954 votes with 80 percent of the vote counted, as of 8 p.m. Wednesday.

Alaska voters narrowly rejected an attempt to repeal the top-four primary system via ballot measure in 2024. They get a do-over this fall, with a similar proposal on the November ballot.

Starting gate

Florida recap: It was a busy Tuesday night in the Sunshine State, as embattled Republican Rep. Cory Mills lost his primary to former TV news anchor Ryan Elijah. President Donald Trump, who had endorsed Mills earlier this year before the congressman’s scandals gathered steam, later threw his support behind Elijah, revealing he had previously urged Mills to drop out of the race. In other key contests, state Rep. Angie Nixon scored an upset win in the Democratic Senate primary, while Democratic Reps. Jared Moskowitz and Debbie Wasserman Schultz held off primary challenges.

Cowboy State consequences: Wyoming Secretary of State Chuck Gray beat out eight competitors to win the Republican primary for the state’s at-large House seat, putting him on a glide path to succeed GOP Rep. Harriet M. Hageman, who easily won her Senate primary.

But Trump suffered a setback, with his preferred candidate for governor falling in the Republican primary.

Photos of the week: With primaries in a handful of New England states looming, Roll Call photojournalist Tom Williams recently visited Massachusetts and New Hampshire, where he caught up with Democratic candidates on the campaign trail, including stops at a “speed dating” event and a softball game.  

Third time’s a charm: Trump has returned to floating a bid for a third term, our colleague John T. Bennett reports, though he acknowledged the constitutional roadblocks in his way: “Everybody wants me to do it, but the law is very strong.”

Red to blue: The DCCC added five more candidates to its “Red to Blue” program for strong challengers: Leela Gray in Florida’s 13th District; Zach Dembo in Kentucky’s 6th; Matt Dunlap in Maine’s 2nd; Nancy Lacore in South Carolina’s 1st; and former Rep. Tom Perriello in Virginia’s 5th.

ICYMI

#FL09: Navy veteran Dan Green has clinched the Republican nomination for Central Florida’s 9th District. He was leading farmer Ben Butler by fewer than 600 votes with more than 95 percent of votes counted, when The Associated Press called the race Thursday. Green will face Democratic Rep. Darren Soto in a redrawn district that Trump would have carried by 18 points in 2024.

#CA14: The all-Democratic special election to succeed disgraced former Rep. Eric Swalwell in California’s 14th District remains uncalled as of early Thursday afternoon. State Sen. Aisha Wahab leads Bay Area Rapid Transit Board President Melissa Hernandez 51 percent to 49 percent, with an estimated 62 percent of votes counted, the AP reported. Meanwhile, federal agents have reportedly seized electronic devices from Swalwell and searched his Washington home as part of an investigation in sexual misconduct allegations.

Show-Me the map: A Missouri judge cleared the way for the state to use its new congressional map in this year’s midterm elections, but the question of whether the map should be put to a statewide vote is likely to end up before the state Supreme Court.  

Teaming up: Pennsylvania Democrats Bob Harvie, Bob Brooks, Paige Cognetti and Janelle Stelson have announced a joint fundraising committee as they seek to flip four House seats in the battleground state this fall. 

#MASEN: New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is backing Sen. Edward J. Markey’s reelection bid, while Markey’s opponent in the Sept. 1 Democratic primary, Rep. Seth Moulton, picked up the endorsement of The Boston Globe editorial board. 

Crossing lines in California: Venture capitalist Eric Jones’ challenge to 14-term Rep. Mike Thompson, a fellow Democrat, in California’s 4th District got a boost from Republican Ray Riehle, who finished third in the June 3 all-party primary. Though they hail from different parties, Riehle shares a disdain for deeply entrenched Democrats, The (Santa Rosa) Press Democrat reported.

#MIGOV: Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, the Democratic nominee for governor, has selected state Senate Majority Leader Winnie Brinks as her running mate. Benson faces Republican Rep. John James, who last week also picked a state legislator as his lieutenant governor choice.

Win one, lose some: Florida Democrats who once served in Congress had mixed fortunes in their comeback bids Tuesday. Charlie Crist, the state’s former governor now running for St. Petersburg mayor, advanced to a runoff against incumbent Ken Welch. But former Rep. Stephanie Murphy came up short in her race to be the next mayor of Orange County, home to Orlando. She finished third. And former Reps. Alan Grayson, a perennial candidate, and Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick were unsuccessful in their bids for the 7th and 20th districts, respectively. 

Nathan’s notes

Less than three months out from Election Day, control of Congress remains in play and Republicans continue to look vulnerable in both House and Senate battlegrounds, according to Roll Call elections analyst Nathan L. Gonzales of Inside Elections. 

Inside Elections recently updated its race ratings in 11 midterm contests across the country, 10 of them in Democrats’ favor, Nathan writes. 

What we’re reading 

Primary colors: Democratic voters in Connecticut opted for generational change by casting out longtime Rep. John B. Larson last week. NOTUS traveled north on Interstate 91 and to see if the same dynamic is at play across the border in Massachusetts, where 77-year-old Rep. Richard E. Neal is facing an under-the-radar challenge from Jeromie Whalen, a 39-year-old public school teacher.

#MISEN: Michigan Democrat Abdul El-Sayed’s primary win this month could complicate Democrats’ path to the Senate majority, The Washington Post reports, with many Jewish voters alarmed at his harsh criticism of Israel. 

Trickle-down campaigning: Democrats are looking to strong gubernatorial nominees in Pennsylvania and Iowa to help boost candidates running to flip key House seats, National Journal reports. 

No love lost here: NOTUS talked to Florida freshman Rep. Mike Haridopolos, who played a key role in recruiting Elijah to challenge Mills, believing the incumbent was a threat to the Republican House majority. 

Where is the tan suit?: WBEZ in Chicago is revisiting one of Washington’s most absurd political controversies as it issues a public call for information about former President Barack Obama’s infamous tan suit.

The Count: $1.8 million

That’s how much former Arizona Sen. Kyrsten Sinema spent on security — between her official Senate account and her campaign committee — over the near-four-year period beginning in October 2021, when Vrindavan Gabbard Bellord, the younger sister of Tulsi Gabbard, joined her Senate staff. 

In the four years before the hire, Sinema’s office and campaign security spending totaled just $1,175, federal filings show.

Notably, Gabbard Bellord was the one who employed Matthew J. Ammel, whose wife has sued the former senator under North Carolina’s so-called homewrecker law for engaging in an extramarital affair with Ammel, as Sinema testified to in a July 31 deposition recently made public.

Gabbard Bellord left Sinema’s staff in October 2023, and Ammel went on to work for Sinema’s new security provider, Kinsaker Security Group, founded months earlier by another Senate office staffer, Shawn Kinsey. Between his Senate salary and campaign work for Sinema, who left office in 2025, Kinsey and his company were paid more than $1 million over the next two years. 

– By Roll Call’s Ryan Kelly

Key race: #NH01

Candidates: Both parties have a crowded field of candidates running to succeed Democrat Chris Pappas in New Hampshire’s 1st District. On the Democratic side, the field includes Stefany Shaheen, a former member of the Portsmouth City Council and the daughter of retiring Sen. Jeanne Shaheen; Marine Corps veteran Maura Sullivan, who previously ran for the seat in 2018; state Rep. Heath Howard; Hampton Select Board Chairwoman Carleigh Beriont; Army National Guardsman and former Pentagon lawyer Christian Urrutia; former state Rep. Bill Conlin; Sarah Chadzynski; Matthew Emerson; and Sarah Bella Spinosa. Republican contenders include businessman Anthony DiLorenzo; businesswoman Hollie Noveletsky, who lost the Republican primary for the seat two years ago; state Rep. Brian Cole; and Lindsey Anderson.

Why it matters: Pappas, who has held the battleground seat since 2019, is running for the state’s open Senate seat. On the Democratic side, Shaheen and Sullivan are locked in an increasingly tense race. Republicans, meanwhile, are hoping to flip the district, which once routinely swung between the parties but has been in Democratic hands for the past decade. 

Cash dash: Sullivan has led the fundraising race so far, bringing in $3.3 million through the end of June, with $1.6 million banked. Shaheen reported raising $2.2 million and had $1.2 million on hand. Urrutia raised just over $1 million, the only other Democrat to reach that threshold at the end of the second quarter, closing with $220,000 in the bank. On the GOP side, DiLorenzo raised $2.3 million through June 30, including a personal loan of under $1.7 million, and had $1.2 million banked. Noveletsky raised $551,000 and had $292,000 on hand, while Cole hauled in $483,000 and had $126,000 available. A few outside groups have been spending in the Democratic primary. Shaheen has benefited from spending from Article One PAC, LCV Victory Fund and No Kings PAC. VoteVets has spent over $1 million to support Sullivan, who has also benefited from outlays from the Servant-Leader Fund Inc.

Backers: Sullivan has touted her support from fellow veterans, including Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger and New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill, as well as Reps. Pat Ryan, Jason Crow and Chrissy Houlahan, among others. Shaheen has touted endorsements from the American Federation of Teachers and the League of Conservation Voters Action Fund, as well as Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly. DiLorenzo won Trump’s coveted endorsement, and is also supported by the NRCC and Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan. Melissa Bailey, who was previously running for the seat, has also been campaigning for him.

What they’re saying: Shaheen has made health care a central focus of her campaign, saying in a recent ad that Trump was “slashing your health care to pay for his ballrooms, bombs, and tax breaks for billionaires.” This week, she released another ad, accusing Sullivan of funding her campaign with mostly out-of-state donations. Sullivan, a member of the so-called Hell Cats, has emphasized her military service, campaigning this week with Sherrill. In one ad, she notes her service in Iraq and ties it to the current conflict with Iran: “I’ll be damned if I’m going to sit by while Trump gets us into another costly foreign war,” she says. Both Howard and Urrutia have sought to fill the progressive lane. DiLorenzo has touted his business acumen and appeared with Energy Secretary Chris Wright this week. Cole has touted his experience in the state House, while Noveletsky, in a recent debate, pointed to her family’s steel fabrication company, stressing the need for more domestic manufacturing jobs. 

Terrain: The 1st District covers much of the eastern part of New Hampshire, including Manchester, the state’s largest city. Kamala Harris carried the district by 2 points in 2024, while Pappas won a fourth term with 54 percent of the vote. Inside Elections rates the race Lean Democratic. 

Wild card: Republican Gov. Kelly Ayotte, who is favored to win a second term this year, carried the 1st District by 10 points in 2024, according to calculations by Inside Elections.

Coming up

South Carolina Republicans on Tuesday will pick their nominee to replace the late Sen. Lindsey Graham on the November ballot. Darline Graham, who was appointed to fill her brother’s remaining term, and Rep. Ralph Norman are facing off in a run-off election. Trump is scheduled to rally with Graham in Myrtle Beach on Friday. 

Other run-off elections taking place Tuesday include primaries for governor and Senate in Oklahoma and an all-Democratic race in Georgia to choose a successor to the late Rep. David Scott.

Photo finish

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