While there are five states hosting primary elections on August 2, 2022, two states have hotly contested Congressional seats. Some of this is due to Donald Trump backed candidates, while other contests feature well-known, seasoned politicians that some believe will lose their seats. In Arizona, Governor Doug Docey is seeing the end of his term, but the primary candidates on both sides have made national news. In Missouri, retiring Senator Roy Blunt’s seat is open to candidates wrangling on both sides of the aisle.
In the Arizona primary, Blake Masters has made a name for himself as a former employee of Peter Thiel and a “MAGA” candidate. Masters is a venture capitalist and author. Masters co-wrote Zero to One: Notes on Startups, or How to Build the Future with Thiel, and Masters has been the chief operating officer for Thiel’s company. He was also a president of the Thiel Foundation.
Masters faces off on Tuesday against business owner Jim Lamon as well as the current Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich. Brnovich was among several Arizona officials who certified the 2020 election results, and there are those who believe that this will give Masters an edge over Brnovich.
Mark Kelly, currently the incumbent in this Senate race, won the seat during a special election in 2020. Kelly beat Martha McSally, who was a former fighter pilot and considered a highly conservative candidate. Kelly is a former astronaut. Should he win the November midterm elections, that would be Kelly’s first full term in the position.
Senator Kelly has been quite vocal in his cries for the Biden Administration to do something regarding the influx of undocumented migrants crossing the southern U.S. border. Some political pundits believe that the Biden Administration “quietly” approved completing four gaps in the border wall being constructed during the Trump Administration in order to garner Kelly more votes this Tuesday.
A Predictive Insights poll has Masters leading Lamon with 36 percent of the vote to Lamon’s 21 percent.
Another race in Arizona that is garnering national attention is the state’s gubernatorial race. Current governor Doug Ducey is a Republican, and he is limited to two terms. He has served for eight years, so he is not up for a primary election tomorrow. Most are looking at Kari Lake and Karrin Taylor Robson as the top Republican candidates.
Kari Lake, known for her pixie haircut and a Trump endorsement, is a former television news anchor. Her opponent, Karrin Taylor Robson, is a university regent and a real estate developer. Former Vice President Mike Pence has provided support to Robson.
The gubernatorial Republican race is another in which more conservative candidates are going after those seen as “RINOs” – Republican in Name Only.
A third candidate has dropped out of the Arizona gubernatorial race, but it is concerning that this candidate might pull votes away from Robson.
In Michigan, Governor Gretchen Whitmer is running unopposed in her primary, but there are multiple Republican candidates that would like to take her job in November. Initially, thirteen candidates were vying for the job, but the field has been narrowed to just five. Two of the candidates were “lockdown protestors.” Whitmer was known nationwide for her strict shut-down guidelines, some of which included not allowing citizens to get out and garden during the summer fo 2020.
Tudor Dixon is one of the Republican candidates vying to run against Whitmer. Dixon is a sales executive in her family’s steel business, and she has the support of former President Trump. Dixon is one who openly criticized the Whitmer COVID policies. She is also running on a platform that would ban the teaching of Critical Race Theory in Michigan classrooms.
Ryan Kelly is another Republican vying for his party’s nomination. Kelly once claimed that Whitmer should be arrested for her policies during the height of the pandemic.
Both Thiel and Trump have thrown their support behind Masters.
