Skip to Content

Here are the key House primaries to watch Tuesday

<i>Chris Seward/AP</i><br/>US Rep. Madison Cawthorn speaks in Selma
Chris Seward/AP
US Rep. Madison Cawthorn speaks in Selma

By Rachel Janfaza and Andrew Menezes, CNN

It’s Election Day in Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Kentucky, Idaho and Oregon as primary voters pick their party nominees for the 2022 midterms.

High-profile Senate races in the swing states of Pennsylvania and North Carolina have captured national attention, with control of the 50-50 chamber on the line in November. There are also a number of US House races that could determine whether Democrats continue to hold their five-seat majority. Nominees in several of these key contests, as well as competitive primaries in seats considered safe for one party, will be decided Tuesday.

The House elections this year are taking place under new congressional lines that were redrawn in redistricting following the 2020 census. North Carolina and Oregon gained a seat each in reapportionment — the Tar Heel state goes from 13 seats to 14, while Oregon goes from five to six. Pennsylvania is down to 17 seats, after losing one. There were no changes to the seat counts in Idaho (two) and Kentucky (six).

State courts approved the congressional maps in Pennsylvania and North Carolina. Idaho’s lines were approved by a bipartisan redistricting commission. The maps in Oregon and Kentucky were partisan affairs, with Democrats drawing the former and Republicans the latter.

Here’s a look at the House races we’re watching Tuesday:

North Carolina’s 1st District

Longtime Democratic Rep. G. K. Butterfield is retiring, leaving open an eastern North Carolina district that became slightly more Republican under the new map. Now-President Joe Biden would have carried the seat by 7 points. Candidates vying for the Democratic nomination include former state Sen. Erica Smith, a progressive who was previously running for US Senate before switching races, and state Sen. Don Davis, who has Butterfield’s endorsement and has benefited from spending by the AIPAC-aligned United Democracy Project. Republican contenders include Rocky Mount Mayor Sandy Roberson and Sandy Smith, whom Butterfield defeated in 2020.

North Carolina’s 4th District

Millions of dollars have been spent on the race to succeed retiring Democratic Rep. David Price in a deep-blue seat Biden would have carried by 35 points. Democratic candidates include state Sen. Valerie Foushee, who has benefited from spending by Protect Our Future, the super PAC funded by cryptocurrency billionaire Sam Bankman-Fried, and the United Democracy Project; Durham County Commissioner Nida Allam, who in 2020 became the first Muslim woman to win elected office in North Carolina; and Clay Aiken, the ex-American Idol star.

North Carolina’s 11th District

Freshman Republican Rep. Madison Cawthorn faces six primary challengers in this western North Carolina district, including state Sen. Chuck Edwards, who has the endorsement of the state’s junior US senator, Thom Tillis. Though Cawthorn has the backing of former President Donald Trump, he has sparked uproar in the GOP for a string of recent controversies. Other Republicans looking to oust him include GOP activist Michele Woodhouse and businessmen Bruce O’Connell and Matthew Burril. Trump would have carried the seat by 10 points in 2020.

North Carolina’s 13th District

This race for this open, redrawn district, which includes suburban Raleigh, is considered a toss-up by Inside Elections with Nathan L. Gonzales. Trump-backed Bo Hines, a former college football wide receiver, and former US Rep. Renee Ellmers are leading the pack of Republican contenders. On the Democratic side, former state Sen. Sam Searcy and current state Sen. Wiley Nickel are among those seeking the party nod. Biden would have carried the seat by 2 points.

North Carolina’s 14th District

State Sen. Jeff Jackson, who was previously running for US Senate, is the favorite for the Democratic nomination for this new district in the Charlotte area. Retired Army Green Beret Pat Harrigan, who owns a firearm manufacturing company, is the leading GOP contender. The National Republican Congressional Committee is targeting this district, which Biden would have carried by 16 points.

Pennsylvania’s 3rd Congressional District

Democratic Rep. Dwight Evans, who was first elected in 2016 after serving decades in the state legislature, faces a primary challenge from Alexandra Hunt, a 29-year-old public health researcher. Hunt has gained media attention for highlighting her personal story — she told CNN she had an abortion when she was 18 and previously worked as a stripper. She raised $630,000 through April 27, compared with $795,000 for Evans. No Republicans have filed for this deep-blue Philadelphia-area seat.

Pennsylvania’s 7th Congressional District

Democratic Rep. Susan Wild is running for a third term in a Lehigh Valley district that gained some Republican territory in redistricting. Republican Lisa Scheller, a businesswoman and former chair of the Lehigh County Board of Commissioners, is back for a rematch after losing to Wild by 4 points in 2020. Small-business owner Kevin Dellicker is also seeking the GOP nomination, but Scheller has far outpaced him in fundraising. While Biden carried the district under the current lines by 5 points, the redrawn seat would have backed him by less than a point.

Pennsylvania’s 8th District

Democratic Rep. Matt Cartwright is seeking a sixth term in his Northeastern Pennsylvania district that twice voted for Trump. He could face a rematch in November with Jim Bognet, who worked for the Export-Import Bank under Trump and has the former President’s endorsement. But Bognet will first have to get past former Hazleton Mayor Mike Marsicano, a onetime Democrat, in the GOP primary. The redrawn district picked up a few Democratic-leaning areas, but Trump would still have carried it by 3 points in 2020. Inside Elections rates the general election as a toss-up.

Pennsylvania’s 12th District

Democratic Rep. Mike Doyle’s retirement has opened up this Pittsburgh-area district, where the Democratic primary has devolved into an expensive, ideological showdown between the party’s establishment and progressive wings. Attorney Steve Irwin, the fundraising leader, has Doyle’s endorsement. Progressive state Rep. Summer Lee has the backing of Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, as well as the climate activist group Sunrise Movement. The seat became more Republican in redistricting, but Biden would still have carried it by 20 points.

Pennsylvania’s 17th District

This Western Pennsylvania seat is also open with Democratic incumbent Conor Lamb running for the US Senate. Navy veteran Chris Deluzio and LGBTQ Victory Fund adviser Sean Meloy are seeking the Democratic nomination. Businessman Jeremy Shaffer faces two other candidates in the GOP primary. Biden would have carried the redrawn seat by 6 points.

Oregon’s 4th District

Democratic Rep. Peter DeFazio is retiring after 18 terms, leaving behind a coastal seat that became more Democratic after redistricting. Oregon Labor Commissioner Val Hoyle is the leading candidate for the Democratic nomination. 2020 Republican nominee Alek Skarlatos, the Afghanistan War veteran who helped stop an armed terrorist on a train in France in 2015 and starred in a Clint Eastwood-directed movie about the incident, is running again. He lost to DeFazio by 5 points in 2020, but under the redrawn lines, Biden would have carried the seat by 13 points.

Oregon’s 5th District

Seven-term Democratic Rep. Kurt Schrader faces a primary challenge from his left from attorney Jamie McLeod-Skinner. Schrader earned the ire of progressives last year, voting against a measure allowing Medicare to negotiate prescription drug prices, against initial passage of the American Rescue Plan, and for Build Back Better only after working to decouple it from the bipartisan infrastructure bill. He has Biden’s endorsement in the race for the redrawn district, which stretches from the Portland suburbs to Bend. McLeod-Skinner has the backing of some local party leaders, as well as Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren and liberal groups such as the Working Families Party and Indivisible. Republicans are targeting the seat. GOP contenders include former Happy Valley Mayor Lori Chavez-DeRemer, who has the endorsement of House Republican Conference Chair Elise Stefanik’s leadership PAC, and businessman Jimmy Crumpacker. Biden would have carried the redrawn district by 9 points.

Oregon’s 6th District

The race for this new district, which includes Salem, earned headlines recently when House Majority PAC, the super PAC tied to Democratic House leadership, backed attorney Carrick Flynn. Other Democrats in the race, including state Rep. Andrea Salinas, have publicly questioned why the group decided to weigh in ahead of the primary for the Democratic-leaning seat. (Biden would have carried it by 13 points.) Other Democrats running include self-funder Cody Reynolds, who has loaned his campaign $2.2 million, and Matt West, a progressive scientist who released campaign NFTs. The seat is an NRCC target. Republican candidates include businessman Mike Erickson, who has run for Congress before, and Nate Sandvig, a renewable energy executive and Army veteran.

Kentucky’s 3rd District

Democratic Rep. John Yarmuth’s decision to retire at the end of the term has opened up this Louisville-area seat. The Democratic primary includes state Senate Minority Leader Morgan McGarvey, who has Yarmuth’s backing, and the more progressive state Rep. Attica Scott. Either Democrat would be the heavy favorite in November in a seat Biden would have carried by 22 points.

Idaho’s 2nd District

Twelve-term Republican Rep. Mike Simpson is being challenged from the right by GOP activist Bryan Smith, who ran against him in 2014 and lost by 23 points. Simpson raised $1.2 million through April 27, compared with $661,000 for Smith (including a $300,000 personal loan). The winner is not expected to have difficulty in November in a seat Trump would have carried by 23 points in 2020.

CORRECTION: This story has been corrected to reflect the process by which Pennsylvania’s new congressional map went into effect.

The-CNN-Wire
™ & © 2022 Cable News Network, Inc., a WarnerMedia Company. All rights reserved.

CNN’s Greg Krieg and Renée Rigdon contributed to this report.

Article Topic Follows: CNN - US Politics

Jump to comments ↓

CNN Newsource

BE PART OF THE CONVERSATION

KTVZ NewsChannel 21 is committed to providing a forum for civil and constructive conversation.

Please keep your comments respectful and relevant. You can review our Community Guidelines by clicking here

If you would like to share a story idea, please submit it here.

Skip to content