2026-08-05T04:27:30.905Z / https://www.cnn.com/2026/08/05/politics/takeaways-michigan-missouri-kansas-virginia-washington-primaries
密歇根州正在计票，该州的民主党选民正在敲定一场参议院初选，这已成为今年迄今最重要的一场考验，检验民主党选民如何权衡意识形态与 electability（当选可行性）两大问题。
进步派候选人、前公共卫生官员阿卜杜勒·埃尔赛义德与立场更温和的众议员黑利·史蒂文斯展开角逐，胜者将在11月对阵共和党前众议员迈克·罗杰斯。现任参议员加里·彼得斯即将退休，保住这一席位对民主党至关重要——这是他们在今年中期选举中获得净增4个席位以拿下参议院多数党地位所需的关键一战。
截至周三凌晨，选举结果胶着，仍有大量选票尚未统计完成。
“我们早知道这场选举会势均力敌，现在的局面也确实如此，”史蒂文斯在凌晨1点前于竞选总部对支持者说道。
埃尔赛义德随后在其总部发表讲话，表示他本希望宣布胜选，并补充道：“我们团结的地方远多于分歧的地方。因此，今晚所有到场、正在电视前观看的支持者们：明天我们就开始弥合分歧。”
这场选举是周二堪萨斯、密歇根、密苏里、弗吉尼亚和华盛顿州初选中最受关注的对决，也是多场进步派与温和派对决之一。
选民敲定了密歇根和堪萨斯州州长竞选的对阵双方，同时在弗吉尼亚州的关键国会选区选举中选出了本党候选人。在密苏里州，一名现任民主党议员击退了一名争取夺回旧席位的民主社会主义者前众议员。
以下是周二初选的初步总结：
圣路易斯选区进步派未能获胜
进步派未能在圣路易斯拿下胜利，温和派众议员韦斯利·贝尔轻松击败前众议员科里·布什——后者是民主社会主义者、曾是“国会进步党团（Squad）”成员，二人此番是再次对决。
这个黑人选民约占选民总数一半的选区，其竞选的特点远不止意识形态分歧。
二人此前就曾交手：布什在2020年击败了一名民主党现任议员，但在四年后的另一场初选中输给了贝尔。尽管两人风格迥异——布什是激进的进步派斗士，贝尔则将自己塑造成共识导向的问题解决者——但贝尔并不像2020年布什击败的前众议员莱西·克莱那样拥有在华盛顿的长期任职经历。
此次竞选也不存在代际更替因素：布什现年50岁，贝尔现年51岁。
| 候选人 | 得票率 |
| — | — |
| 韦斯利·贝尔* 民主党 | 59.2% 83,663 |
| 科里·布什 民主党 | 36.9% 52,083 |
密歇根州第七国会选区将出现桑德斯盟友左翼候选人
今年11月密歇根州至少有一场关键竞选将出现一位与伯尼·桑德斯结盟的左翼候选人。
民主社会主义者、气候活动家威廉·劳伦斯在密歇根州第七国会选区的三方初选中胜出，此前两位更具建制派色彩的候选人——前美国驻乌克兰大使布里奇特·布林克和海豹突击队退役老兵马特·马斯达姆——瓜分了剩余选票。
劳伦斯接下来将参与一场被民主党建制派部分人士担忧可能会让他们失分的竞选：对阵共和党众议员汤姆·巴雷特的摇摆选区关键席位争夺战。
此前，《赫芬顿邮报》披露了劳伦斯2024年的言论，称黑人政治领袖“削弱了白人左翼的力量”，劳伦斯的竞选活动因此遭到国会黑人核心小组甚至众议院少数党领袖哈基姆·杰弗里斯的严厉批评。
这场竞选将是对桑德斯支持的左翼候选人在摇摆选区表现的罕见考验——与埃尔赛义德在参议院初选的情况类似。
| 候选人 | 得票率 |
| — | — |
| 威廉·劳伦斯 民主党 | 43.7% 55,007 |
| 布里奇特·布林克 民主党 | 28.8% 36,238 |
| 马特·马斯达姆 民主党 | 27.5% 34,677 |
共和党推动的 ballot measure（公民投票提案）改革尝试惨败
共和党一直对左翼公民投票提案的成功做出回应，试图推动选民通过提案，提高公民投票提案的通过门槛。
但问题在于：选民始终拒绝这类策略。周二的选举再次给出了明确的否决——实际上是一场彻底的失败。
密苏里州选民以压倒性优势否决了第4号修正案。这是共和党主导的提案，要求选民提出的公民投票提案必须获得该州每个国会选区的多数票才能通过。这将大幅提高这类提案的通过门槛——目前仅要求获得全州范围内的多数票即可通过，而该修正案将允许共和党占优的选区 effectively veto（有效否决）全州性提案。
截至周二深夜，该修正案仅获得20%的支持率。
差距比平时更大，但结果并不意外。2023年俄亥俄州选民以两位数优势否决了共和党将公民投票提案通过门槛提高至60%的提案。阿肯色州和南达科他州也以巨大优势否决了类似提案。南达科他州早在2018年就否决了将门槛提高至55%的提案。
近期唯一的例外是亚利桑那州：该州选民在2022年以微弱优势通过了一项要求60%多数票门槛的提案，但仅适用于增税议题。
共和党在周二的另一项公民投票提案尝试也宣告失败：堪萨斯州选民否决了一项将州最高法院大法官改为民选的提案。（目前大法官由州长任命，尽管堪萨斯是红色州，但该州也曾选出多位民主党州长。）此举旨在推翻2019年堪萨斯州最高法院关于堕胎权利的裁决。
密歇根州并非唯一一个民主党内部纠结于能否选出合适候选人的州。
堪萨斯州州长竞选也是如此，州参议员辛迪·霍尔舍尔击败了州参议员伊桑·科森。
科森曾得到即将卸任的温和派民主党州长劳拉·凯利、前州长凯瑟琳·西贝利厄斯以及其他建制派人士的背书。霍尔舍尔尽管履历偏向温和派，但竞选时采取了更具对抗性的民粹主义风格，并承诺直接与共和党交锋。
尽管堪萨斯是红色州，但多年来该州也曾选出多位民主党州长。霍尔舍尔接下来将对阵州参议院议长泰·马斯特森——后者在特朗普背书下轻松赢得共和党初选。
| 候选人 | 得票率 |
| — | — |
| 辛迪·霍尔舍尔 民主党 | 48.6% 107,061 |
| 伊桑·科森 民主党 | 38.8% 85,570 |
周二其他的州长初选在密歇根州举行，结果基本符合预期。民主党国务卿乔斯林·本森轻松获胜，将对阵获得特朗普背书的共和党众议员约翰·詹姆斯。詹姆斯击败了商人、曾作为冷门候选人参选总统的佩里·约翰逊。
民主党州长格蕾琴·惠特默因任期限制无法连任。
亚当·汉密尔顿是联合卫理公会大型教会牧师，也是一位多产的筹款人，他赢得了民主党提名，将挑战共和党参议员罗杰·马歇尔——这为民主党提供了一个争夺席位的冷门机会，以达成他们在11月拿下参议院多数党地位所需的净增4个席位的目标。
他有望成为堪萨斯州近年来偶尔打破深红州刻板印象的最新例证。凯利在2018年和2022年两次州长竞选中共击败共和党候选人。在美国最高法院推翻罗伊诉韦德案后不久的2022年，堪萨斯州选民以压倒性优势否决了一项声称州宪法未赋予堕胎权的修正案。
汉密尔顿在竞选头两个月筹款超过360万美元，在6月30日结束的筹款周期结束时，手头仍有260万美元现金。他在周二击败了其他10位民主党候选人，而马歇尔也轻松克服了微弱的党内反对。
汉密尔顿面临的最大挑战可能是如何让自己与在堪萨斯州不受欢迎且正快速左倾的民主党切割。
要赢得选举，他可能需要大量选民在参议院竞选和州长竞选之间拆分选票——而州长竞选可能是共和党在11月拿下州行政职位的最佳机会。
在周二接受CNN记者杰克·塔珀采访时，汉密尔顿表示，他不确定今年击败几位民主党现任议员的民主社会主义者是否“在全国范围内拥有势头”。他说，堪萨斯人是“中间派”。
| 候选人 | 得票率 |
| — | — |
| 亚当·汉密尔顿 民主党 | 34.9% 76,105 |
| 克里斯蒂·戴维斯 民主党 | 14.2% 30,996 |
Takeaways from Tuesday’s primaries in Michigan, Missouri, Kansas, Virginia and Washington
2026-08-05T04:27:30.905Z / https://www.cnn.com/2026/08/05/politics/takeaways-michigan-missouri-kansas-virginia-washington-primaries
Votes are being counted in Michigan, where Democratic voters are settling a Senate primary that has become the year’s most significant test of how the party’s electorate is weighing questions of ideology and electability.
Progressive former public health official Abdul El-Sayed faces the more moderate Rep. Haley Stevens in the race to take on Republican former Rep. Mike Rogers in November. Holding onto the seat, now held by retiring Sen. Gary Peters, is crucial to Democrats’ chances of the net four-seat gain they need in this year’s midterm elections to win a Senate majority.
The race was tight, with many votes left to count, as of early Wednesday morning.
“We knew this was going to be a close race, and that’s exactly what we’ve got,” Stevens told supporters at her campaign headquarters just before 1 am.
In remarks at his headquarters soon after, El-Sayed said he wished he was declaring victory, adding: “There is so much more that unites us than divides us. And so, to all of our supporters here tonight, watching on TV: Tomorrow we begin to mend fences.”
It was the most closely watched race — and one of multiple progressive vs. moderate contests — on Tuesday’s slate of primaries in Kansas, Michigan, Missouri, Virginia and Washington state
Voters set the matchups in the governor’s races in Michigan and Kansas. They also chose their nominees in key congressional races in Virginia. And an incumbent Democrat held off a democratic socialist former congresswoman vying to win back her old seat in Missouri.
Here are early takeaways from Tuesday’s primaries:
Progressives were unable to score a win in St. Louis, where moderate Rep. Wesley Bell easily fended off former Rep. Cori Bush, a democratic socialist and one-time member of the “Squad,” in a rematch.
This race, in a district where Black voters make up about half of the electorate, carried plenty of its own hallmarks beyond their ideological divide.
The two had faced off before: Bush defeated a Democratic incumbent in 2020, only to lose the seat in another primary four years later to Bell. And while the two have much different styles — Bush is a progressive brawler; Bell casts himself as a consensus-building problem solver — Bell doesn’t have the same long tenure in Washington that former Rep. Lacy Clay did when Bush ended his 20-year stint in the House in 2020.
There was also no generational-change factor in the race: Bush is 50 and Bell is 51.
| CANDIDATE | VOTES |
| — | — |
| Wesley Bell* Democratic | 59.2% 83,663 |
| Cori Bush Democratic | 36.9% 52,083 |
At least one key November race in Michigan this November will feature a left-wing candidate allied with Bernie Sanders.
Democratic socialist and climate activist William Lawrence won a three-way primary in Michigan’s 7th District, after two more establishment-oriented candidates — former US Ambassador to Ukraine Bridget Brink and Navy SEAL veteran Matt Maasdam — split the rest of the vote.
Lawrence now advances to a place some in the Democratic establishment have worried he might cost them: in a top-targeted race against GOP Rep. Tom Barrett.
Lawrence’s campaign was heavily criticized by the Congressional Black Caucus and even House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, after the Huffington Post published Lawrence’s 2024 remarks saying that Black political leaders “defang the White left.”
The race sets up a rare test of a Sanders-backed, left-wing candidate in a swing race – similar to what El-Sayed would be in the Senate race.
| CANDIDATE | VOTES |
| — | — |
| William Lawrence Democratic | 43.7% 55,007 |
| Bridget Brink Democratic | 28.8% 36,238 |
| Matt Maasdam Democratic | 27.5% 34,677 |
A GOP effort to make ballot measures harder crashes and burns
Republicans keep responding to the success of left-wing ballot measures by asking voters to pass ballot measures that would make ballot measures more difficult.
The problem? Voters keep rejecting these gambits. And Tuesday brought a big rejection — a spectacular one, in fact.
Voters in Missouri overwhelmingly rejected Amendment 4. This was a GOP-led effort to require ballot measures proposed by voters to get a majority of every congressional district in the state. That would greatly increase the threshold for passing such measures, which currently only require a majority of the statewide vote, instead allowing heavily GOP districts to effectively veto them.
As of late Tuesday night, the amendment was receiving just 20% of the vote.
The margin was bigger than usual, but the outcome was familiar. Ohio voters in 2023 rejected by double-digits a GOP effort to raise the threshold for ballot measures to 60%. Similar efforts also failed by huge margins in Arkansas and South Dakota. South Dakota also rejected raising it to 55% back in 2018.
The one recent exception? Arizona, whose voters in 2022 narrowly passed a measure requiring a 60% threshold, but only for raising taxes.
Republicans also failed Tuesday on another ballot measure push, with Kansas voters rejecting an effort to make state Supreme Court justices popularly elected. (As it stands, they are appointed by the governor, and Kansas has elected plenty of Democratic governors despite being a red state.) The move was aimed at trying to overturn a 2019 ruling on abortion rights.
Michigan wasn’t the only place where Democrats were wondering whether they would get the right nominee.
That was also true of the Kansas governor’s race, where state Sen. Cindy Holscher defeated state Sen. Ethan Corson.
Corson had been endorsed by moderate term-limited Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly as well as by former Gov. Kathleen Sebelius and other establishment figures. Holscher, while having something of a moderate record, ran with a more combative, populist style while promising to take Republicans head-on.
While Kansas is a red state, it has elected a number of Democratic governors over the years. Holscher now faces state Senate President Ty Masterson, who easily won the GOP primary with Trump’s endorsement.
| CANDIDATE | VOTES |
| — | — |
| Cindy Holscher Democratic | 48.6% 107,061 |
| Ethan Corson Democratic | 38.8% 85,570 |
The other gubernatorial primaries Tuesday night were in Michigan, and they turned out about as expected. Democratic Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson sailed to victory and will face Trump-endorsed GOP Rep. John James. James defeated businessman and former long-shot presidential candidate Perry Johnson.
Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer is term-limited.
Adam Hamilton, a United Methodist megachurch pastor who has proven to be a prolific fundraiser, won the Democratic nod to take on Republican Sen. Roger Marshall — giving the party a long-shot chance at picking up a seat as they look for paths to the net four-seat gain they need to win a Senate majority in November.
He’s vying to be the latest example of Kansas occasionally showing a willingness to buck its deep-red reputation in recent years. Kelly twice beat Republicans in the red state during her two runs for governor in 2018 and 2022. And in the immediate wake of the US Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade, voters in 2022 overwhelmingly rejected an amendment that said there was no constitutional right to abortion in the state.
Hamilton raised more than $3.6 million in the first two months of his campaign and closed the fundraising period that ended June 30 with $2.6 million in the bank. He bested 10 other Democrats on Tuesday, while Marshall also overcame nominal opposition.
The toughest task for Hamilton could be separating himself from a Democratic Party that is already unpopular in Kansas and rapidly shifting leftward.
To win, he could need huge numbers of voters to split their tickets between the Senate contest and a race for governor that represents potentially the GOP’s best opportunity to pick up a state executive seat in November.
In an interview with CNN’s Jake Tapper on Tuesday, Hamilton said he doesn’t know that democratic socialists who have knocked off several Democratic incumbents this year have “a momentum across the country.” Kansans, he said, are “centrist people.”
| CANDIDATE | VOTES |
| — | — |
| Adam Hamilton Democratic | 34.9% 76,105 |
| Christy Davis Democratic | 14.2% 30,996 |