Key Insights from Recent Tuesday Primaries in New Jersey, Montana, and Beyond

Primary contests in five states and Washington, D.C., showed incumbent lawmakers continue to have staying power.

Council members from the nation’s capital to elected officials in Iowa, Montana, and New Jersey defeated challengers and easily won their primaries.

President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump easily won primaries Tuesday night, but both 2024 candidates continue to face protest voters.

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Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT) is set to face Republican Tim Sheehy in one of the most watched Senate races this election cycle that will help decide control of the upper chamber, while Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ) opted for an independent bid in a last-ditch effort to save his seat.

Here are the Washington Examiner’s top takeaways from Tuesday’s primaries.

It’s official: Jon Tester will face Tim Sheehy for Senate seat

Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT) will face Republican Tim Sheehy in November. Sheehy, a former Navy SEAL, won the GOP primary Tuesday night defeating two other Republicans.

Tester easily defeated a primary challenge from Democrat Michael Hummert.

Republicans are eager to take on Tester in one of the top target Senate races the GOP could flip to take back control of the upper chamber. They already have a favorable chance of flipping outgoing Sen. Joe Manchin’s seat (D-WV) in the fall.

The GOP has sought to link Tester to Biden but the Montana Democrat has gone out of his way to highlight his independence from the president.

Rep. Matt Rosendale (R-MT) initially ran for the Senate GOP primary before dropping out of the race after Trump endorsed Sheehy. State Auditor Troy Downing won the GOP primary for the 2nd Congressional District, which Rosendale currently represents.

Menendez dynasty isn’t over despite corruption allegations

Rep. Andy Kim (D-NJ) won the Democratic Senate primary in New Jersey receiving 75.3% of the vote with 74% of the vote counted. Kim’s defeat of two other Democrats puts him one step closer to winning a Senate seat in blue-leaning New Jersey.

But embattled incumbent Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ) isn’t giving up his seat easily. Menendez filed to run as an independent for the seat, although he lacks campaign staff.

Menendez is on trial for corruption charges that include bribery and acting as a foreign agent for Egypt and Qatar. Fellow Democrats in the Senate have pressured Menendez to resign, including fervent denunciations from Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA).

Menendez and Kim will also face Republican Curtis Bashaw, who defeated the Trump-endorsed Mendham Borough Mayor Christine Serrano Glassner, for the Senate seat in the fall.

Rep. Rob Menendez (D-NJ), Menendez’s son, won his reelection primary for New Jersey’s 8th Congressional District against Hoboken Mayor Ravi Bhalla, continuing his family’s legacy.

The junior Menendez won 53.8% of the vote in New Jersey’s 8th Congressional District against Bhalla’s nearly 35.6% with 81% of votes counted.

(New Jersey state Rep. Herb Conaway won the contested Democratic primary to replace Kim’s seat New Jersey’s 3rd Congressional District.)

Incumbents defeat primary challengers

Iowa Rep. Randy Feenstra (R) fended off a primary challenge from Kevin Virgil for the state’s 4th Congressional District. With approximately 97% of the vote counted, Feenstra led Virgil, 60% to 40%, according to the Associated Press, which called the race at 9:10 p.m. local time.

Feenstra will face Democratic candidate Ryan Melton, who won his party’s nomination on Tuesday after running uncontested.

Fellow Iowan Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R) won the GOP primary for the state’s 1st Congressional District defeating Republican David Pautsch, 55.4% to 44.6%, with 87% of votes counted for.

Miller-Meeks will face Democrat and former state Rep. Christina Bohannan again after their matchup during the 2022 midterms.

Montana Rep. Ryan Zinke (R) won his reelection bid in Montana’s 1st Congressional District fending off a challenge from Mary Todd. The Associated Press shows Zinke beating Todd, 75.2% to 24.8% with a quarter of votes counted.

Gov. Greg Gianforte (R-MT) trounced a primary challenge from Tanner Smith, 77% to 23% with a third of votes counted, according to the Associated Press. Gianforte will face Democrat Ryan Busse in the fall.

Incumbents prepare to defend seats in November

Democrat Lannon Baccam won the primary race to face off against first-term Rep. Zach Nunn (R-IA), in the 3rd Congressional District, the most competitive district in the Hawkeye State. The seat will help determine whether Republicans hold on to their slim control of the House or if Democrats can flip control.

Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-NM) will face Republican Nella Domenici after the two candidates both ran unopposed in their primary races. Domenici is the daughter of six-term Republican Sen. Pete Domenici.

The Senate race has been rated “Solid Democrat” by the Cook Political Report.

Protest votes against Trump and Biden

Although Biden easily won Democratic presidential primaries, there remains a persistent group of Democrats who continue to snub the president due to his handling of the Israel-Hamas war.

In New Jersey, Biden won 88.5% of the vote with 85% of votes counted, while “uncommitted” garnered nearly 9% of the vote.

In the nation’s capital, Biden won 89% of the vote with 72% of the votes counted. More than 8% of voters opted to write-in a candidate rather than vote for Biden. In New Mexico, Biden won nearly 85% of the vote with “uncommitted” garnering 9.1% with 62% of votes counted.

Biden won 92.3% of the vote in Montana with 31% of the vote counted while “no preference” won 7.7%.

After being convicted of 34 criminal counts last week, Trump faced some protest votes. Nikki Haley won 8.9% of the vote in New Mexico and another 4% voted uncommitted in the primary.

However it was no match for the former president who won nearly 84% of the vote with 68% of votes counted.

In Montana, Trump won nearly 89.6% of the vote with 24% of votes counted, according to the Associated Press. But “no preference” won more than 10.4% of the vote, a worrying sign for Trump in red-leaning Montana.

New Mexico opponents face off again

Rep. Gabe Vasquez (D-NM) and Republican candidate Yvette Herrell will face off once again come November after they both won their uncontested primaries.

The battle for New Mexico’s 2nd Congressional District will be one of the most competitive races in 2024 after Vasquez defeated Herrell by less than 1 point in the 2022 midterm elections.

Before that, Herrell held the seat after winning the district by 7.4 points in 2020.

The seat is considered a tossup and is rated as D+1.

D.C. lawmakers have a good primary night

D.C. Council Member Robert White cruised to reelection, easily defeating former comedian Rodney “Red” Grant for the at-large seat.

White won after receiving 84% of the vote with 42% of the ballots tallied in the district. His victory puts him in a position to win reelection in November as Democrats are favored to win all council seats in the district.

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White has served on the D.C. Council since 2016.

D.C. Council Member Janeese Lewis George (D-Ward 4) also easily won reelection, despite criticisms of being soft on crime, as did Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D).

The competitive race for Ward 7, an open seat, has not yet been called as of early Wednesday morning.

Cami Mondeaux and Ramsey Touchberry contributed to this story.