Good evening. America’s biggest state by population is holding a big primary election today. California voters are choosing from a crowd of candidates vying to succeed the term-limited Democratic governor, Gavin Newsom. And they’re also making picks in the state’s 52 congressional districts. The governor’s race appears to have three leading candidates: Xavier Becerra, a former Biden administration official backed by many moderate Democrats; Tom Steyer, a billionaire and progressive Democrat; and Steve Hilton, a Republican and former Fox News host. California has nonpartisan primaries, which means the top two candidates will advance to the general election in November, regardless of party. Hilton and the Republicans are hoping to avoid being shut out of the general election altogether. Don’t expect quick results. In part because most California voters use mail-in ballots, the outcomes of some races may not become clear for days. You can follow our coverage of the California races here. But California is just one of six states holding primaries on Tuesday: Voters also headed to the polls in Iowa, Montana, New Jersey, New Mexico and South Dakota. We have more live coverage for those races. Among those states, the marquee race is in Iowa, which is holding one of the most closely watched Senate primaries in the nation. The conservative-leaning state has not been represented by a Democrat in the Senate in over a decade, but optimistic Democrats believe they have a shot to reclaim a seat this cycle. Senator Joni Ernst, a Republican, is vacating her seat, and the state’s farm-heavy economy has been hit hard by President Trump’s trade policies. Two state lawmakers are running in the Democratic primary in Iowa: Josh Turek, a moderate endorsed by Pete Buttigieg, and Zach Wahls, a progressive backed by Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts. Several states are hosting attention-grabbing House primaries. In northern New Jersey, Democrats are picking a candidate to run in a battleground district where the Republican incumbent, Representative Thomas Kean Jr., has not been seen publicly in months. Three hours before polls closed, Kean’s office issued a statement attributed to him that said he was recovering from a medical condition. It said that he understood the “need for transparency” and that he would share more “within a matter of weeks.” We’ll be back midday tomorrow to fill you in on what happened across the country, and what might be next. See you then!
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