Michigan Rep. Rashida Tlaib wins Democratic primary race

In other races Tuesday, Rep. Haley Stevens ousted Rep. Andy Levin from Congress after prevailing in their Democratic primary in Michigan. Another of Tlaib’s Squad colleagues, Missouri Rep. Cori Bush, won her Democratic primary, and in Arizona, a leading figure in the QAnon conspiracy movement was badly trailing in his Republican primary.

Some of the top elections:

FACING VOTERS AFTER IMPEACHMENT VOTES

The three House Republicans facing primary challenges Tuesday for impeaching Trump say they don’t regret their vote.

In Michigan, Meijer voted for impeachment just days after he was sworn into office for his first term. The former president has endorsed Meijer’s opponent, John Gibbs, a businessman and missionary who served in the Trump administration under Housing Secretary Ben Carson.

The two were in a tight race Tuesday night. Gibbs has contended Meijer is not a true Republican because he voted to impeach Trump, and has chastised Meijer for supporting bipartisan gun control legislation that President Joe Biden signed into law in June.

Meijer, a member of the Army Reserves who served in Iraq, has criticized Biden over the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, as well as his handling of the economy. The congressman’s family is well known in the Midwest as owners of the chain of Meijer grocery megastores, and he had a large fundraising advantage over Gibbs. The winner will face Democrat Hillary Scholten in November in the state’s Democratic-leaning 3rd Congressional District.

In Washington state, the two Republicans who voted for impeachment are competing in crowded primaries, from which the top two vote-getters, regardless of political party, will move on to the general election in November.

Herrera Beutler’s primary against eight challengers, four of whom are Republicans, in Washington state’s 3rd Congressional District will be one of the toughest of her career. Trump is backing Joe Kent, a former Green Beret who has promoted the former president’s lies that the 2020 election was stolen.

Herrera Beutler has been in Congress since 2011 and represents an area that has favored Republicans.

In the central part of Washington, Newhouse, a four-term congressman, is facing seven challengers, six of whom are Republicans, in the solidly conservative 4th Congressional District. His rivals include Loren Culp, a former small-town police chief who refused to concede the governor’s race in 2020. Culp has Trump’s backing but has lagged other candidates in fundraising.

CANDIDATE LINKED TO QANON

Ron Watkins, one of the most prominent figures in the QAnon conspiracy movement, will not be heading to Congress this year.

Watkins was in dead last in early returns in his Republican primary for Arizona’s sprawling 2nd Congressional District. He served as the longtime administrator of online message boards that helped seed the conspiracy movement whose adherents believe a group of satanic, cannibalistic child molesters secretly runs the globe.

Watkins no longer runs the message boards and has denied fueling the QAnon movement. He said he was running for Congress because he hopes to “fix the machine from the inside.”

He was considered a long shot in the crowded GOP field, having been outpaced in campaign fundraising by the other candidates.

State Rep. Walter Blackman and Eli Crane, a former Navy SEAL who owns a bottle opener business and was endorsed by Trump, were at the top of field on Tuesday night. The winner will take on Democratic U.S. Rep. Tom O′Halleran in November in a district that favors Republicans.

FROM COLLEAGUES TO COMPETITORS

Stevens’ victory over Levin came in a newly drawn 11th Congressional District in suburban Detroit that favors Democrats, which means Stevens will likely win the seat in November’s general election.

Stevens got a financial boost from the United Democracy Project, a super PAC launched by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, commonly called AIPAC. Levin, a progressive member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, has been highly critical of Israel’s record on human rights.

The congresswoman flipped a district in 2018 that was long held by Republicans. Before running for office, she led the auto bailout under President Barack Obama.

Levin also won his first term in 2018, taking over the seat long held by his father, Rep. Sander “Sandy” Levin. He had been endorsed by Sens. Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren.

CHALLENGING THE ‘SQUAD’

In Michigan, Tlaib faced three Democratic challengers as she seeks a third term in office this year. She’s running in a newly drawn Detroit-area district that favors Democrats. She is expected to easily carry the 12th Congressional District seat in November. Tlaib’s main competition was longtime Detroit City Clerk Janice Winfrey, who had strong name recognition in the city.

Bush’s win in Missouri came as she makes her first reelection campaign in the state’s 1st Congressional District. She defeated state Sen. Steve Roberts, who hedged his campaign on the idea that Bush, a vocal advocate for defunding the police and moving money to social services and mental health programs, was too liberal even for heavily Democratic St. Louis.

Bush touted her accomplishments, including persuading the Environmental Protection Agency to clean up radioactive waste near a St. Louis County creek, pushing for climate change action and standing against evictions during the COVID-19 pandemic.

10 YEARS AFTER TUCSON SHOOTING, INTERN SEEKS GIFFORDS’ SEAT

Daniel Hernandez Jr., the hero intern credited with saving Rep. Gabrielle Giffords’ life after an attempted assassination in 2011, is running for her former seat in Congress.

Hernandez, who recently stepped down from the state Legislature to focus on his campaign, faces another former lawmaker in the Democratic primary. However, the once highly competitive district centered in Tucson now favors Republicans after the boundaries were redrawn.

Hernandez was a 20-year-old college student in his first week interning for Giffords when he went to her “Congress on your corner” constituent event. A gunman there opened fire, killing six and injuring 13. Hernandez kept the Democratic congresswoman conscious and applied pressure to her head wound until paramedics arrived.

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Associated Press writers Sara Burnett in Chicago, Felicia Fonseca in Flagstaff, Ariz., Joey Cappelletti in Lansing, Mich., Jonathan J. Cooper in Phoenix, Rachel La Corte in Olympia, Washington, and Jim Salter in St. Louis contributed to this report.

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Follow AP for full coverage of the midterms at https://apnews.com/hub/2022-midterm-elections and on Twitter at https://twitter.com/ap_politics.

Michelle L. Price, The Associated Press

by Canadian Press

Michigan Rep. Rashida Tlaib wins Democratic primary race

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