Oconomowock, Wisconsin (CNN)Vermont to send first woman to Congress. The matchup is set in the Wisconsin Senate election, the most competitive of this year'smidterm elections. Meanwhile, in Minnesota, progressive "squad" member Rep. Ilhan Omar surprisingly survived. A close race for her seat in the House of Representatives, based in Minneapolis.
Wisconsin's Republican gubernatorial primary is the night's most watched race. It has devolved into a proxy war between former President Donald Trump and former Vice President Mike Pence over the direction of the Republican Party. Trump-backed businessman Tim Michels faces off against Pence-backed former Lieutenant Rebecca Kleefisch and former governor Scott Walker, who she served as No. 2 in the state for eight years.
Three takeaways from Tuesday's primaries in Wisconsin, Minnesota, Vermont and Connecticut:
Vermont Democrats win House seat. Balint Elected
Balint will enter the November general election as the overwhelming favorite to win a seat.
A former schoolteacher, Balint had the support of other leading progressive groups and politicians. While Gray fell short of stating her formal endorsement, she did garner support from more moderate state leaders, including Leahy, who said he voted for her, former Vermont governor Howard Dean and Madeleine Kunin also supported Gray.
However, Balint's success in claiming the progressive mantle in a contest in which there were few notable policy differences between the front-runners was met by Senator Elizabeth Warren and Neighbors. It likely helped her, as she was also endorsed by Senator Ed Markey of Massachusetts, among major voters who tend to lean even further left than the average Vermont Democrat.
Wisconsin Senate Election Decided
The Wisconsin Senate General Election has been ticking for weeks. But on Tuesday night it started in earnest.
Republican Senator Ron Johnson won the reelection primary easily, and Democratic Senate candidate and Wisconsin Lt. won.
Johnson vs. Burns race will be the most watched campaign of the 2022 cycle will be one of her Republicans have launched a series of attacks against Democrats who hold ties to former President Donald Trump and some progressive positions they believe are out of step with most voters in Wisconsin. has angered Democrats with its adoption of conspiracy theories.
Johnson and Burns are politically at odds, but stunned to define each other, calling each other "out of touch," extreme, and inconsistent with state voters.
Omar survived surprising nail-biting
Samuels ran as a pro-police critic in response to Omar's call to "stop defending the police." Samuels and his wife sued the City of Minneapolis and succeeded in forcing the city's charter-mandated 741 police officers to increase the number of police officers.
Jacob Frey of Minneapolis The mayor endorsed Samuels last week, who also received support from unions under construction, several suburban mayors and more moderate DFL leaders.