Primary election results from California and 7 other states' races
Tuesday marked one of the most closely-watched election days before November's midterm elections as Alabama, California, Iowa, Mississippi, Montana, New Jersey, New Mexico and South Dakota held major primaries. Here are some of the most significant results.
Primary election live updates below:
California primary results: Gavin Newsom, John Cox advance
Governor race - Democrat Gavin Newsom and Republican John Cox advance to November
California's House, Senate and gubernatorial primaries on Tuesday were dubbed a "jungle primary," or a nonpartisan blanket primary as it's more formally known. It put all candidates together in one big primary regardless of what party they belong to.
Democratic Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom and businessman Republican John Cox will advance to the ballot in the gubernatorial race come November, CBS News projects. They were the top two vote getters, according to the California Secretary of State primary results.
"Thanks to you, the halftime score is looking very promising," Newsom said as he took the stage, adding it was "not a victory speech."
California Attorney General primary results
California Attorney General Xavier Becerra will face a retired Republican judge in his bid to keep the job he was appointed to last year, The Associated Press projected.
The Democrat had about 45 percent of votes Tuesday and retired former Judge Steven Bailey had about 26 percent, with nearly 3 million votes counted in the four-way race. GOP attorney Eric Early and Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones, a Democrat, trailed behind.
U.S. Senate & House representatives
Becerra, a longtime congressman, was appointed last year to replace Kamala Harris when she was elected to the U.S. Senate.
- Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein took first place in her party's California primary, advancing to the general election for a possible fifth full term, but her opponent wasn't clear as of the early morning
- House Minority Leader and Democrat Nancy Pelosi will also advance to November, the AP projects.
- Both top members of the House Intelligence Committee, GOP Rep. Devin Nunes and Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff, will also advance to November.
But the results of several California races appeared up in the air as of early morning. In California, anyone can vote by mail, and most do. As long as the ballot is postmarked by Tuesday, the vote is valid. In some close contests, those votes could be deciding factors. Polls closed at 11 p.m. EDT.
L.A. Registrar "random issue" leaves over 100,000 voters off in L.A.
California's primaries are arguably the most-watched of Tuesday night. But a snafu has already complicated the state's complicated election night.
Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder Dean Logan told CBS Los Angeles voters whose names did not appear on the roster at their polling place would be given provisional ballots, after a printing issue affected the voter rolls of more than one in four precincts. A total of 118,522 names were omitted.
Balance of power
California is of particular importance to the Democrats in their quest to take back the House. In 2016, Hillary Clinton won seven of the districts held by House Republicans. The Democrats have their sights set on turning as many of these seats blue as possible. A number of Republicans in California aren't returning to Congress after 2018, leaving their seats as possible pick-ups for Democrats.
In all those House races that were being watched for a potential shutout of Democratic or GOP candidates, there wasn't certainty. As of early morning, those seats were still very potentially shaping up as D-R races for the fall, but as expected, many votes are left to count.
President Trump tweeted his support of California Republicans House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy as well as Nunes. The AP projected after midnight that McCarthy will win the GOP nomination.
In California's 39th District, home to retiring GOP Rep. Ed Royce, Republican Young Kim was leading the pack, followed by Gil Cisneros, a Democrat.
Christina Bellantoni, assistant managing editor for politics at the Los Angeles Times, told CBSN that in California, "You've seen the Democratic Congressional Committee actually spend to...prop up Republicans."
One key race is in the 48th Congressional District, currently represented by Republican Rep. Dana Rohrabacher. The Associated Press announced after 2 a.m. that he will advance to November.
"I was out talking to voters in Huntington Beach, which is Dana Rohrabacher's 48th Congressional District," Bellantoni said. "Many people didn't even know who he was. Somebody told me he thought 'she' was doing a really good job in Congress."
State races
There were significant state-level elections, too. Nearly two-thirds of voters case their ballots to recall Democratic state senator Josh Newman, after he voted to raise a gas tax last year. Former Assemblywoman Ling Ling Chang, a Republican, will take his place.
The loss of Newman cost Democrats their super-majority in the state Senate.
The AP said voters opted to recall Santa Clara Judge Aaaron Persky from office after he sentenced Stanford University swimmer Brock Turner to a relatively short sentence in jail instead of prison. Turner was convicted of sexual assault.
South Dakota primary results: Kristi Noem advances to governor race in November
South Dakota governor race
The AP projected Rep. Kristi Noem has won the GOP primary against state Attorney General Marty Jackley, in her bid to become governor. Noem will advance to the ballot in November in the heavily Republican state. The AP projects she will run against Billie Sutton, presumed Democratic nominee for governor.
Congressional Race
According to the South Dakota Secretary of State, Dustin "Dusty" Johnson won the Republican nominee for the South Dakota House of Representatives race this November. He had 47% of the votes, edging
New Mexico primary results: Mick Rich, Martin Heinrich advance
New Mexico Senate race
The AP has called the Republican race for Senate for Mick Rich. The AP also called the Democratic nomination for Senate in favor of Martin Heinrich.
House of Representatives
The AP also projected Debra Haaland to win the Democratic nomination in the state's first congressional district. According to the New Mexico Secretary of State unofficial results, Haaland had 40.57% of the vote.
New Mexico governor race
In the gubernatorial contest, the AP projected that Rep. Michelle Lujan Grisham will win the Democratic primary. If she wins in the fall, she would take over from another Hispanic female governor, Susana Martinez, who is term limited.
Iowa primary results
The AP called the Iowa Democratic primary for retired Des Moines businessman Fred Hubbell. He will face Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds come November. Election officials, according to the AP, said the race appeared to have record turnout.
The AP called the Democratic primary in Iowa's fourth congressional district for J.D. Scholten.
The AP also called the Democratic primary in Iowa's third congressional district for Cindy Axne. CBS News ranks Iowa's Republican-held third congressional district, which stretches from Des Moines to the Nebraska border, as probably competitive as the Democrats hope to unseat Republican incumbent David Young.
Montana primary results: Matt Rosendale edges out Russ Fagg
United States Senator race
Montana's November Senate race will be incumbent Democratic Senator John Tester against state auditor Matt Rosendale, according to the AP. According to the Montana Secretary of State, Rosendale had 34% of the vote and ended off former Yellowstone County District Judge Russell Fagg (28%), Troy Downing (19%) and Albert Olszewski (19%).
The Republican primary hopefuls vying to take on Tester had aligned themselves with Mr. Trump and his policies. Tester was one of the most vocal critics of Ronny Jackson, Mr. Trump's nominee to be Veterans Affairs secretary.
House of Representatives race
Democrat Kathleen Williams will advance to November's Congressional race, winning 34% of the primary vote. She edged out John Hehenan (32%), Grant Kier (24%), Lynda Moss (5%), John Meyer (3%) and Jared Pettinato (2%) for the Democratic nomination.
Greg Gianforte took the Republican nomination and Doug Campbell will be the Green Party nominee in November's Congressional election.
Alabama primary results
Alabama governor race
The AP projected Republican Kay Ivey as the nominee for governor in the GOP primary. Ivey currently serves as the state's governor, after taking over when former Gov. Robert Bentley resigned in 2017. The Democratic nominee for the gubernatorial race will be Walt Maddox.
U.S. Congressional representative race
Democrats Robert Kennedy, Jr., Tabitha Isner, Mallory Hagan and Lee Auman won their respective districts. The Republican primary winners were Martha Roby, Mallory Hagan, Robert Aderholt and Mo Brooks.
Mississippi primary results
The Associated Press called the Republican primary race for Senate in favor of incumbent Sen. Roger Wicker.
Mr. Trump tweeted Tuesday morning ahead of the election, urging his support of Wicker who has "done everything necessary to make America great again!"
"Get out and vote for Roger, he has my total support!" he added.
The special election to replace retiring Republican Senator Thad Cochran will not take place until November 6. Since Mississippi special elections are nonpartisan, all candidates will run together on a single ballot in November, regardless of political party.
The AP called the Republican race in Mississippi's 4th Congressional District for incumbent Rep. Steven Palazzo. He defeated primary challenger Brian Rose.
New Jersey primary results: Bob Menendez, Bob Hugin win nominations
New Jersey Senate Race
The Associated Press has called the Democratic Senate primary for incumbent Sen. Bob Menendez, although the race was a close one for an incumbent against a little-known candidate. Menendez decided to run for Senate again after the Justice Department decided not to re-try a corruption case against him.
The AP also called the Republican primary for U.S. Senate in favor of wealthy former biopharmaceutical executive and Marine Bob Hugin. Hugin defeated construction company executive Brian Goldberg, according to the AP. Hugin is a former Celgene Corp. executive.
The AP also called the Democratic primary in the state's 11th District for former Navy pilot and former federal prosecutor Mikie Sherrill. Sherrill won a five-way race in the district Democrats hope to flip with the retirement of Republican Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen.
In the 11th Congressional District, Republican New Jersey Assembly Jay Webber won the party primary, according to the AP.
In New Jersey's 2nd congressional district, which includes Atlantic City and CBS News rates as very likely competitive in November, the DCCC's endorsement of Jeff Van Drew to fill retiring Republican Rep. Frank LoBiondo's seat left many progressives frustrated.
President Trump praises GOP wins in California primary
Democrats will need to flip 23 seats in Republican-held districts in order to gain control of the House in 2018. CBS News rates 13 of the congressional districts holding primary elections on Tuesday as "very likely" or "probably" competitive this fall. Meanwhile, senators in California, Mississippi, Montana and New Jersey all faced primary challenges.