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As it happenedended

Primary elections 2022 latest: Trump-backed Republican wins in Illinois as New York’s governor cruises to victory

Colorado, New York, Illinois among states voting Tuesday

John Bowden
Wednesday 29 June 2022 12:37 EDT
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Lauren Boebert jokes Jesus didn't have enough AR-15s to save his life

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Tuesday saw another wave of primary showdowns across the country as US voters turned out to make crucial decisions ahead of November’s general elections.

This week’s challenges included the numerous battles taking place in New York, where redistricting as well as the resignation of Gov Andrew Cuomo have brewed up a particularly interesting election season. Gov Kathy Hochul won a nomination to serve her first full term as governor in New York, while JB Pritzker coasted to victory in his own primary in Illinois where he will now face David Bailey, a state senator, in the November general election.

Meanwhile in Colorado Rep Lauren Boebert became latest far-right Trump acolyte to win own primary challenge; she faced a challenge from Don Coram of the Colorado She

The first-term congresswoman faced a coordinated effort to dig into her past by David Wheeler, the head of the “Fire Boebert” PAC who previously led a drip-drip campaign of damaging revelations that contributed to Madison Cawthorn’s primary defeat in North Carolina.

ICYMI: Trump-backed candidate who said Roe ruling was ‘victory for white life’ wins Illinois primary

Rep Mary Miller has won the primary for Illinois’s newly-redrawn 15th congressional district; she defeated a more moderate Republican and fellow House member after winning the endorsement of former President Donald Trump.

At a recent rally over the weekend alongside the president she courted controversy with this statement in support of the Supreme Court’s ruling overturning Roe vs Wade: “President Trump, on behalf of all the Maga patriots in America, I want to thank you for the historic victory for white life in the Supreme Court”.

Her spokesperson later said the remark was a slip of the tongue.

Read more from The Independent’s Eric Garcia:

Trump-backed candidate who called Roe ruling ‘victory for white life’ wins primary

Representative Mary Miller beats representative Rodney Davis in a member-on-member primary

John Bowden29 June 2022 13:00

Rudy Giuliani’s son defeated in New York

Andrew Giuliani lost his first bid for political office on Tuesday, falling to Rep Lee Zeldin in New York’s GOP gubernatorial primary.

The son of Mr Trump’s former top lawyer campaigned with his celebrity-status father during the race, hoping to recapture the Giuliani brand that led to his father becoming mayor of New York City. Instead, he was crushed by more than 20 points.

Read more about his unsuccessful bid in the Associated Press:

Andrew Giuliani invokes famous dad in bid for NY governor

Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani is not the guy most politicians would summon to hold a news conference for them, not after his false assertions of election fraud

John Bowden29 June 2022 13:30

Republican who voted for Jan 6 commission brushes off Trump challenge

Rep Michael Guest won his party’s nomination to seek reelection to Congress in Mississippi on Tuesday. In doing so, he defeated a Trump loyalist who sought to use his vote for an investigatory committee focusing on the January 6 attack against him.

“Tuesday’s Republican primary isn’t just a choice between Congressman Guest and myself, it’s your chance to say ‘no’ to the Jan. 6 commission that Guest voted for,” declared an ad run by his opponent, Michael Cassidy. Mr Cassidy lost on Tuesday by more than 30 points.

Despite his professed loyalty to Mr Trump, the challenger in Mississippi’s 3rd district failed to pick up an official endorsement before Tuesday’s race concluded.

John Bowden29 June 2022 14:00

Illinois GOP gubernatorial primary presents good news for Democrats

JB Pritzker is celebrating today after winning his own party’s primary on Tuesday and promptly seeing the opponent he sought to sink in the rival Republican primary go down as well.

Mr Pritzker easily won the Illinois gubernatorial Democratic primary, but spent millions (with his allies) throughout the primary season in the hopes of sinking the campaign of Republican Aurora Mayor Richard Irvin. He will now face a state senator in the general election.

After his loss on Tuesday, Mr Irvin declared that his defeat was a victory for Mr Pritzker. The mayor’s campaign raised and spent upwards of $50 million throughout his failed primary bid, a shocking figure which was not supposed to result in a second-place primary finish.

John Bowden29 June 2022 14:30

GOP insiders: Richard Irvin’s loss is an epic ‘failure'

Illinois Republicans are not happy after Richard Irvin, the mayor of Aurora, suffered a drubbing in Tuesday’s gubernatorial primary election despite raising and spending tens of millions of dollars for his campaign.

The staggering sum was not enough to weather an onslaught from both his opponents in the GOP and JB Pritzker, the state’s incumbent governor.

A GOP lawmaker who supported Darren Bailey, who won the Republican gubernatorial primary on Tuesday, called Mr Irvin’s defeat “the most epic political failure of all time.”

“It’s a total repudiation of the political establishment from the voters,” Rep. Blaine Wilhour told NBC News.

John Bowden29 June 2022 15:17

ICYMI: GOP congressman facing ethics probe loses his seat

Steven Palazzo, a GOP congressman from Mississippi, lost his House seat on Tuesday as he faces a review into whether he misused campaign funds, though it was looking increasingly unlikely that the congressman would be found liable for wrongdoing.

He was successfully primaried by police officer Mike Ezell, who is favoured to win the deep red district in November.

Read more from The Associated Press:

John Bowden29 June 2022 15:39

Supreme Court reinstates another GOP-drawn congressional map

The US Supreme Court has reinstated a Republican-drawn congressional map in Louisiana that will be used in midterm elections despite rulings from lower courts deciding that it was drawn in violation of the Voting Rights Act.

The ruling is another blow for voting rights activists who have warned about GOP efforts to gerrymander communitites to prevent minority representation across the South and elsewhere.

Louisiana Gov John Bel Edwards called the ruling “more than a little disappointing” in a statement.

Read more from The Independent’s Alex Woodward:

Supreme Court reinstates another GOP-drawn congressional map with Louisiana ruling

Midterm elections for at least three congressional seats will be decided in districts that likely violate the Voting Rights Act, civil rights groups have warned

John Bowden29 June 2022 16:15

Trump-backed candidate who called Roe v Wade ruling a ‘victory for white life’ wins Illinois primary

A right-wing freshman congresswoman who called the Supreme Court’s decision overturning Roe v Wade victory for “white life” beat her more established opponent in the Republican primary for Illinois’ 15th district on Tuesday.

Rep Mary Miller had the backing of Donald Trump and hit her opponent for his support of a bipartisan commission to investigate January 6.

Read more from The Independent’s Eric Garcia:

Trump-backed candidate who called Roe ruling ‘victory for white life’ wins primary

Representative Mary Miller beats representative Rodney Davis in a member-on-member primary

John Bowden29 June 2022 16:45

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