On June 2, voters will go to the polls for a series of key races.
The biggest item of the night will be the litany of races in California, the nation’s largest state. Others will be held in Iowa, Montana, New Mexico, New Jersey, and South Dakota.
Here are the most important of those races to watch.
The race to replace outgoing California Gov. Gavin Newsom is one of the most-watched in the nation.
California’s primary elections are nonpartisan. With around six candidates polling with at least five percent support, only the top two vote-getters will be on the general gubernatorial election ballot in November.
In the final weeks leading into the primary, the race underwent a total shakeup when frontrunner Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) left the race—and Congress—following multiple allegations of sexual harassment and sexual assault. Swalwell denied the allegations.
Currently, the Democratic frontrunners include former Secretary of Health and Human Services Xavier Becerra and billionaire Tom Steyer. The two are polling close, though Becerra retains a slight advantage.
The Republican candidate in the race is Steve Hilton, a British-American TV show host and conservative commentator. Polling leaves it unclear whether Hilton or Steyer is favored to finish second.
In California’s 22nd Congressional District, Rep. David Valadao will face off in a nonpartisan primary with Democrats Jasmeet Bains and Randy Villegas.
Valadao is expected to win a place in the general election, though his final opponent will be decided by the outcome on Tuesday.
Polling in the district is sparse, with a single poll conducted at the beginning of May showing Valadao with 44 percent support, Villegas with 25 percent, and Bains with 21 percent.
In California’s 48th Congressional District, a flurry of candidates have put their names into the ring.
Republican Jim Desmond leads in polls in the nonpartisan election, with fellow Republican Kevin O'Neil coming in second in some polls. Marni von Wilpert and Ammar Campa-Najjar are the Democratic frontrunners.
The seat was one of five redrawn to favor Democrats last year, but it remains competitive—and that advantage only holds if a Democrat wins the nonpartisan primary.
In California’s 11th Congressional District, a slate of Democrats is competing to replace outgoing Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.).
Most polls show a lead for candidate Democrat Scott Wiener, while Pelosi has endorsed San Francisco Supervisor Connie Chan. Chan has come in second in some polls, though Wiener enters the primary as the clear frontrunner.
The two Republicans in the running—when they’ve made it into the polls at all—have pulled less than five percent support.
While Iowa has long been a lock for Republicans, it’s among Democrats’ targets this year as there are indications that the party could flip Senate seats previously considered safe. This year, Sen. Joni Ernst will not be seeking reelection, leaving the seat open.
Polls indicate Rep. Ashley Hinson (R-Iowa) is favored for the Republican nomination over her rival, state Sen. Jim Carlin.
The polls leave it unclear who the Democrats will nominate between candidates Josh Turek and Zach Wahls. Turek has led in more recent polling.
Iowa’s gubernatorial race is open after Gov. Kim Reynolds, a Republican, announced that she wouldn’t seek reelection in 2026.
Several Republicans are contending for the nomination to replace her. The polls show that candidates Rep. Randy Feenstra (R-Iowa), Zach Lahn, and Adam Steen are leading in that race.
On the Democratic side, only Auditor of State Rob Sand is running.
In Montana, Sen. Steve Daines’ (R-Mont.) last-minute exit from the race left Republican challengers little opportunity to register against former U.S. Attorney Scott Alme, who was registered for the GOP nomination just as Daines exited the race.
On the Democratic side, no polls have been conducted, leaving it unclear who’s in the lead for the nomination.
As recently as 2024, the state was represented by Sen. Jon Tester, a Democrat. Some general election polls have shown 44 percent support for a generic Democrat.
In New Mexico, Democrat and former U.S. Secretary of the Interior Debra Haaland is highly favored to win the Democratic nomination in the blue-leaning state.
On the Republican side, Gregg Hull narrowly leads Doug Turner for the nomination.
One of the two top targets for Democrats in New Jersey is Rep. Tom Kean’s (R-N.J.) seat.
Rebecca Bennett, a former Navy helicopter pilot, is favored to win the nomination, leading in most polls. Her closest rival is Brian Varela.
In New Jersey’s 12th Congressional District, incumbent Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-N.J.) is retiring, leaving open a safely Democratic seat in a district where the primary essentially is the general election.
The race has exposed ideological rifts in the Democratic Party.
Leading the progressive side in the race is Dr. Adam Hamaway, a Princeton trauma surgeon and Army veteran with endorsements from progressive heavyweights like Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.).
The main other contenders for the Democratic nomination include East Brunswick Mayor Brad Cohen, New Jersey Assemblywoman Verlina Reynolds-Jackson, and Somerset County Commissioner Shanel Robinson.
—Joseph Lord
BOOKMARKS
New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill said Saturday that people are coming from out of state to protest at a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility in Newark and creating a dangerous situation, The Epoch Times’ Tom Gantert reported. “We know that people from outside of the state have been interfering in the protests and escalating them,” Sherrill said at a press conference.
U.S. President Donald Trump is in no hurry to make a deal with Iran to end the war, saying that neither Washington nor Tehran has signed an agreement yet, The Epoch Times’ Jack Phillips reported. “I’d like to say I’m in a hurry because gasoline prices are going to come tumbling down, but if you’re going to be in a hurry, you’re not going to make a good deal,” Trump told Fox News.
NASA and Blue Origin are confident they can assess and rebuild after an explosion raised questions about plans to go to the Moon, The Epoch Times’ TJ Muscaro reported. The accident destroyed the only launch pad built to launch the rocket assigned to fly NASA’s Moon Base I mission to the lunar south pole in a matter of months.
A crash in Virginia that killed five people last week involved a non-English-speaking driver of a bus who obtained a commercial license in New York state, U.S. Transportation Secretary Duffy said on Sunday. The Epoch Times’ Jack Phillips reported that the driver, Jing S. Dong of Staten Island, was charged with two counts of involuntary manslaughter, and additional charges are likely.
