One of this year’s biggest primary elections is underway in Michigan, where two Democratic Senate candidates with deep policy disagreements are facing off in a major test of the party’s direction.
The bitter, expensive race pits Dr. Abdul El-Sayed, a progressive former public health official, against Representative Haley Stevens, a centrist supported by party leaders. The winner will defend the seat of Senator Gary Peters, a Democrat who is retiring, in a battleground state that could determine control of the Senate. Along with Michigan, four other states are holding primaries on Tuesday: Kansas, Virginia, Washington and Missouri.
In Michigan, Dr. El-Sayed, a proponent of universal health care and a forceful critic of U.S. military aid to Israel, plans to spend Tuesday campaigning in the Detroit area, according to his campaign. Ms. Stevens, who casts herself as a bipartisan antidote to Washington dysfunction and a strong ally of Israel, is starting the day on the campaign trail in Western Michigan and will make her way to Detroit by the evening, her campaign said.
The candidates have spent weeks trading attacks, sometimes in strikingly personal terms. In an interview with an activist published in recent days, Dr. El-Sayed called Ms. Stevens the “the least capable candidate in America” as he assailed her support from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, whose main super PAC spent tens of millions of dollars to back her. Ms. Stevens responded by writing on social media that he wanted to “blame all” of his “problems on Jewish Americans.”
The winner will take on former Representative Mike Rogers, who is running unopposed for the Republican nomination.
In Detroit, voters are also choosing whether to back Representative Shri Thanedar, a second-term Democrat, or the democratic socialist challenging him, State Representative Donavan McKinney. And in a swing congressional district that includes Lansing, two centrist Democrats and a progressive are battling to determine who will take on Representative Tom Barrett, a vulnerable Republican who has sought distance from President Trump.
Here’s what else to watch for:
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A Missouri comeback? Former Representative Cori Bush, a democratic socialist, lost two years ago to Wesley Bell, a Democrat who was lifted by spending by pro-Israel groups. Now Ms. Bush is trying to wrest back the solidly blue St. Louis-area seat from Mr. Bell.
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Heavy AIPAC-tied spending: The Senate race in Michigan has been deluged by about $60 million in outside spending for Ms. Stevens. More than half came from AIPAC’s super PAC arm, and that funding became a core issue in the contest.
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Control in Kansas: With Gov. Laura Kelly of Kansas, a Democrat, leaving office because of term limits, Democrats and Republicans have piled into the race to replace her. State Senator Ty Masterson has Mr. Trump’s endorsement in the Republican primary. Two state lawmakers are running against a mayor in the Democratic primary.
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A Pacific primary fight: Representative Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, an outspoken centrist Democrat, is trying to fend off primary challengers in her southwestern Washington State district.
