The latest on the 2024 campaign and primary elections
The battlefield for control of the US House is dotted with competitive districts across the country. But the overwhelming majority of House seats lean decisively in one party’s favor and are not expected to be competitive in November.
Several of them are open seats, with the incumbents either retiring or seeking higher office. One such race took place in Colorado’s 4th District, where the resignation of Rep. Ken Buck led to Rep. Lauren Boebert opting to succeed him in a seat that is more Republican than the one she currently represents.
Here’s a look at the outcomes of other open races for safe seats that were on the ballot Tuesday:
South Carolina’s 3rd District: Sheri Biggs, a nurse practitioner and lieutenant colonel in the Air National Guard, will win the Republican nomination, CNN projects, defeating an opponent who had the endorsement of former President Donald Trump.
Biggs, who was backed by South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster, moves on to the general election as the heavy favorite to succeed retiring Rep. Jeff Duncan in the deep-red seat.
Biggs finished second to Trump-backed pastor Mark Burns in the first round of the primary two weeks ago. But the result triggered a runoff after neither candidate took more than 50% of the vote.
Colorado’s 5th District: Jeff Crank, a real estate investor and former talk radio host, will win the Republican nomination, CNN projects, defeating state GOP chair Dave Williams, who had the backing of Trump.
Crank, who benefited heavily from outside spending, had the endorsement of House Speaker Mike Johnson and the outgoing 5th District congressman, Doug Lamborn, in his bid for the deep-red seat anchored in Colorado Springs.
Since launching his campaign for Congress, Williams has faced calls to step down from his post as chairman of the Colorado GOP, including after the state party sent out emails and social media posts attacking Pride Month, Colorado Politics reported.
Utah’s 3rd District
State Sen. Mike Kennedy will win the Republican nomination, CNN projects, putting him on track to succeed GOP Rep. John Curtis next year.
Curtis is vacating the deep-red seat in Eastern Utah to run for Senate.
Kennedy, who is projected to win a five-way primary, had the endorsement of Utah’s senior senator, Mike Lee. He won his spot on the ballot by winning a party nominating convention in April. Kennedy ran for US Senate in 2018, when he defeated Mitt Romney at the state nominating convention before getting trounced in the Republican primary.
