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Tuesday’s primaries in five states – Michigan, Missouri, Arizona Washington state and Kansas – cemented Donald Trump’s role as a powerful force in the Republican Party. Several of his endorsed candidates emerged victorious, while three GOP House members in Washington state and Michigan were fighting for their political lives amid a populist backlash over their votes to impeach Trump after the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol .
But the most surprising outcome wasn’t the result of a battle between two candidates. Instead, abortion rights forces are celebrating a big win in a red state that voted for Trump by a margin of 15 percentage points in 2020.
Kansas
Voters across Kansas rejected by a roughly 20-point margin an amendment to the state constitution that would nullify the right to an abortion. Such an amendment would have paved the way for Republican state lawmakers to place new limits on abortion. The vote marked the first time since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade that the right to an abortion was on the ballot.
Heading into Tuesday, it was viewed as a referendum on whether abortion politics have truly shifted in the wake of the high court’s decision earlier this summer and could play a role in the state’s gubernatorial contest. Democrat Gov. Laura Kelly, who opposed the amendment, is up for reelection in November and is considered one of the most vulnerable Democratic governors in the country.
Republican state Attorney General Derek Schmidt, who won the party’s nomination for governor, backed the need for such an amendment.
President Biden and the Democratic National Committee hailed the result in a red state as a major victory for abortion rights that buoys the party’s hopes that the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade will override concerns about inflation and the economy.
“Voters in Kansas turned out in record numbers to reject extreme efforts to amend the state constitution to take away a woman’s right to choose and open the door for a state-wide ban,” Biden said. “This vote makes clear what we know: The majority of Americans agree that women should have access to abortion and should have the right to make their own healthcare decisions.”
The DNC predicted that the Kansas decision would have a ripple effect in November’s midterms and boost their chances for retaining their House and Senate majorities.
“Kansas Republicans’ attempt to lay the groundwork for an extreme and wildly unpopular abortion ban failed,” the DNC said in a statement. “While the right to defend abortion access in Kansas and across the United States is far from over, today’s victory is a reminder that voters will hold Republicans accountable for their extreme anti-choice agenda.”
Michigan
Trump’s influence loomed large in the top statewide race, as well as in a grudge match against a Republican House member who voted for his second impeachment.
Tudor Dixon, the Trump-endorsed candidate vying with several other Republicans to challenge incumbent Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, cruised to victory in the crowded primary with more than 40% of the vote, nearly twice as much as her most competitive GOP rival. Dixon’s decisive win immediately generated excitement from prominent Republicans across the country, instantly transforming this challenge to Whitmer into a closely watched national race.
“Tonight, families came out and voted a family friendly Michigan, and we’re doing to deliver it and hold [Whitmer] accountable for her terrible record here in the state of Michigan,” Dixon told Fox News after being declared the primary winner.
Whitmer quickly responded with her own statement, labeling Dixon a “dangerous force for women” that would “drag Michigan backwards.”
“Dixon’s plans to ban abortion with no exceptions for rape, incest or the life of the mother and throw nurses in jail, gut funding for public education, reverse progress rebuilding Michigan’s infrastructure and sow distrust in democracy are dangerous for Michigan women and families,” she said.
The backing of Betsy DeVos, Trump’s Education secretary and a powerful force in Michigan politics, is credited with resurrecting Dixon’s campaign, with Trump giving an added push with his Friday endorsement.
