WASHINGTON — Voters in California could fill a vacant House seat Tuesday, while elections in Illinois and Ohio will pick nominees for another empty seat, decide the fates of challenged incumbents and set matchups for fall battleground races.
Some contests have drawn heavy spending, including one where three candidates have each already loaned their campaigns more than $2 million. Another has been fueled by lingering bitterness between two House Republicans from last year’s battles over making former California Rep. Kevin McCarthy the House speaker.
There are also many districts in which one party is heavily favored and there’s no real contest. In a year that has seen more resignations and retirements than average, each of the 17 incumbents in Illinois is running for reelection, and 11 of them, including 10 of the 14 Democrats, are unopposed in their party primaries. In Ohio, all of the five Democratic incumbents are unopposed in the primary, as are five of the eight Republican incumbents running.
Here’s a look at eight races in the three states that are worth watching on Tuesday.
Two Illinois incumbents on the hot seat
Republican Rep. Mike Bost and Democratic Rep. Danny K. Davis each face competitive challenges in Illinois.
In Chicago, 82-year-old Davis is seeking the Democratic nomination to a 15th term against four challengers.
City Treasurer Melissa Conyears-Ervin raised $183,000 more than Davis since the cycle began, reports filed to the Federal Election Commission show. And through Feb. 28, Conyears-Ervin spent $523,000 to the incumbent’s $497,000. But she has faced ethics allegations tied to her role as treasurer, and Davis has survived challenges before, including in 2022 when gun violence prevention advocate Kina Collins came within 6 percentage points of beating him. Collins is running againn but she raised just $72,000 through Feb. 28, and a pro-Israel super PAC spent $494,000 on ads and direct mail opposing…
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