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Six states are holding primary contests on Tuesday, including California, where voters will be choosing which two candidates will be on the ballot in November in the governor’s race.
Los Angeles residents will be voting in the mayoral contest, with reality television star Spencer Pratt, a Republican, hoping to unseat incumbent Democratic Mayor Karen Bass. If no candidate receives a majority on Tuesday, the top two candidates will face off in November.
Here are the major races to watch:
California governor’s race
Incumbent Gov. Gavin Newsom — one of the top 2028 presidential contenders and one of the most powerful members of the Democratic Party — is prevented from running again due to term limits. California chooses its nominees via a top-two primary, meaning the two leading vote-getters will advance to the general ballot in November.
The race has been wide open, especially after former Vice President Kamala Harris and U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla opted not to run. Former Rep. Eric Swalwell, a late entry into the race, had been one of the candidates leading polls until he dropped out of the race and resigned from his seat in April amid allegations of sexual assault.
After Swalwell’s exit, Xavier Becerra, the health secretary under President Biden, has surged, having previously lagged in polling and fundraising. Billionaire Democrat Tom Steyer has steadily worked his way to the top of the Democratic polls as well, having spent more than $195 million in broadcast TV, cable and radio ads — the most expensive political advertising campaign in the country this year, according to AdImpact. Becerra and Steyer have stepped up their attacks on each other, which could get even nastier if it does become a race in November with two Democrats on the ballot.
Former Rep. Katie Porter, who was considered an early frontrunner after Harris decided not to run, has since fallen in recent polls after two viral incidents — one in which she tripped over her answers with a CBS Sacramento reporter and an old video berating her staff. But Porter, who gave up her Orange County seat to run for Senate in 2024 and finished third, leads among independents, according to a recent Emerson College survey. San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan, a moderate, was a favorite of the tech industry but has failed to gain traction in polls. Former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, a Democrat, is also on the ballot in his second attempt for the governor’s office after running against Newsom in 2018.
California has not elected a Republican to statewide office since Arnold Schwarzenegger in 2006 and Democrats outnumber Republicans in the state 2-to-1. Republican Steve Hilton, a British-born hedge fund manager and former adviser to David Cameron, has President Trump’s endorsement. Hilton has consistently polled in the top three, even before Swalwell’s exit from the race.
Republicans had hoped with California’s “top two” primary that they could lock Democrats out of the ballot in November, with early polling showing Hilton in the lead along with Chad Bianco. Bianco, a MAGA ally and the sheriff of Riverside County, made national headlines earlier this year when he seized ballots from a county election office in what he described as a “fact-finding mission” — despite no evidence the ballots were cast improperly. Newsom signed emergency legislation in response prohibiting county registrars from surrendering ballots or voting equipment to law enforcement without a court order.
While Democrats have worried about Republicans shutting them out of the November election, so have Republicans: As some Democrats have climbed in the polls, Hilton has called on Bianco to drop out, saying they could split the GOP vote and potentially give the top two slots to Democrats.
Per CBS News reporting and CalMatters, 61 names are appearing on the certified ballot.
Los Angeles’ mayor’s race
Incumbent Mayor Karen Bass, Los Angeles’ first female mayor, is fighting for survival in the city’s nonpartisan primary against reality television star Spencer Pratt, Los Angeles Councilwoman Nithya Raman and 11 others on the ballot.
Pratt’s campaign has soared amid a viral ad strategy focused on homelessness and his own family’s story after losing their house in the 2025 Pacific Palisades fire. Pratt faced controversy after declaring “this is where I live” outside an Airstream trailer, but TMZ later reported he had been living at the Bel-Air Hotel.
Pratt, who has no prior political experience, told CBS News’ Adam Yamaguchi last month that he believes his “common sense” attitude will appeal to voters: “I don’t do the politician talk, and I think it’s refreshing to people to hear somebody speak from the heart, be authentic.”
Bass has been criticized for being overseas during the 2025 fires, as well as the recovery efforts and the city’s homelessness.
Bass and Pratt are also facing Raman, a democratic socialist who has leaned into fighting homelessness.
A UC Berkeley-LA Times poll from May 28 found the three deadlocked in a tight battle for voters, with Bass holding a slim 26% lead, Raman close behind at 25%, and Pratt trailing at 22%.
If no candidate clears 50% on Tuesday, the top two advance to a November runoff.
California congressional races
Looming over this year’s congressional primaries is Proposition 50, the ballot measure championed by Newsom that redrew California’s congressional districts to favor Democrats in as many as five new districts. California currently has nine Republicans in their delegation in Congress. Cook Political Report only rates one of the new districts as safe for the GOP.
That district, CA-40, covers parts of inland Orange County as well as portions of San Bernardino and Riverside counties — and parts of districts represented by incumbent Reps. Young Kim and Ken Calvert. The pair are now facing off on Tuesday, alongside five others who are on the ballot as well.
Kim was first elected in 2020 and Calvert, the longest-serving member of Congress from California, has been in office since 1993. Kim has raised nearly $8 million so far, while Calvert has raised more than $5 million. But given California’s top-two primary system, they both could advance to the ballot in November.
Another longtime Republican incumbent, Rep. David Valadao, faces off against Democrats Jasmeet Kaur Bains, a member of the California Assembly, and progressive college professor Randy Villegas. Democrats are heavily targeting the district in November, which has one of the largest Hispanic populations in the state.
Iowa governor’s race
Iowa Republicans will choose a nominee Tuesday in the state’s first open governor’s race in two decades, a crowded contest in a heavily GOP-leaning state that Democrats are hoping will be unusually competitive this year.
Three-term U.S. Rep. Randy Feenstra is viewed as a frontrunner in the gubernatorial primary, drawing support from top Iowa Republicans like Sen. Joni Ernst. President Trump also offered a last-minute endorsement on Friday, calling Feenstra “MAGA all the way.”
Meanwhile, businessman and farmer Zach Lahn is running on a populist-inflected “Iowa First” platform, and has touted his endorsements from Robert F. Kennedy Jr.-aligned MAHA Action and the late Charlie Kirk’s Turning Point Action. And former Iowa Department of Administrative Services Director Adam Steen has been backed by socially conservative groups like The Family Leader, which is run by Iowa GOP kingmaker Bob Vander Plaats.
State Rep. Eddie Andrews and pastor and former state Rep. Brad Sherman are also running.
If no Republican candidate secures 35% of the vote, the nominee will be chosen by delegates at the state Republican convention on June 13.
The GOP nominee will face off in November against State Auditor Rob Sand, who ran unopposed for the Democratic nomination. Sand is currently Iowa’s only statewide elected Democrat, having won reelection by fewer than 3,000 votes in 2022.
The best-funded Republican candidate is Lahn, who reported just over $700,000 on hand as of mid-May and lent his campaign $2 million last year, followed by Feenstra at nearly $600,000 on hand. All of the GOP contenders are well behind Sand, who had nearly $18.3 million in the bank, bolstered by millions in donations from his wife’s family.
Once a swing state, Iowa has increasingly leaned toward the GOP: Mr. Trump won the state by 13 points in 2024, and retiring Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds won reelection by 18 points in 2022. Democrats have not controlled the governor’s mansion since 2011.
But Republicans could face headwinds. The national environment is tough, with most voters signaling dissatisfaction with Mr. Trump’s handling of the economy. The picture is especially challenging in Iowa, where the agricultural industry was hit hard by cuts in Chinese soybean imports during last year’s trade war. The state is now struggling with high fuel and fertilizer prices wrought by the Iran war. Reynolds has one of the lowest approval ratings of any governor.
The Cook Political Report has rated the Iowa gubernatorial race a toss-up, and the University of Virginia’s Center for Politics believes the race leans toward the GOP.
Iowa Senate race
Two Democrats are facing off in the Senate primary Tuesday as they look to take on the de facto GOP nominee in Rep. Ashley Hinson.
After Ernst announced she wouldn’t seek reelection, Republicans rallied around Hinson, who’s represented Iowa in the House since 2021. Hinson, who has Mr. Trump’s endorsement, is facing off against former state Sen. Jim Carlin on Tuesday.
In a state that hasn’t elected a Democrat to the Senate since 2008, Democrats face an uphill battle on paper. But the party has been increasingly bullish about their chances in recent months amid frustration with the cost of living.
Even so, the Democratic primary has been just the latest example of the divide among Democrats over the best path forward.
On one side is state Rep. Josh Turek, a former wheelchair basketball Paralympian, who is considered friendlier to national Democratic groups. He represents a district that supported Mr. Trump in the 2024 election, and has focused his message on the economy, while pitching himself as the most likely candidate to defeat Hinson in November.
Then there’s state Sen. Zach Wahls, who gained recognition at 19 when he advocated for gay marriage, testifying about growing up with two moms before the state legislature. He’s supported by progressives like Sen. Elizabeth Warren and a slew of labor unions, and has leaned into an anti-establishment message that’s included criticism of Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer. Wahls has pledged not to support the New York Democrat as leader should he be elected to the Senate, while touting his willingness to defy leaders of both parties.
New Jersey
New Jersey elects its statewide representatives in off years, so the only elections this year are for its congressional delegation, and Sen. Cory Booker is up for reelection in November. Booker is running unopposed for the Democratic nomination, and three Republicans are vying for the chance to take him on.
Rep. Tom Kean, one of the most vulnerable Republicans in the country, is not facing a primary opponent in the 7th District, which the Cook Political Report ranks as a toss up. Kean flipped the district in 2022, and four Democrats are vying for the chance to take him on in November.
Kean has made national headlines after having not voted in Congress since March 5. In an April 27 statement, Kean said he was addressing a “personal medical issue.” Statements from his staff and family members have only added to the mystery.
“There’s no cameras where Tom is,” his chief of staff recently told the New York Times. Kean’s father, former New Jersey Gov. Tom Kean Sr., told CNN that his doctors “all agree he’s going to be fine.”
“It took a real illness to knock him out,” Kean Sr. added. “This won’t linger. It’s not some kind of disease that’s going to incapacitate him in the future. The consensus is that he will be 100% OK.”
Montana
Montana’s senior senator, Republican Steve Daines, is not seeking reelection this year, and three Republicans are vying for the GOP nomination and five Democrats are seeking their place on the ballot.
Mr. Trump won Montana by nearly 20 points in 2024 and both the state’s congressional seats are occupied by Republicans. Rep. Ryan Zinke is not running for reelection, and although the 1st District is ranked as likely Republican by Cook Political Report, Democrats believe they have a chance to flip the open seat in November. Four Republicans are facing off on Tuesday as well as four Democrats.
South Dakota
Gov. Larry Rhoden, who became governor when Kristi Noem resigned to join the Trump administration, is facing three primary challengers, including U.S. Rep. Dusty Johnson, on Tuesday. Democrat Dan Ahlers is running unopposed for the Democratic nomination.
Two Republicans are vying for Johnson’s seat, while the Democratic candidate is running unopposed.
Republican Sen. Mike Rounds is also facing a primary challenger, while Democrat Julian Beaudion is unopposed for the Democratic nomination.
