Voters will head to the polls in several states and the national capital this week as the United States takes another step towards the all-important midterm elections in November, when control of the US Congress will be on the line.
The midterms will also serve as a referendum on President Donald Trump’s second term in office, as the Republican leader struggles with flagging popularity amid a tumultuous war against Iran that has heightened concerns over the cost of living.
Primary elections, which take place to select a political party’s candidate in the general election, are scheduled in Alabama, California, Georgia, Oklahoma, and the capital city of Washington, DC.
Which races are being watched, who are some of the main candidates, and what will it mean for the midterm elections? We take a look at those questions and more in this brief explainer.
Residents of the southern state of Alabama will choose a candidate in the Republican primary to succeed Senator Tommy Tuberville, who chose to run for governor rather than seek a second congressional term.
A first-round vote on May 19 failed to yield a clear winner, sending two candidates, former Navy SEAL Jared Hudson and Trump-backed Congressman Barry Moore, into a Republican run-off on June 16.
The race will test Trump’s continued sway over Republican voters. Trump’s endorsement helped Moore win the highest portion of votes in the first round, and the president reiterated his support for Moore last week, calling him “the best America First candidate you can imagine”.
But Moore is facing a strong challenge from Hudson, who owns a security and arms training company along with a nonprofit focused on human trafficking.
Moore won 39 percent of the vote in the first round compared with 26 percent for Hudson.
Democrats will also select a Senate candidate, choosing between a pet aromatherapy entrepreneur, Dakarai Larriett, and a former municipal judge, Everett Wess.
Polls will open at 7am and close at 7pm local time on Tuesday (12:00 GMT, Tuesday and 00:00 GMT, Wednesday).
Primaries for four of the state’s seven congressional districts were rescheduled for August 11, following a decision from the US Supreme Court that saw several Republican-led states rush to redraw their district maps.
California is once again in the news, with a primary vote ahead of a special election for the seat of former House of Representatives member Eric Swalwell.
Swalwell, who was a frontrunner in the race to become California governor, exited that race and resigned his House seat in April over allegations of sexual abuse.
Governor Gavin Newsom announced that a special election to replace him in the state’s 14th Congressional District would take place on August 18, with a special primary on June 16.
Among the best-known candidates are Democratic state Senator Aisha Wahab, former Dublin Mayor and Bay Area Rapid Transit board member Melissa Hernandez, and Republican real estate investor Wendy Huang.
California has an open primary system, meaning that all candidates run in a single primary regardless of party affiliation. If Democrats hold onto the seat in the firmly blue state, it would benefit their chances of retaking the US House from Republicans in November.
But to the exhaustion of local voters, the seat is subject to two separate election tracks with the same main candidates.
The 14th district was one of several maps redrawn as part of a redistricting measure approved by California voters, and a June 2 primary was held to decide which two candidates would compete for a full term under the newly drawn map in November. Wahab placed first and Hernandez second in that primary.
The special election will decide who serves in the seat until the end of the year, with that vote taking place on August 18.
Polls will open at 7am and close at 8pm local time on Tuesday (14:00 GMT, Tuesday and 03:00 GMT, Wednesday).
Voters in Georgia will choose candidates for races in the US Senate and the state’s gubernatorial contest, with the southern state closely watched as a notable battleground for control of the US Senate in November.
Democratic Senator Jon Ossoff is seeking re-election, while Republicans will hope to claim his seat and restrict Democrats’ path to a majority in the upper house of Congress.
Facing off in the Republican primary are Representative Mike Collins and former University of Tennessee football coach Derek Dooley.
Collins emerged on top after the first round of primary voting on May 19, winning about 41 percent. Trump did not weigh in during the first round of primary voting, but endorsed Collins over the weekend.
Dooley, for his part, has put more distance between himself and Trump, stating that he did not vote in the 2016 and 2020 elections. Outgoing Governor Brian Kemp, with whom Trump has clashed in the past, has endorsed Dooley.
Republicans will also finalise their choice for the state’s gubernatorial race, with Trump and Kemp both lining up behind Lieutenant Governor Burt Jones, the top vote-getter in the first round of primary voting.
He failed to secure a majority, and will face healthcare executive Rick Jackson, who won 33 percent of the vote in the first round, in a run-off.
The winner will face the Democratic candidate, Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, in the general election, after she won more than 50 percent of the vote in the Democratic primary.
Polls will open at 7am and close at 7pm local time on Tuesday (11:00 GMT and 23:00 GMT).
A series of primary races for federal and state-level positions is taking place in the midwestern state of Oklahoma, with a race to replace Governor Kevin Stitt among the most-watched.
The contest to succeed Stitt, who is term-limited from running again, has pulled in nine contenders. They include current and former state officials, such as Attorney General Gentner Drummond, former Secretary of Public Safety Chip Keating, former state Senator Mike Mazzei, and former state House Speaker Charles McCall.
Trump has endorsed Mazzei, whom polls show in a close race with Drummond.
Democrats will choose candidates that include State House Minority Leader Cyndi Munson and former State Senator Connie Johnson.
A primary race to replace Republican Senator Markwayne Mullin, whom Trump tapped to lead the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), is also attracting attention. Mullin’s appointed replacement, Senator Alan Armstrong, has decided against seeking a full term.
In that race, Trump has endorsed Representative Kevin Hern.
Both Hern and Democratic candidate Jim Priest, a lawyer and minister, are leading their respective fields in fundraising, with Republicans generally favoured in national elections in the deep-red state.
Voters will also weigh in on a measure on whether to raise the state minimum wage, known as State Question 832.
Polls will open at 7am and close at 7pm local time on Tuesday (12:00 GMT, Tuesday and 00:00 GMT, Wednesday).
The nation’s capital, Washington, DC, is also holding a districtwide primary, with several municipal and federal positions up for grabs.
The city found itself at the centre of Trump’s deployment of federal agents and troops to largely Democrat-led US cities last year, and a competitive Democratic mayoral primary is playing out as three-term Mayor Muriel Bowser retires.
The race to replace Bowser has underscored schisms between the progressive and establishment factions in the Democratic Party, with organisations aligned with democratic socialist Senator Bernie Sanders lining up behind Ward 4 Councilwoman Janeese Lewis George.
Bowser and leading figures from the national Democratic Party, meanwhile, have thrown their support behind Councilman Kenyan McDuffie.
Trump threatened last week that he would consider a federal takeover of the city if it voted for Lewis George.
The city will also vote on its non-voting delegate to the US Congress.
Polls will open at 7am and close at 8pm local time on Tuesday (11:00 GMT, Tuesday and 00:00 GMT, Wednesday).
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