Here are the key dates ahead in the 2022 midterm elections, as Democrats try to hold onto and even expand razor-thin majorities in the U.S. House and Senate and Republicans weigh the influence of former President Donald Trump.
June 14 — Nevada, Maine, North Dakota and South Carolina
—Nevada: In the Senate race, vulnerable Democrat Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto has been critical of Biden as she prepares for a general election against either Trump-endorsed former state Attorney General Adam Laxalt, the grandson of former Sen. Paul Laxalt, or Army veteran Sam Brown. Incumbent Democratic Gov. Steve Sisolak is unopposed in the primary, but is expected to have a tough race against the Republican victor. Clark County Sheriff Joe Lombardo has an endorsement from Trump, but former Sen. Dean Heller and North Las Vegas Mayor John Lee are also in the running.
—Maine: The first female governor of Maine, Democrat Janet Mills, is seeking reelection and holds only a slight lead in polls over presumptive Republican candidate Paul LePage, who previously served the maximum two consecutive terms as governor.
—North Dakota: Don’t expect any shakeups in this heavily Republican state. Incumbent Republican Sen. John Hoeven is expected to win another term, as is the state’s sole representative, Republican Kelly Armstrong.
—South Carolina: Tim Scott, the only Black Republican in the Senate, is seeking reelection and has a wide lead in fundraising over all three of the Democrats seeking that party’s nomination, led by state Rep. Krystle Matthews.
—The state’s redistricting process put vulnerable Democratic Rep. Elaine Luria in a less Democratic district. The district of fellow Democrat Abigail Spanberger, however, picked up voters likely to support her.
June 28 — New York, Illinois, Colorado, Oklahoma and Utah
—New York: Incumbent Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul is looking to keep her job, and likely will. On the Republican side, Rep. Lee Zeldin is favored over Andrew Giuliani, son of Rudy Giuliani, and Rob Astorino, who previously sought the seat. The state’s congressional primaries have been moved to August.
—Illinois: Longtime Rep. Bobby Rush is retiring after 30 years representing Chicago’s South Side. Seventeen Democrats are running to replace him. Front-runners include Pat Dowell, who previously ran to be Illinois secretary of state, businesswoman Karin Norington-Reaves, and Jonathan Jackson, a professor and son of Jesse Jackson.
—Colorado: Rep. Lauren Boebert, a Trump-endorsed acolyte, is facing a primary challenge from state Sen. Don Coram. Although she won in the general election with only 51.4% of the vote in 2020, redistricting has made it a more safely Republican seat.
—Oklahoma: Incumbent Republican Sen. James Lankford is facing a challenge from Jackson Lahmeyer, who is backed by several Republicans who sought to overturn the 2020 presidential election. Rep. Markwayne Mullin, and former Trump Environmental Protection Agency administrator Scott Pruitt, are leading among the 13 Republicans vying for the nomination to replace retiring Republican Sen. James Inhofe.
—Utah: Republican incumbent Sen. Mike Lee faces two challengers but is expected to win. Democrats opted to back Evan McMullin, an independent, making it the first Senate election in Utah’s history without a Democrat on the ballot. The Senate seat, along with the four House seats, are expected to stay Republican.
—The race for governor is open as Republican Larry Hogan is term-limited. Seeking to succeed him in the deeply Democratic state are 10 Democratic candidates, including two former members of the Obama Cabinet: Labor Secretary Tom Perez and Education Secretary John King.
Aug. 2 — Arizona, Michigan, Missouri, Kansas and Washington
—Arizona: The Republican Senate primary pits state Attorney General Mark Brnovich against Blake Masters, who is backed by billionaire Peter Thiel, and businessman Jim Lamon. The winner will face Democratic Sen. and former astronaut Mark Kelly who has also been critical of Biden. Trump has not endorsed in the GOP race.
—Michigan: Incumbent Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer is likely to win another term. Republican Rep. Peter Meijer faces a primary challenge with Trump-backed John Gibbs after being openly critical of the former president.
—Missouri: The primary to replace retiring Republican Sen. Roy Blunt includes former Gov. Eric Greitens, who resigned from office in 2018 due to sexual misconduct allegations — and now faces allegations of child abuse — and Rep. Billy Long. On the Democratic side, one of the candidates is Anheuser-Busch heiress Trudy Busch Valentine.
—Incumbent Democratic Rep. Jim Cooper, who served for more than three decades, announced his retirement after his Nashville district was redrawn from favoring Democrats by 9 points to favoring Republicans by 15. Beth Harwell, the former Tennessee state House speaker is expected to win on the Republican side after two candidates, including Trump State Department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus, were removed from the ballot.
Aug. 9 — Wisconsin, Connecticut, Minnesota and Vermont
—Wisconsin: Republican Sen. Ron Johnson is considered one of the most endangered Republican incumbents. The Democrats vying to replace him include Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes, state Treasurer Sarah Godlewski and Alex Lasry, an executive with the NBA Milwaukee Bucks and son of team owner Marc Lasry, a venture capitalist. Democratic Gov. Tony Evers barely won in 2018 and will have a tough battle for re-election in a year that is favoring Republicans. Rebecca Kleefisch, a former lieutenant governor, is favored to win the GOP nomination.
—Connecticut: Gov. Ned Lamont and Sen. Richard Blumenthal face minimal opposition in this heavily Democratic state.
—Minnesota: A slew of candidates from both parties are vying to fill the 1st District seat left vacant by the death of Republican Rep. Jim Hagedorn, though it’s favored to stay in GOP hands. Meanwhile, eight Republicans are seeking the nomination to take on Democratic Gov. Tim Walz.
—Vermont — Rep. Peter Welch holds an early lead for the Democratic nomination to fill the seat of retiring Sen. Patrick Leahy.
—Sen. Brian Schatz appears poised to keep the seat in Democratic hands.
Aug. 16 — Wyoming, Alaska
—Wyoming: The only House race in the sparsely populated state is also one of the nation’s most closely watched as Rep. Liz Cheney fends off Trump-backed backlash for her work on the committee investigating Trump’s role in the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection.
—Alaska: The single House race in Alaska, to replace the late Don Young, features a possible comeback for 2008 vice presidential nominee and former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, who is hoping the political brand she pioneered will return her to office. Sen. Lisa Murkowski is facing a primary challenge by Kelly Tshibaka, who was endorsed by Trump because of Murkowski’s vote to convict him in his second impeachment trial.
Aug. 23 — Florida, New York
—Florida: Republican incumbent Sen. Marco Rubio will likely face Rep. Val Demings in a hotly contested election in November. The governorship is also on the ballot but incumbent Republican Ron DeSantis is not facing serious opposition. Democrats will choose between Rep. Charlie Crist, who is favored, state Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried and state Sen. Annette Taddeo.
—New York: A last-minute redistricting ruling has led to the rescheduling of New York congressional primaries. Two long-serving representatives are slated to face off in the 12th District: Jerry Nadler and Carolyn Maloney.
Sept. 6 — Massachusetts
—Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey has opened up a wide lead in the Democratic primary for governor and is favored to succeed retiring Republican Gov. Charlie Baker.
Sept. 13 — Delaware, New Hampshire, Rhode Island
—Delaware: Delaware only has one congressional district, and incumbent Democratic Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester is favored to win in the president’s home state.
—New Hampshire: New Hampshire’s Republican primary to challenge incumbent Democratic Sen. Maggie Hassan includes Harvard University lecturer and founder of Kelan Capital LLC Vikram Mansharaman, state Sen. Chuck Morse, and former executive director of the Bitcoin Foundation, Bruce Fenton.
—Rhode Island: Incumbent Rep. David Cicilline is expected to be re-elected. Redistricting slightly changed the makeup of the 2nd District, though it’s still expected to stay Democratic. Jim Langevin, the incumbent, isn’t seeking re-election and several candidates are running including Sarah Morgenthau, a U.S. Commerce Department official, state General Treasurer Seth Magaziner, journalist Omar Bah and former state Rep. David Segal.
—Louisiana — The state holds a hybrid primary where all candidates are listed on the ballot for each seat. The winner is whoever gets a simple majority, but if no candidate breaks 50%, the race goes into a runoff on Dec. 10. It’s unlikely any will, as no incumbent is facing serious opposition. Incumbent Republican Sen. John Kennedy can expect to keep his seat.
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