Trump's pick will win Wisconsin GOP gubernatorial primary, CNN projects - CNN

Brian Kemp, defeated Trump-backed primary challenger David Perdue, a former senator, in a landslide.

But Trump prevailed in the rubber match between the former running mates as the Republican Party finished filling out its slate of nominees for governor in the five states -- Wisconsin, Arizona, Michigan, Georgia and Pennsylvania -- that flipped from Trump in 2016 to Biden four years later.

All are expected to be fiercely contested again in 2024, and GOP victories in those political battlegrounds this fall could help ease Trump's path back to the White House if he runs again.

Wisconsin is also home to a critical GOP primary in the state legislature, where longtime Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, an arch conservative who has mostly gone along with Trump's 2020 election claims, is being challenged by Adam Steen, who picked up a Trump endorsement because Vos, in the former President's estimation, has been insufficiently bullish about right-wing efforts to have the state decertify his defeat.

Democrats, meanwhile, were very much enjoying the anticlimactic finish to what many expected to be a closely-contested Senate primary.

Mandela Barnes will win the Democratic nomination, CNN projects, after his top rivals all dropped out in a span of a few days.

Scott Jensen, a doctor and former state lawmaker, had all but clinched the nomination after winning the support of the state party.

Ilhan Omar, the progressive "squad" member from the state's 5th Congressional District, will survive a surprisingly close primary challenge, CNN projects, from moderate Don Samuels.

Omar beat back a well-funded primary rival in 2020, but Samuels entered this race with higher name recognition in the Minneapolis-based district and the support of a big-spending super PAC.

Voters in the current version of southern Minnesota's 1st Congressional District chose a replacement to fill the seat of the late Rep.

Finstad, a former state lawmaker and USDA official in the Trump administration, will win the GOP nomination, CNN projects.

Welch's decision to run for the Senate created a rare open Democratic primary for the state's lone House seat, setting in motion a contest that will almost certainly end with a history-making election.

State Senate President Pro Tempore Becca Balint will win the nomination, CNN projects, defeating Lt.

An overwhelming favorite in the fall, Balint is poised to become the first woman elected to Congress from Vermont, which is the only state that has never sent a woman to represent it at the federal level.

Little separated Balint and Gray on the major issues, but their candidacies split the loyalties of Vermont Sens.

On the GOP side, former state lawmaker Themis Klarides, a moderate, will be bested by Trump-backed Leora Levy, CNN projects.