Wisconsin, Minnesota, Vermont, and Connecticut primaries

Incumbent Sen. Ron Johnson will win the GOP nomination in Wisconsin’s Senate primary, CNN projects. He will face Democratic challenger, Lt. Gov Mandela Barnes, in November.

First elected in 2010, Johnson ran for reelection in 2016 by pledging that his second term would be his last. While the Republican senator waffled on running for reelection for months, he eventually decided to seek a third term, arguing that his initial pledge assumed Democrats would not control the White House, House and Senate.

It was never a doubt that Johnson would be the Republican nominee and the incumbent has been focused on Barnes, the projected Democratic nominee in the race, for weeks. Johnson has already been calling Barnes a “radical left candidate,” saying he was a “progressive puppet out to fundamentally change America.

Johnson has a lot going for him — namely voters’ dissatisfaction with President Joe Biden and Democrats in Washington — but a recent Marquette Law School poll found that 46% of Wisconsin voters viewed him unfavorably, compared to 37% who had a favorable view. It’s an issue that Johnson and outside groups have been attempting to address, running a series of ads touting his role in fighting inflation and his role in a 2018 law that helped terminally ill patients access experimental drug treatments.

But many experts believe the race between Johnson and Barnes will be a primarily negative affair, with Wisconsin a historically polarized state that has been a political hotbed since the fights over union bargaining rights in 2011 and 2012. Johnson’s top advisers have said they are prepared for that and plan to define Barnes as someone who is out of step with most Wisconsin voters.

"(Barnes) is out of touch with where the majority of the state is," said adviser Ben Voelkel, citing some of the more liberal positions Barnes has backed throughout his career. "Mandela Barnes talks a lot about his dad working the third shift work. ... Mandela Barnes hasn't done any of that. He has been a career political activist."

The race between Johnson and Barnes will be one of the most closely watched contests of 2022. President Donald Trump narrowly won Wisconsin in 2016, but the state swung back to Democrats and President Joe Biden in 2020.

Incumbent Tim Walz will win the Minnesota Democratic gubernatorial primary, CNN projects.  

Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes will win the Democratic nomination in Wisconsin’s Senate primary, CNN projects, officially becoming the party’s nominee in a race that was largely decided two weeks ago when three candidates dropped out and endorsed Barnes.

While Barnes faced nominal opposition on Tuesday from a few other Democrats, none were as well funded or widely supported as Barnes or the three Democrats who ended their campaigns in late July: Alex Lasry, the Milwaukee Bucks executive who spent more than $11 million of his own money on his campaign; Wisconsin state Treasurer Sarah Godlewski, who also poured millions of her own money into the race; and Outagamie County Executive Tom Nelson, a liberal leader with a loyal following in the state.

Barnes will now face Republican incumbent Sen. Ron Johnson, who CNN projected won his party’s nomination on Tuesday.

Barnes and Johnson have been focused on each other for weeks now, with each campaign and a slew of outside groups beginning the general election early with ad campaigns in what will likely be one of the most closely watched races of 2022.

Both Barnes and Johnson are looking to define each other as “out of touch” and too extreme for Wisconsin voters.

Johnson has already described Barnes as Democrats' "most radical left candidate," adding that "a radical left Senator from Wisconsin is not the solution." Johnson recently called him "a progressive puppet out to fundamentally change America."

Johnson first won the Senate seat in 2010 and was reelected in 2016. While he pledged it would be his last term, he opted to run again in 2022 to stop Democratic control of Washington. Former President Donald Trump narrowly won Wisconsin in 2016, but the state swung back to Democrats and President Joe Biden in 2020.

Stephanie Thomas will win the Democratic nomination in Connecticut's secretary of state race, CNN projects, and face Republican nominee Dominic Rapin in November.

Incumbent Tony Evers will win the Wisconsin Democratic gubernatorial primary, CNN projects.  

Evers ran unopposed, but there are several Republican candidates vying for the nomination to take him on in November

It's 9 p.m. ET and polls are closing in Wisconsin and Minnesota.

Here are some of the key races voters are deciding on:

Wisconsin: The state features a competitive Republican primary to face Democratic Gov. Tony Evers, who is unopposed for renomination. The two leading candidates are former Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch and Tim Michels, a multimillionaire businessman who was the GOP nominee in the 2004 US Senate election. The race is yet another battle between former President Donald Trump and former Vice President Mike Pence — with Trump endorsing Michels back in June and Pence endorsing Kleefisch in late July.

Minnesota: Democratic Gov. Tim Walz faces only marginal competition for renomination, and he’ll likely face vaccine-skeptic doctor and former GOP state Sen. Scott Jensen in November. The state is also holding a special election in its 1st Congressional District to fill the seat left vacant by late GOP Rep. Jim Hagedorn in February. Republican Brad Finstad and Democratic nominee Jeff Ettinger are the top candidates. Both will need to win their parties’ primaries on the same day in order to compete for a full House term in November.

Charity Clark will be the Democratic nominee in Vermont's attorney general race, CNN projects.

Clark defeated challenger Rory Thibault.

Becca Balint will win the Democratic nomination for Vermont’s lone House seat, CNN projects, putting her on a path to become the first woman to represent the state in Congress.

Vermont is the only state in the country that has never had a woman in its congressional delegation, so Balint would make history if elected in November. The candidate, a former schoolteacher currently serving as the president pro tempore in the state Senate, defeated Lt. Gov. Molly Gray and physician Louis Meyers.

CNN projects the candidate will face Republican nominee Liam Madden in the general election, where Balint is the overwhelming favorite to fill the seat of Rep. Peter Welch, who is running to replace retiring Sen. Patrick Leahy in the Senate.

Balint entered primary day with the support of Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and other leading progressive politicians and groups. She got a boost during the campaign when state Sen. Kesha Ram Hinsdale dropped out and endorsed her, consolidating the progressive vote. Balint also benefited from significant outside spending from the LGBTQ Victory Fund (Balint is gay), which poured about $1 million into the race, and the Congressional Progressive Caucus' campaign arm.

She got a boost during the campaign when state Sen. Kesha Ram Hinsdale dropped out and endorsed her, consolidating the progressive vote. Balint also benefited from significant outside spending from the LGBTQ Victory Fund (Balint is gay), which poured about $1 million into the race, and the Congressional Progressive Caucus’ campaign arm. 

Gray attracted support from more moderate state leaders, including retiring Sen. Leahy, who, while he stopped short of issuing a formal endorsement, said he voted for Gray and, through his PAC, donated $5,000 to her cause. Former Vermont Govs. Howard Dean and Madeleine Kunin also backed Gray.

But in a contest that provided few notable policy distinctions between the leading candidates, Balint’s success in claiming the progressive mantle – she was also endorsed by Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey of neighboring Massachusetts – likely helped her among primary voters, who tend to lean even further left than even the average Vermont Democrat.

“A high turnout for us has been about 25%, so we're not talking about a real representation of the Democratic party in Vermont,” said Rich Clark, a professor at Castleton University and Vermont pollster, on the eve of the primary. “It'll be the most engaged (voters deciding the winner) and they'll tend to be on the progressive side.”

Balint will enter the November general election as the overwhelming favorite to win the seat of Rep. Welch. This was the first Democratic House primary in Vermont with no incumbent on the ballot since 2006, when Sanders gave up his seat to run for the Senate.

State Senate President Pro Tempore Becca Balint and Lt. Gov. Molly Gray are the front-runners in a three-candidate race for the nomination to replace Rep. Peter Welch in the House.

If elected in the fall, either one could become the first woman elected to Congress from Vermont, which is the only state that has never sent a woman to Congress.

Little separates Balint and Gray on the major issues, but their candidacies have split the loyalties of Vermont Sens. Bernie Sanders and Leahy. Sanders and leading progressives from around the country have endorsed Balint. Gray has the support of Leahy, who has donated to her cause and said he voted for her, though not formally endorsed in the race. Former Vermont Govs. Howard Dean and Madeleine Kunin are also backing Gray.

But in a race that has seen the candidates themselves about level on fundraising, a flood of outside spending for Balint could help tip the scales. The LGBTQ Victory Fund has invested about $1 million into the race for Balint, who is gay. She has also benefited from spending by the campaign arm of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, whose chair, Washington Rep. Pramila Jayapal, along with the progressive senators from neighboring Massachusetts, Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey, have all endorsed Balint.