WASHINGTON: Election Day is more than two months away but eight members of the U.S. House of Representatives have already essentially lost their seats after being defeated by members of their own parties during the primary election season.
The losses — three Democrats and five Republicans — could set the stage for a more divided Capitol next year, as some of the insurgents were closer to the far left and right wings of their parties.
This Tuesday’s primary election match-ups in Massachusetts include a challenge to Democratic U.S. Senator Ed Markey by U.S. Representative Joe Kennedy, though polls show Markey likely fending off that challenge.
Here are the 2020 primary races that so far resulted in incumbents — some of them high-profile political veterans — losing in intra-party challenges:
DEMOCRATS
JAMAAL BOWMAN: Former middle-school principal Bowman, who is Black, beat 16-term congressman from New York Eliot Engel, the chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee. Bowman rode a wave of voter outrage over excessive police force against African Americans to victory and is expected to win the Nov. 3 election in a heavily-Democratic district.
CORI BUSH: Activist Bush had the backing of left-wing Justice Democrats when she beat 20-year House veteran William Lacy Clay, whose St. Louis, Missouri, seat was previously held by his father. Bush, who like Clay is Black, argued her opponent was too moderate on police violence.
MARIE NEWMAN: Liberal activist Newman narrowly beat Daniel Lipinski, one of the few anti-abortion Democrats in the House, to win an Illinois district.
REPUBLICANS
RANDY FEENSTRA: Iowa state senator Feenstra edged 18-year congressional veteran Steve King, whose increasingly strident rhetoric against immigrants had some Republicans worried they could lose the seat. Feenstra is seen boosting the party’s chances of keeping the seat in Republican hands in November.
BOB GOOD: Bob Good took on first-term Virginia U.S. Representative Denver Riggleman, who stirred conservative opposition when he officiated at the same-sex marriage of two former campaign volunteers. The primary win by Good increases Democrats’ chances of picking up this seat in the fall.
LAUREN BOEBERT: Colorado gun-rights activist and restaurateur Lauren Boebert defeated Scott Tipton, despite his backing from President Donald Trump. Boebert has voiced support for the conspiracy theory “QAnon” and is one of two such Republicans seen as likely to join the House in January as they are running in heavily conservative districts. The other is Georgia businesswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene.
JAKE LATURNER: Kansas state Treasurer LaTurner bested freshman Representative Steve Watkins, who faced a felony charge related to alleged illegal voting.
SCOTT FRANKLIN: Florida businessman Franklin beat freshman Representative Ross Spano, the target of a federal investigation into campaign violations that he says were unintentional.
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