Minnesota goes to the polls on Tuesday in primaries ahead of November's crucial midterm elections, with at least a couple of districts for seats in the House of Representatives set to be competitive between Democrats and Republicans.
In the Senate, Republicans spot a chance to take the seat of Tina Smith. Ms Smith was appointed by Governor Mark Dayton to fill Al Franken's seat after he resigned earlier this year amid sexual misconduct allegations at the height of the #MeToo movement. She is running in a special election in November to fill the remainder of Mr Franken's term, which was set to end in 2020.
Five Democrats are challenging Ms Smith in the primary: Ali Chehem Ali, Gregg Iverson, Nick Leonard, Richard Painter, and Christopher Seymore. On the Republican side, State Senator Karin Housley is the frontrunner in the primary and won the party's endorsement to compete in the special election to fill Mr Franken's vacated seat.
On Monday, Mr Trump endorsed the Republican frontrunner for the House seat in the 8th district, Pete Stauber. Democrat Rick Nolan retired from the position, leaving a tough five-way primary for the party. Mr Stauber has leaned heavily on a pro-Trump message and will hope it helps him breakthrough, both in the primary and in November.
In the governor's races, State Representative Erin Murphy, Representative Tim Walz, and state Attorney General Lori Swanson are vying for the Democratic nomination. Mr Walz, who currently represents Minnesota's first district, is vacating his seat to run for governor. He defeated his Republican challenger by less than one per cent in 2016. He was first elected in 2006, when he defeated a six term Republican incumbent to win the seat. Mr Trump won his district in 2016 with 53.3 per cent to Hillary Clinton's 38.4 per cent, but in 2012 and 2008 the district went to Barack Obama.
On the Republican side, former Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty and Jeff Johnson are competing to progress to the general election. Johnson is a former member of the Minnesota House and Hennepin County Commissioner. He has previously run for governor and attorney general.
There are also primaries in Connecticut, Wisconsin and Vermont on Tuesday, with plenty of tight races across the three states.
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In today's primary the Manchester Republican defeated Dominic Rapini, a national accounts manager for Apple computers.
Mr Corey is a U.S. Navy veteran and owner of a Hartford pub and a window-washing business. He earlier unsuccessfully challenged Democratic U.S. Rep. John Larson.
Mr Corey has called for more investment in small businesses in low-income communities. He's also supportive of apprenticeship programs, corporate tax reform and a tax credit for home school parents.
As of July 25, records show Mr Corey had raised about $31,000 in campaign funds compared with nearly $13.5 million for Mr Murphy.
There was no primary on the Democratic side.
Mr Lamont's victory comes 12 years after he defeated U.S. Sen. Joe Lieberman in a Democratic showdown, only to lose the general election when Mr Lieberman ran as an independent. That race was seen as part of a national referendum on the Iraq War.
Mr Lamont has said he'll "save Connecticut" from President Donald Trump's policies, whether it's the weakening of environmental standards or abortion access.
Mr Lamont says he'll bring a businessman's approach to solving the state's fiscal woes. He supports unions and a higher minimum wage.
Mr Ganim was elected Bridgeport mayor in 2015 despite serving seven years in prison for public corruption.
Democratic Gov. Dannel P. Malloy decided against running for a third term.
The accusation surfaced days before the election when the son of Ms Monahan posted online that he had seen angry text messages from Mr Ellison to his mother and a video that showed him dragging Monahan off a bed.
Four Democrats are seeking the party's nomination to run for governor. They include a former utility executive who, if elected, would become the nation's first transgender governor, and a 14-year-old boy who is taking advantage of a quirk in state law that does not require gubernatorial candidates to be registered voters.
Sen. Bernie Sanders is appearing on the Democratic ballot, even though he's already registered to run in November as an independent.
Democratic US Rep. Peter Welch is also facing a primary challenge.
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