Voters in Washington and Michigan have selected their nominees in three open congressional seats, one of which is a battleground district.
In Michigan's 1st District, a competitive seat in November, retired Marine Lt. Gen. Jack Bergman won the GOP nomination in Tuesday's primary. Current Rep. Dan Benishek is retiring at the end of this term.
Bergman will face former state Democratic Party chairman Lon Johnson in November in a district that the Rothenberg & Gonzales Political Report/Roll Call rates a Leans Republican contest. Democrats are targeting this open seat this cycle, with House Majority PAC reserving air time in both Traverse City and Marquette.
GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney carried the 1st District by 8 points in 2012, while President Barack Obama carried it by 1 point in 2008.
Democrats have been excited about Johnson and his ability to raise campaign cash. He's married to Julianna Smoot, President Barack Obama's 2012 campaign manager and a former national finance director for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee.
Johnson has $178,000 in the bank, while Bergman ended the pre-primary reporting period with $37,000 . Bergman funded much of his primary campaign himself. He won with 39 percent of the vote, defeating state Sen. Tom Casperson, Benishek's choice, and former state Sen. Jason Allen. Defending Main Street, a PAC that backs establishment Republicans, had spent against Allen and for Casperson.
Michigan's 10th District isn't competitive in the general election, so businessman Paul Mitchell's win in the Republican primary means he's likely the next member of Congress from the safe GOP seat. He self-funded much of his primary campaign.
Current 10th District Republican Rep. Candice S. Miller, the sole female GOP committee chair, is retiring to run for public works commissioner instead.
Democrats also had a primary in a safe seat Tuesday night. In Washington, state Rep. Pramila Jayapal finished first in the nine-candidate field in the 7th District. She won 38 percent of the vote.
The top two finishers will advance to the general election, but the second-place finisher hasn't been determined yet. With 79 percent of precincts reporting Wednesday morning, Joe McDermott _ no relation to the sitting congressman from this district, Jim McDermott _ was in second with 22 percent of the vote. Brady Pinero Walkinshaw was in third with 21 percent of the vote.
No matter who wins in November, the next member from this Seattle district will add some diversity to Congress when he or she replaces McDermott, who's retiring after 28 years in the House.
In Kansas, 1st District Rep. Tim Huelskamp became the fourth incumbent of the year to lose. But the defeat of a Freedom Caucus member by an establishment-backed Republican could embolden the caucus' electoral efforts going forward.
