FISM Staff Reporter/Reuters

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The fight over a baby’s right to life and former President Donald Trump’s influence loomed large as voters in several states went to the polls on Tuesday. Here are some takeaways from the latest 2022 midterm election primaries:

Abortion battle lines drawn in Michigan

In the Michigan governor’s race, there will be no middle ground when it comes to abortion rights.

Tudor Dixon, a relative political unknown who received a last-minute endorsement from former President Donald Trump, emerged from the Republican pack on Tuesday to take on Democratic Governor Gretchen Whitmer in November’s general election.

Whitmer, who has been widely criticized for her handling of the pandemic, has made the U.S. Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade a centerpiece in her re-election campaign. Dixon supports a near-total ban on abortion, including for child victims of rape and incest, with the only exception for cases when the life of the mother is at risk.

A legal battle is being waged in the state over the enforcement of a 1931 abortion ban. At the same time, pro-abortion activists are seeking to place a measure on the November ballot that would legalize abortion in the state.

With just three months until the election, longtime Republican pollster Steve Mitchell said Dixon has enough time to mount a competitive challenge to Whitmer and should see a strong flow of campaign funds from outside the state.

Dixon is a former businesswoman in the steel industry who has billed herself as a “conservative mom” of four who opposed COVID-19 lockdowns at schools. Mitchell said she could appeal to like-minded parents and make a strong foil to Whitmer, who often talks about her own role as a mother of daughters and also faced criticism for her coronavirus lockdown orders.

“It’s going to be a fascinating race,” Mitchell said. “In my opinion, none of the men [in the Republican field] could have beaten Whitmer.”

Kansas voters reject pro-life measure

With Democratic candidates hoping that the abortion issue will rally support for their party across the country, the results from a Kansas ballot measure may be a cause of concern for the GOP.

Voters defeated a proposed state constitutional amendment that would have declared that there is no fundamental right to abortion. While the U.S. Supreme Court earlier this year overturned the Roe v. Wade decision that legalized abortion nationwide, the Kansas Supreme Court had found the state constitution independently protected abortion rights.

While Kansas is a conservative-leaning state that consistently votes Republican in presidential elections, it does have a Democratic governor, Laura Kelly, and a large suburban voting population in the Kansas City area.

Since Roe was overturned, Democrats have hoped that the issue would galvanize voters nationwide, particularly in states such as Pennsylvania and Wisconsin where the legislatures are controlled by pro-life Republicans. Polls have shown that many Americans support early abortions, though the same polls show that the majority of Americans believe there should be more restrictions on abortion, not less.

Eric vs. Eric

One Eric won the Republican primary for U.S. Senate in Missouri and another Eric lost. As far as national Republicans are concerned, the right Eric prevailed.

Eric Schmitt, the state attorney general, defeated former Missouri Governor Eric Greitens, whose campaign was marred by allegations of abuse by his ex-wife.

Polls ahead of the primary showed that if Greitens were to win the nomination, he could struggle in a November matchup against the Democratic candidate and perhaps jeopardize a Senate seat that Republicans cannot afford to lose if they want to seize control of the chamber. A Republican-affiliated group launched a TV campaign to derail Greitens’ chances.

None of that dissuaded Trump from taking the unusual tack on Monday of endorsing “ERIC” without specifying which one, leading both candidates to claim Trump’s support and giving Greitens a lifeline.

Schmitt is now expected to win the seat handily this fall, sparing the party from having to divert resources to Missouri that it had earmarked for other Senate races.

Other important primary-day results

In the key battleground state of Arizona, state Representative Mark Finchem won the Republican nomination for secretary of state, a position that would give him enormous sway over the conduct of elections should he prevail against his Democratic opponent in November.

Finchem was present at Trump’s Jan. 6, 2021, speech in Washington that preceded the Jan. 6 U.S. Capitol riots and has continued to assert that the former president won the 2020 election.

Blake Masters, a former tech executive who has backed Trump’s claims of election fraud, secured the Republican nomination in the Senate race in Arizona, the Associated Press said, and will face Senator Mark Kelly, seen as one of the most vulnerable Democratic incumbents. Masters has Trump’s endorsement and the backing of tech billionaire Peter Thiel.

The Arizona governor’s race, which saw Trump and his former Vice President Mike Pence square off in their endorsement, shows that Trump’s backing may hold the Midas touch once again. Trump-backed candidate Kari Lake leads Pence-backed candidate Karrin Taylor Robson by about 11,000 votes with nearly 80% of the precincts reporting as of this writing, in what many say will be a defining election for the direction of the GOP.

Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt, endorsed by Trump, secured the Republican nomination for governor. He will face Democratic Governor Laura Kelly in November in what is expected to be a highly competitive race.

One of only 10 House Republicans who voted to impeach Trump following the U.S. Capitol attack, U.S. Representative Peter Meijer of Michigan, lost to upstart challenger John Gibbs.

Gibbs, backed by Trump, was the beneficiary of Democratic advertising during the Republican primary, part of a risky and highly controversial strategy to try to elevate more vulnerable Republican candidates in swing districts even as party leaders warn they pose a danger to democracy.

Another Republican who voted to impeach Trump, Jamie Herrera Beutler of Washington, also faced a Trump-endorsed primary challenger. The results of that race were not expected to be known until later on Wednesday or Thursday.

Trump’s endorsement continues to prove to be highly effective in winning the GOP nomination. It remains to be seen, however, if the candidates he backs will have the same rate of success in the general election.

Republicans need a net gain of one seat to take control of the Senate and a net gain of seven seats to take control of the House.