Incumbent Gov. Dan McKee will win Democratic nomination for Rhode Island governor

Incumbent Gov. Dan McKee will win the Democratic nomination for Rhode Island governor, CNN projects. He will face Republican Ashley Kalus in November.  

McKee was elevated from lieutenant governor in 2021 after former Gov. Gina Raimondo became President Joe Biden’s Commerce secretary.  

He defeated Secretary of State Nellie Gorbea and former CVS president Helena Foulkes in today’s primary.

In the closely watched Republican Senate primary in New Hampshire, the candidates are separated by just about 2,000 votes as results continue to roll in across the state.

Chuck Morse, the state Senate president, is leading Don Bolduc, a retired Army brigadier general, in many of the big cities, but not by a big margin, according to a break down of numbers so far from CNN senior political analyst John Avlon. Many results in rural parts of the state are still coming in.

Top Republicans harbor reservations about Bolduc, whom even people close to him describe as a “loose cannon” without much of a political organization or fundraising ability. During the campaign the GOP establishment spent money trying to boost Morse, who they think it the stronger candidate to win the seat in November.

Meanwhile, in New Hampshire’s 1st Congressional District, two ex-Trump staffers are battling it out to face incumbent Democratic Rep. Chris Pappas in the fall.

Watch more here:

The 2022 primary season is poised to go out with a bang, with voters in New Hampshire and Rhode Island deciding a series of fiercely contested races that could play a major role in defining who controls the House and Senate next year.

Over more than six months, voters around the country have set the stakes for November’s general election – a series of contests that will decide control at nearly every level of government beneath the presidency. Democrats are defending narrow majorities on Capitol Hill and hard-won state executive seats across the country, while Republicans are trying to wrest back control of Congress and put a halt on President Joe Biden’s agenda. The GOP is also positioned to elect a slate of 2020 election denier to key posts in the states and potentially the House and Senate.

Tonight’s key race: On Tuesday, Granite State Republicans are hoping to flip key Democratic-held Senate and House seats, but – as has been a theme throughout the year – they could see those ambitions dimmed if candidates the party views as more viable in a general election are not the pick of primary voters more closely aligned with former President Donald Trump’s politics.

It’s been a tough few months for Republicans seeking to control the Senate in January. And Tuesday’s primary could represent the coup de grace.

Many Republicans are worried that Don Bolduc, a retired Army brigadier general who ran unsuccessfully for the Senate in 2020, could win Tuesday’s Republican Senate primary, setting off a frantic burst of outside spending from Republicans looking to boost Chuck Morse, the state Senate president and establishment favorite.

Bolduc has shown little ability to raise money – he had pulled in less than $600,000 by August 24, compared to Democratic Sen. Maggie Hassan’s $31.4 million – and has a propensity to speak provocatively, with even Republican operatives who know him well describing him as a “loose cannon.”

To help Morse, Sununu endorsed Morse days before the primary and recently spoke with Trump, urging him to get into the race. Trump has yet to endorse, but some Republicans in the state were worried he would back Bolduc.

Another key race: In the Republican primary in New Hampshire’s 1st Congressional District, voters will decide whether mimicking Trump’s style is more effective than running on his policies.

Republicans Matt Mowers and Karoline Leavitt are the frontrunners in the primary. Both worked for Trump – Mowers on his 2016 campaign and in the State Department, and Leavitt in the White House press shop – and both are fully running on board with the former President’s agenda.

Read more about tonight’s primaries here.

Incumbent Democrat Sabina Matos will face Republican Aaron Guckian in Rhode Island’s lieutenant governor race in November, CNN projects.

Matos is seeking a full term.

Ashley Kalus will win the Republican primary for Rhode Island governor, CNN projects.

Kalus was the favorite in the GOP primary and had already launched attack ads on incumbent Democratic Gov. Dan McKee.

The last Republican governor of Rhode Island was Don Carcieri, who served from 2003 to 2011. 

Seth Magaziner will win the Democratic nomination for Rhode Island’s 2nd Congressional District, CNN projects. He will face Republican Allan Fung in November.

Magaziner, the Rhode Island treasurer, had been running for the governor’s seat but pivoted to run for the congressional seat after Rep. Jim Langevin announced he would retire.  

Magaziner raised the most money in the race and had high name recognition in the state and stacking up endorsements — including one from Langevin. 

He defeated Sarah Morgenthau, who was the director of the Peace Corps Response under former President Barack Obama, David Segal, who once served in the state legislature and ran a failed congressional race in 2010, and Joy Fox, who worked as communications director for Langevin and former Gov. Gina Raimondo. 

While President Joe Biden won big in the district and Langevin has represented it since 2001 without much competition, Republicans expect Fung, the former Cranston mayor, to run a credible campaign. 

Fung was the Republican candidate for governor in 2014 and 2018, losing twice to Raimondo but performing well in the district, which covers the western half of the state.

Incumbent David Cicilline will win the Democratic primary in Rhode Island’s 1st Congressional District, CNN projects.

He served as an impeachment manager during former President Donald Trump’s second impeachment trial.

Cicilline will face Republican Allen Waters in November. Both ran unopposed in their respective primaries.

Incumbent Chris Sununu will win the GOP primary for New Hampshire governor and face Democrat Tom Sherman in November, CNN projects.

Incumbent Maggie Hassan will win New Hampshire’s Senate Democratic primary, CNN projects. Her November opponent will be decided by tonight’s most anticipated race. 

A divisive Republican primary broke out after GOP leaders were unable to convince Gov. Chris Sununu to run for Senate.

Don Bolduc, a retired Army general who also ran for Senate in 2020, is the likely frontrunner in the race despite concerns among some Republicans he could jeopardize the party’s chances of winning the seat.