May 17 is a big primary day with contests in Idaho, Kentucky, North Carolina, Oregon and Pennsylvania, here are the top races we are watching.
Idaho ID-02: Mike Simpson (R) - East: Boise, Pocatello, Idaho Falls Solid Republican. Simpson, a 12-term moderate, faces a rematch against conservative Idaho Falls attorney Bryan Smith. In 2014, Simpson clobbered Smith by 24 points, successfully portraying him as a pawn for out-of-state interests like the Club for Growth. This time around, however, Simpson is in much more danger—not only because he called Trump "unfit for office" in 2016 and voted for a January 6 investigation, but because he's angered conservatives on a red-hot local issue. In 2021, Simpson proposed a $33.5 billion plan to breach four hydroelectric dams along the Lower Snake River to save endangered Idaho salmon. Simpson calls the plan a compromise to settle costly, decades-long lawsuits filed by environmental groups. But conservative activists are livid with Simpson, claiming the plan would deprive farmers and ranchers of a critical water supply and threaten hydroelectric power, jacking up local electricity rates. Smith touts
Subscribe Today
Our subscribers have first access to individual race pages for each House, Senate and Governors race, which will include race ratings (each race is rated on a seven-point scale) and a narrative analysis pertaining to that race.