One of the bigger storylines from Tuesday’s primary was the extent to which Democrats meddled in GOP statewide primaries, with the goal of helping to elect the weaker (and usually more Trump-oriented) candidate.

As Jessica Taylor writes, their months-long strategy worked out in the Illinois governor race, where the DGA and incumbent Gov. J.B. Pritzker combined to spend more than $35 million to boost conservative downstate Sen. Darren Bailey over the more moderate Aurora Mayor Richard Irvin. Even though billionaire hedge fund executive Ken Griffin put $50 million behind Irvin, Bailey notched a comfortable win – with Irvin coming in third place, 42 points behind the GOP winner. Bailey’s victory was another reminder of how the GOP base in the state – once centered in the prosperous suburbs around Chicago – has migrated to the more rural downstate.

But, Democratic efforts to secure more controversial candidates backfired in both the Senate and governor primaries in Colorado. Construction company CEO Joe O’Dea advanced to face Democratic Sen. Michael Bennet in a race we currently rate as Likely Democrat, but

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