Senate: Post-Primary Bottom Lines (CA, MS, MT, NJ)

The following Bottom Lines have been updated following this week's Senate primaries in California, Mississippi, Montana and New Jersey.

Democratic U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein took 44 percent of the vote in the state’s top-two primary June 5. While she has gotten some criticism for not getting at least a majority of the vote, it is worth remembering that there were 32 candidates on the Senate primary ballot. She will face fellow Democrat Kevin de Leon, the state Senate Pro-Tem, in the general election. De Leon is running to Feinstein’s left and managed to win the party endorsement, which generated a lot of attention for his campaign and caused some (misplaced) hand-wringing about Feinstein’s prospects. But, de Leon only took 11 percent in the primary, which has to be a major disappointment to progressives and damages his prospects in November. Without a Republican in the general election, the seat has nowhere to go but the Solid Democratic column where Feinstein is the favorite to win a sixth term.

Republican U.S. Sen. Roger Wicker had no trouble winning the