Welcome to the Wednesday, August 5, Brew. Here’s what’s in store for you as you start your day:

1. In Kansas, Marshall wins GOP Senate nod, Watkins becomes sixth House incumbent to lose renomination
2. Tennessee voters to decide statewide primaries on Thursday
3. Supreme Court blocks Idaho ballot measure campaign from continuing to collect electronic signatures

In Kansas, Marshall wins GOP Senate nod, Watkins becomes sixth House incumbent to lose renomination

Republican U.S. Senate primary in Kansas

Rep. Roger Marshall defeated former Secretary of State Kris Kobach, plumbing business owner Bob Hamilton, and eight others in the Republican primary for U.S. Senate in Kansas. As of 9:25 p.m. Central Time, Marshall had received 37% of the vote followed by Kobach and Hamilton with 26% and 20%, respectively. No other candidate received over 10% of the vote.

Incumbent Pat Roberts (R), who was first elected in 1996, is not seeking re-election. Roberts endorsed Marshall on July 21.

During the primary campaign, Marshall said he had a record of accomplishments in the House including sitting on the Agriculture Committee, ensuring that protections for crop insurance were included in the Farm Bill, and passing a bill to reduce tax rates.

Since July 15, the Sunflower State super PAC has spent over $4 million worth of satellite spending primarily supporting Kobach. Media outlets wrote that the group had Democratic connections and Politico reported that one of the group's ads was "engineered to drive conservative voters towards Kobach."

Republican primary in Kansas’ 2nd Congressional District

Jake LaTurner won Kansas' 2nd Congressional District Republican primary over incumbent Steve Watkins and Dennis Taylor. As of 9:30 p.m. Central Time, LaTurner had received 49% of the vote to Watkins' 34% and Taylor's 17% with 57% of precincts reporting. Watkins defeated Paul Davis (D) in the 2018 general election, 47.6% to 46.8%.

Gov. Sam Brownback (R) appointed LaTurner as Kansas’ treasurer in 2017, and LaTurner was elected to a full term in 2018. At 32, he is the youngest statewide elected official in the U.S.

Watkins is the sixth incumbent representative defeated in a primary in 2020, along with Reps. Daniel Lipinski (D-Ill.), Steve King (R-Iowa), Eliot Engel (D-N.Y.), Denver Riggleman (R-Va.), and Scott Tipton (R). The six incumbents defeated so far this year are the most outside of a post-redistricting year since 2000.

Watkins was charged with four counts of voter fraud on July 14. The charges resulted from an investigation into Watkins' use of a UPS store address as his place of residence on a voter registration form. Watkins said he mistakenly used his mailing address instead of his residential address and that the charges were politically motivated.

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Tennessee voters to decide statewide primaries on Thursday

It’s a busy week for primary elections this week, which features two instances of states holding elections on a day other than Tuesday. Hawaii is holding its statewide primary on Saturday—August 8—and Tennessee’s primaries are on Thursday, August 6.

Article VII of the Tennessee Constitution states that elections be held on the first Thursday in August for judicial and other state and county officers. A Politico article from 2014 included several possible explanations for voting on Thursdays in Tennessee but no definitive answer for the practice. Those of us at Ballotpedia are just thankful we get to cover elections on two extra days this week!

Three battleground primaries are lined up in Tennessee - one U.S. Senate and two House races.

Republican U.S. Senate primary in Tennessee

Fifteen candidates are running in the Republican primary to succeed Sen. Lamar Alexander (R), who announced in December 2018 that he would not seek re-election. Two candidates—Bill Hagerty and Manny Sethi—lead in media attention, noteworthy primary endorsements, advertisement activity, and campaign spending.

CNN's Alex Rogers and Manu Raju wrote that the primary "resembles the political battles of the past, with libertarian and tea party-aligned conservatives taking on party leaders and the GOP establishment." Both candidates have aired campaign ads criticizing the other's previous political donations and questioning their conservatism.

Hagerty is a former ambassador to Japan in the Trump administration and has been endorsed by Trump and Tennessee's other U.S. Senator, Marsha Blackburn (R). Sethi is an orthopedic surgeon who has received endorsements from U.S. Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) and former Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.).

According to campaign finance reports through July 17, Hagerty raised $12.3 million, the second-highest total among all non-incumbent Republicans in 2020 U.S. Senate primaries. He reported $2.7 million cash on hand. Sethi has raised $4.6 million with $386,000 on hand.

The Cook Political Report, Inside Elections, and Larry Sabato's Crystal Ball all rate the general election as Solid or Safe Republican. The last time Tennessee elected a Democratic U.S. Senator was former Vice President Al Gore in 1990.

Democratic primary in Tennessee’s 5th Congressional District

Incumbent Jim Cooper faces Keeda Haynes and Joshua Rawlings in the 5th District, which includes the city of Nashville in central Tennessee.

Cooper has represented the district since 2003 and also served in the U.S. House from Tennessee from 1983 to 1995. During the campaign, he stated that his priorities include opposing President Trump as well as focusing on “COVID-19, the economy, [and] addressing systemic racism and health care.”

Haynes has worked as a public defender before working as a legal advisor at a nonprofit organization supporting formerly incarcerated women. Her campaign platform includes advocating for Medicare for all, changes to the criminal justice system, and expanding access to below-market rate housing.

Rawlings runs a software company and ran for the Tennessee House of Representatives as a Republican in 2014. His platform includes expanding regulations on satellite spending, universal healthcare, the environment, and improving education.

Cooper was endorsed by the Planned Parenthood Action Fund and the American Federation of Government Employees. Haynes received the endorsement of Our Revolution and the Progressive Change Campaign Committee.

The district has not elected a Republican representative since 1875. Cooper defeated Jody Ball (R) in the 2018 general election, 68% to 32%. The Cook Political Report, Inside Elections, and Larry Sabato's Crystal Ball all rate the general election as Solid or Safe Democratic, and no candidates filed to run in the Republican primary in the district.

Republican primary in Tennessee’s 1st Congressional District

Fifteen Republican candidates are vying to succeed Rep. Phil Roe (R), who was first elected in 2008 and announced on January 3 he would not seek re-election. Tennessee has been a Republican trifecta since 2011. Phil Bredesen (D)—who was elected in 2002 and 2006—was the most recent governor of Tennessee.

Supreme Court blocks Idaho ballot measure campaign from continuing to collect electronic signatures  

On July 30, the U.S. Supreme Court granted an emergency stay of a lower court ruling that had allowed the sponsors of an Idaho ballot measure to continue to collect electronic signatures. The lower court decision had allowed Reclaim Idaho, backers of the Idaho Income Tax Increases for Education Funding Initiative, to collect signatures past the original deadline and to collect e-signatures.

The Idaho Income Tax Increases for Education Funding Initiative was designed to increase the state income tax rate for individuals with incomes above $250,000; increase the corporate income tax rate; and create and fund the Quality Education Fund which would distribute monies to school districts and public charter schools.

Chief Justice Roberts was joined by Justices Alito, Gorsuch, Kavanaugh in granting the emergency stay that applies to all previous lower court orders in the case. Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Ruth Bader Ginsburg dissented. The published opinion did not state how Justices Thomas, Breyer, and Kagan voted. According to a post by Amy Howe at Howe on the Court, “Five votes were needed to issue the stay, so at least one of Thomas, Breyer or Kagan must have voted to issue the stay along with” the other four justices.

Reclaim Idaho filed a lawsuit June 6 arguing that the state’s social distancing restrictions to slow the spread of the coronavirus had made it impossible for the campaign to collect signatures, thus violating the petitioners' First Amendment rights. United States District Court Judge Lynn Winmill issued a preliminary injunction June 23 that gave the campaign 48 more days to gather signatures and temporary permission to use electronic signatures. Winmill was appointed to the court in 1995 after being nominated by President Bill Clinton (D).

Idaho Governor Brad Little (R) and Secretary of State Lawerence Denney (R) appealed Winmill’s ruling to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, which is expected to hear oral arguments in the case on August 13.

Thirteen of the 26 states that permit statewide initiative and/or referendum featured at least one lawsuit challenging ballot measure deadlines and signature requirements due to the coronavirus pandemic. The subjects of the lawsuits include the use of electronic signatures, notarization requirements, signature deadlines, and signature requirements. 

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