Dem
51
GOP
49
You thought the primaries were over? Nope. There are quite a few primaries in August and September. All of the states listed below still have pending U.S. House primaries. Some also have U.S. Senate primaries, as indicated in the “Notes” field:
| Date | State | Notes |
| Aug. 6 | Kansas | |
| Aug. 6 | Michigan | Open Senate seat primaries |
| Aug. 6 | Missouri | Which Democrat will face Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO)? |
| Aug. 6 | Washington | Which Republican will face Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-WA)? |
| Aug. 10 | Hawaii | Which Republican will face Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-HI)? |
| Aug. 13 | Connecticut | Which Republican will face Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT)? |
| Aug. 13 | Minnesota | Which Republican will face Sen. Amy Klobuchar (DFL-MN)? |
| Aug. 13 | Vermont | Which Republican will face Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT)? |
| Aug. 13 | Wisconsin | Which Republican will face Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI)? |
| Aug. 20 | Alaska | |
| Aug. 20 | Florida | Which Democrat will face Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL)? |
| Aug. 20 | Wyoming | Which Democrat will face Sen. John Barasso (R-WY)? |
| Sep. 3 | Massachusetts | Which Republican will face Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA)? |
| Sep. 10 | Delaware | Open Senate seat primaries |
| Sep. 10 | New Hampshire | |
| Sep. 10 | Rhode Island | Which Republican will face Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI)? |
In some cases, the Senate primary is just a formality because there is only one candidate or one serious candidate. In Wisconsin, Tammy Baldwin is almost sure to face Eric Hovde, a wealthy venture capitalist who owns a bank and lives in California. In Florida, Rick Scott will probably face former representative Debbie Mucarsel-Powell, an immigrant from Ecuador. Florida is full of immigrants from Latin America; that could give her an edge, although beating an incumbent senator is always tough. In Delaware, there is an open seat due to the retirement of Sen. Tom Carper (D-DE). But it is virtually certain that the race will be between Rep. Lisa Rochester (D-DE) and Walmart executive Eric Hansen. In Wyoming, the Democrats found a candidate in Scott Morrow, not that it matters much.
One race that is interesting is in Vermont. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) is running for reelection. The Republicans will probably nominate sacrificial lamb Gerald Malloy, an Army veteran. He will be crushed, but we have to give him credit for his clever website URL, deploymalloy.com. One problem here is that although Bernie is the most popular senator in the country and will flatten Malloy, he also has to beat Father Time. Bernie is 82 and the governor, Phil Scott, is a Republican. If Father Time wins this one, Scott will replace Sanders with a Republican. The Bern learned nothing from RBG. He could have stepped aside and let Rep. Becca Balint (D-VT) move up, but he chose not to. They all expect to live forever. And by the way, we haven't heard a peep from Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor, who just turned 70 and has severe Type I diabetes. If she were to retire now, Joe Biden could nominate a young Latina and the Senate would quickly confirm her. After Jan. 20, that might not be the case. None of them ever learn. Except Biden. He's a real star.
Some states also have gubernatorial primaries coming up. These include Missouri, Vermont, and Washington. In some states there are also primaries for lieutenant governor, attorney general, and other statewide offices as well as House seats. (V)