Nonpartisan primary

Massachusetts voters face a record nine ballot questions this cycle, including Question 3, which would replace the state's partisan primary with a "top-two" system: all candidates appear on one primary ballot, and the top two vote-getters advance to the general election, regardless of party. Approval would make Massachusetts the third state, after California and Washington, to use the model.

Supporters, including the Coalition for Healthy Democracy, argue the change empowers the state's large unenrolled-voter bloc (67% of the electorate) and increases competitiveness. Opponents, such as Voter Rights MA, warn it could let two candidates from the same party reach November, reducing choice and entrenching the two-party system. A recent Suffolk University/Boston Globe poll showed supporters with a narrow lead. If passed, the system could begin in 2028, though lawmakers could amend or delay it.

Several California congressional primaries pit establishment Democrats against insurgent challengers, a dynamic that could complicate Hakeem Jeffries' hold on House Democratic leadership if he seeks the speakership in a future majority. Under California's top-two primary system, some races feature Democrat-vs-Democrat matchups between incumbents and younger, further-left or anti-establishment rivals.

Rep. Mike Thompson faces venture capitalist Eric Jones, who says he wouldn't commit to backing Jeffries as speaker. Rep. Doris Matsui, who trailed in the June primary, faces progressive Sacramento Councilmember Mai Vang, who has said she won't support Jeffries. In the race to succeed Nancy Pelosi, state Sen. Scott Wiener backs Jeffries while rival Connie Chan says any speaker candidate must "earn" her vote. Rep. Aisha Wahab, who already defied party leadership once, faces Melissa Hernandez in a rematch. Rep. Jimmy Gomez, under a House Ethics Committee investigation he denies, faces progressive challenger Angela Gonzales-Torres. Many challengers are aligned with the Democratic Socialists of America, signaling a potential bloc of leadership skeptics if elected.

Rep. Young Kim (R-CA) has not reported any income for her husband, Charles Kim, on congressional financial disclosures since first running in 2018, despite Orange County records showing he earned up to $100,000 in 2017 as a U.S. coordinator for Dam Jae, a South Korean nonprofit honoring Korean War veterans. The nonprofit's chairman says the payments were volunteer expense reimbursements, not wages, and Kim's campaign says her husband has been retired since 2017 with only exempt Social Security income.

The disclosure comes amid other financial-transparency disputes involving Kim, including a 2025 ethics complaint alleging she failed to report nearly $50,000 in privately funded travel with her husband to Israel and South Korea, and a failed 2018 lawsuit challenging her "small business owner" ballot label. The renewed scrutiny arrives as Kim faces a bruising general-election matchup against fellow Republican Rep. Ken Calvert in California's redrawn 40th District, a race where both incumbents' financial disclosure histories have become a campaign flashpoint.

Tom Begich, who finished second among Democrats in Alaska's gubernatorial primary with 20.8% of the vote, has dropped out of the race and endorsed fellow Democrat Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins, the top vote-getter overall at 22.5%. The withdrawal leaves Kreiss-Tomkins as the sole Democrat on the November ranked-choice ballot to succeed term-limited Governor Mike Dunleavy.

On the Republican side, consolidation has been harder to achieve. Candidate Dave Bronson, who reportedly signed a pledge to withdraw if he didn't win a primary majority, has said he will stay in the race despite finishing behind businesswoman Bernadette Wilson. That raises the possibility of three Republicans splitting the conservative vote against a single, consolidated Democratic candidate under Alaska's top-four ranked-choice system. Candidates have until August 31 to withdraw before the ballot is finalized. A separate ballot measure to repeal ranked-choice voting is also before Alaska voters this November.

Alaska's ranked-choice voting system, adopted for state and federal elections, continues to face criticism after its first two election cycles were marked by complexity, delays, and voter confusion. Critics argue the system has produced convoluted outcomes and undermined confidence in results, pointing to issues like vote splitting among candidates from the same party and lengthy tabulation processes before winners are declared.

The debate has intensified around Alaska's high-profile U.S. Senate race, where Democrat Mary Peltola advanced to a four-candidate general election against Republican incumbent Dan Sullivan after finishing ahead of him in the primary, a contest that could affect control of the Senate. Peltola's candidacy has drawn scrutiny over her attendance record in past legislative roles, adding another layer to a race already being watched as a test of how ranked-choice voting shapes competitive outcomes. Supporters of the system defend it as a tool to reduce polarization and encourage coalition-building, while detractors, including Republican officials, argue it has instead created procedural headaches, making Alaska's experience a closely watched case nationally.