Upcoming Primaries: July Political Calendar

​Primaries and runoffs are still on the political horizon, but July is a light electoral month.  Tomorrow, the postponed New Jersey statewide primary will be held, and a new extensive mail voting procedure will be tested as all registered voters were sent a live ballot.  The Delaware stand-alone presidential primary will also be conducted.  The regular statewide Delaware primary is the latest in the nation, scheduled for September 15th.  Stand-alone presidential primaries will also be held this month in Louisiana (7/11) and Puerto Rico (7/12).
 
July 14th hosts runoff elections in Alabama and Texas.  The important US Senate Republican contest between retired Auburn University head football coach Tommy Tuberville and ex-US Attorney General and former Senator Jeff Sessions will be finally be decided that day.  Runoffs in the open 1st and 2nd Congressional Districts will also send contestants to the respective general elections in what should be safe Republican seats.  The original Alabama runoff election date was March 31st.
 
Texas holds a US Senate Democratic runoff and 15 House secondary elections postponed from May 26th.  From the latter group, nine Republican contests and six Democratic electoral events will finally determine general election participants.  The Texas and Alabama primaries were held all the way back on March 3rd. 
 
Maine holds its postponed primary also on July 14th.  State House Speaker Sara Gideon is a heavy favorite to win the Democratic US Senate nomination to face incumbent Susan Collins (R).  Three credible Republicans are vying for the opportunity of challenging freshman Rep. Jared Golden (D-Lewiston) in what is likely to be a competitive 2nd District general election campaign.