What to watch for in Tuesday’s primaries in five states

Five states will hold presidential primaries on Tuesday – Arizona, Florida, Illinois, Kansas and Ohio – the largest number of contests since Super Tuesday three weeks ago.

But with the elections for the presidential nomination already finalized, none of the presumptive nominees will appear in those states today. Instead, President Biden will travel to Nevada, a summit battleground this fall, where he will visit Reno and Las Vegas, while Dr. Jill Biden, the first lady, will campaign throughout New England. Former President Donald J. Trump campaigned in Ohio on Saturday.

Attention today turns to a handful of down-ballot races.

Chief among them is the Republican primary for a competitive Senate seat in Ohio. Three Republicans are taking on a chance to take on Senator Sherrod Brown, a Democrat.

Mr. Trump on Saturday gushed over his favorite candidate, Bernie Moreno, a former car dealer from Cleveland, but mentioned him only sparingly in his caustic, liberal speech at a rally in Vandalia, in which he said some migrants were “not people” and that the country would face a ‘bloodbath’ if he were to lose in the November elections. Mr. Moreno will face Frank LaRose, Ohio’s secretary of state, and Matt Dolan, a wealthy senator, in the primary.

In Illinois, a series of competitive House primaries could signal some contours of the fall elections.

In the 12th Congressional District, incumbent Mike Bost faces a Republican challenger to his right in Darren Bailey, who lost J.B. Pritzker’s 2022 governor’s race by a wide margin. Mr. Bailey is a staunchly pro-Trump Republican, but Mr. Bost has Mr. Trump’s endorsement.

Danny Davis, 82, wants to keep his seat in the Democratic primary for the Seventh Congressional District. He has two main opponents: Chicago Treasurer Melissa Conyears-Ervin and a youthful community organizer named Kina Collins. But the Democratic establishment in Illinois has rallied behind Mr. Davis — who is a year older than Mr. Biden, making his age a sensitive issue for the primaries.

In the Fourth Congressional District, Rep. Jesús “Chuy” García, a progressive Democrat, will face Raymond Lopez, a Chicago councilman, in a Democratic primary focused on immigration in Chicago. Mr. García, “a proud immigrant,” was a Democrat who criticized Mr. Biden when he called an undocumented migrant “illegal” in his State of the Union address. Mr. Lopez is more conservative on immigration.

In California, a special primary election in the 20th Congressional District will be held to conclude the term of former Rep. Kevin McCarthy, a Republican who was ousted from his role as Speaker of the House of Representatives and resigned shortly thereafter. A separate primary for a full term in the seat was held on Super Tuesday starting in January 2025, with two Republicans – Vince Fong and Mike Boudreaux – advancing to the November general election.