In one of the biggest days of this year's primary campaign season, voters rejected a measure that would have made it easier to restrict abortion rights in red-state Kansas and repudiated a scandal-tarred former governor seeking a U.S. Senate seat in Missouri.Meanwhile, a political newcomer emerged from Michigan's messy Republican gubernatorial primary, setting up a rare woman-vs.-woman general election matchup between conservative commentator Tudor Dixon and incumbent Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. And a Democratic congressman was ousted from Congress after redistricting forced him into the same primary as a fellow incumbent.Takeaways from election results Tuesday night:RED-STATE KANSAS REJECTS ANTI-ABORTION AMENDMENTKansas may seem like an unlikely place for abortion rights supporters to notch a major victory. But on Tuesday, voters in the conservative state resoundingly rejected a constitutional amendment that would have allowed the Legislature to ban abortion. It was the first major test of voter sentiment since the Supreme Court ruling in June to rescind the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision that legalized abortion nationwide.The amendment would have allowed the Legislature to overturn a 2019 state Supreme Court decision declaring access to abortion a "fundamental" right under the state constitution.Its failure at the ballot in a state Donald Trump won by nearly 15 points issues a stark warning to Republicans, who have downplayed the political impact of the high court's ruling. It also hands a considerable win to Democrats, who are feeling newly energized heading into what was expected to be a tough midterm election season for them. Kansas currently allows abortion until the 22nd week of pregnancy. After that, abortion is allowed only to save a patient's life or to prevent "a substantial and irreversible physical impairment of a major bodily function."Gov. Laura Kelly, a Democrat who supports abortion rights, has warned that the Republican-led Legislature's efforts to ban abortion would hurt the state. On Tuesday it became clear than many voters agree with her. ___GREITENS' COMEBACK COLLAPSESDemocratic hopes of picking up a U.S. Senate seat in deep-red Missouri faltered Tuesday after Republican voters selected Attorney General Eric Schmitt as their nominee over former Gov. Eric Greitens, who resigned in disgrace in 2018.Greitens, they predicted, would be toxic in a general election. Democrats landed a strong recruit in beer heir Trudy Busch Valentine, who won her primary Tuesday. And the state's Republican establishment prepared to put millions of dollars behind an independent candidate in the general election, potentially fracturing the GOP vote. But Greitens came on short Tuesday, finishing in a distant third behind Schmitt and U.S. Rep. Vicky Hartzler. His campaign's tailspin can likely be traced back to March, when his ex-wife submitted a bombshell legal filing in the former couple's child custody case. Sheena Greitens said in a sworn statement that Eric Greitens had abused her and one of their young sons. She also said he displayed such "unstable and coercive behavior" in the lead-up to his 2018 resignation that others took steps to limit his access to firearms.At the time, Greitens faced potential impeachment after his former hairdresser testified that he blindfolded and restrained her in his basement, assaulted her and appeared to take a compromising photo to pressure her to keep quiet about an affair.He resigned from office — and avoided testifying under oath about the affair.He launched his comeback campaign for Senate last year, marketing himself as an unabashedly pro-Trump conservative. And while many in Missouri wrote him off, one important political figure didn't: Donald Trump, who mused publicly about Greitens' attributes. But in the end, Trump stopped short of issuing an endorsement, instead issuing a vague statement this week throwing his support behind "ERIC."And on Tuesday, the other "ERIC" in the race — Schmitt — won. ___MESSY RACE IN MICHIGANAt its essence, Michigan's raucous Republican gubernatorial primary was a contest of which candidate's personal baggage was the least disqualifying. On Tuesday, conservative media personality Tudor Dixon was the victor, setting up a November general election against Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in the battleground state.Dixon's past as an actor in a series of vulgar and low-budget horror movies became a campaign issue. But her career moonlighting in titles such as "Buddy BeBop Vs. the Living Dead" and a vampire TV series called "Transitions" paled in comparison to her rivals' problems.One of them, Ryan Kelley, faces federal misdemeanor charges after he was recorded on video in Washington during the Jan. 6 insurrection directing a mob of Trump supporters toward a set of stairs leading to the U.S. Capitol. Kelley has pleaded not guilty. Another, Kevin Rinke, is a former car dealer who settled a series of lawsuits in the 1990s after he was alleged to have made racist and sexist comments, which included calling women "ignorant and stupid" and stating that they "should not be allowed to work in public."A third, Garrett Soldano, is a chiropractor and self-help guru who has sold supplements he falsely claimed were a therapeutic treatment for the coronavirus.Many in the state's Republican establishment, including billionaire former Trump education secretary Betsy DeVos, view Dixon as their best shot at defeating Whitmer. Trump endorsed Dixon in the race Friday, just a few days before the primary.But her primary victory is an outcome few would have predicted months ago. In addition to the shortcomings of her rivals, her path was cleared when the two best-known candidates in the race were kicked off the ballot in May for submitting false petition signatures.___PRO-ISRAEL LOBBY STRIKES AGAINRedistricting forced two Democratic House incumbents into a bitter primary in eastern Michigan. But massive spending by the pro-Israel lobby is what may have doomed Rep. Andy Levin, a former president of his synagogue, in the race Tuesday against Rep. Haley Stevens for a suburban Detroit congressional seat.Stevens, who attends a nondenominational megachurch in the city of Troy, was buoyed by more than $4 million in advertising spending by the United Democracy Project, a super PAC launched by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, commonly called AIPAC.The ads amplified Stevens' campaign message, but some also attacked Levin. But it's hardly a surprise that the group, which is partially funded by two billionaire Republican megadonors, went after Levin despite his Jewish faith.Levin, a progressive member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, has been highly critical of Israel's record on human rights and what he has called the country's "deliberate campaign to dilute the Palestinian population." He's also just the latest congressional Democrat who has been defeated following a spending blitz by the group, which has poured at least $24 million into federal races this year.

Ron Johnson, the most vulnerable Republican senator up for reelection, will take on Wisconsin's Democratic lieutenant governor in November in one of this year's most closely watched Senate contests.Meanwhile, a member of the Squad of progressive lawmakers survived a tough primary challenge from a Democratic rival running on a pro-police platform, while voters in Vermont are poised to send a woman to Congress for the first time in the state's 231-year history.Takeaways from election results Tuesday night:SQUAD VICTORYMinnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar’s detractors spent heavily to oust the divisive lawmaker and member of the progressive Squad.They failed. Again.Omar narrowly defeated her centrist challenger, former Minneapolis City Councilmember Don Samuels, all but guaranteeing her victory in November in an overwhelmingly Democratic district centered around Minneapolis. It was the second time a well-financed group had mobilized unsuccessfully against her.Almost since her arrival in Congress, Omar has been a lightning rod for bipartisan criticism. First, she drew condemnation after suggesting in 2019 that Israel’s supporters were pushing U.S. lawmakers to take a pledge of “allegiance to a foreign country” and claiming congressional support for Israel was “all about the Benjamins, baby,” which many saw as an antisemitic trope about Jews buying influence.That drew a $2.5 million negative advertising blitz, which was financed by the pro-Israel lobby, attacking her ahead of the 2020 election.This year, pro-police groups as well as a mysterious super PAC spent over $750,000 criticizing Omar and backing Samuels. His north Minneapolis base suffers from more violent crime than other parts of the city, and he helped organize a campaign to stop sharp cuts in police funding pushed by progressive activists, including Omar, following the killing of George Floyd by police.Other members of the Squad — Reps. Cori Bush of Missouri and Rashida Tlaib of Michigan — had easier victories last week.TOUGH FIGHT IN WISCONSIN SENATE RACEIf you take his word for it, Johnson shouldn't be running. The Wisconsin Republican had pledged to step down after two terms, only to reverse himself this year.Now, after coasting to victory in his primary Tuesday, Johnson's reward will be a hard-fought campaign against Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes that could determine the balance of power in the narrowly divided U.S. Senate. It's also certain to saturate the airwaves as millions of political advertising dollars flood the state.It will be the first time Johnson won’t be running against former Sen. Russ Feingold, the Democrat he ousted from office and defeated again six years later. He's also the only Republican senator up for reelection in a state Joe Biden won in 2020.The matchup offers a study in contrasts. Johnson, 67, is a multimillionaire businessman whose father was a corporate treasurer. At 35, Barnes is close to half his age and the product of a working-class Milwaukee family. He would be the first Black senator from Wisconsin if elected.Johnson has the former president's backing. He has also been a major ally.After the 2020 election, an aide to Johnson told then-Vice President Mike Pence's staff in a text message that he wanted to hand-deliver to Pence fake elector votes from his state and neighboring Michigan. Pence's staff rebuffed their request.Johnson met with Wisconsin lawmakers in 2021 and talked about dismantling the state’s bipartisan elections commission and having the GOP-controlled Legislature take over presidential and federal elections.VERMONT'S GLASS CEILINGVermont has been represented in Congress by white men ever since it became the 14th state to join the union in 1791.That's poised to change after state Senate leader Becca Balint advanced from Tuesday's Democratic primary to face Republican Liam Madden in a general election contest that will determine who will be Vermont's next representative in the U.S. House.Vermont is a liberal-leaning state and a Republican last won the seat in 1988, making Balint the overwhelming favorite in November. If she wins, Balint will not only be the first woman to represent Vermont in Congress, but the first openly gay person, too.It may seem unusual that such a liberal-leaning state has not elected a woman to Congress. But there hasn’t been much opportunity. As the second-least populated state, Vermont gets to send only one representative to the U.S. House.Current Democratic Rep. Peter Welch has held the seat for the past 15 years, giving it up to run for the Senate. Current U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders had it the 15 years before that. And Republican Jim Jeffords also held the seat for 15 years before he was elected to the Senate.Although the pace of turnover has moved at glacier speed, there is an upside for Balint: The seat offers a reliable springboard to the U.S. Senate. Sanders' term is up in 2024. So far, the 80-year-old has not said whether he intends to run again.