A short-list of House and Senate races Crew of 42 is tracking for Black voter turnout, CBC membership change, and the balance inside the Democratic caucus. We update this page the week of each filing deadline and the week before each primary.
Senate — 2018 Cycle
- Mississippi Special — Mike Espy (D) vs Cindy Hyde-Smith (R) · Runoff November 27, 2018. Espy would be the first Black senator from Mississippi since Reconstruction.
- New Jersey — Sen. Bob Menendez (D) vs Bob Hugin (R). Watch CBC surrogate travel; Booker will campaign heavily.
- Tennessee — Phil Bredesen (D) vs Marsha Blackburn (R). Not a Black-candidate race, but the Memphis turnout model matters for 2020.
House — Open Seats & Primaries
- MD-07 — Successor watch for Rep. Elijah Cummings (D). Baltimore mayor’s office and state legislative bench both have candidates lining up.
- NY-09 — Rep. Yvette Clarke (D) primary challenge from Adem Bunkeddeko. Bellwether for how safe CBC incumbents are against a younger, progressive bench.
- MI-13 — Rep. John Conyers seat. Brenda Jones vs Rashida Tlaib primary. The Detroit seat Conyers held since 1965.
- MA-07 — Rep. Michael Capuano (D) vs Ayanna Pressley. Pressley would be the first Black woman elected to Congress from Massachusetts.
- GA-06 Open — Watch whether Stacey Abrams’ gubernatorial turnout helps Lucy McBath unseat Rep. Karen Handel (R).
Governors
- Georgia — Stacey Abrams (D) vs Brian Kemp (R). First Black woman on a general-election ballot for governor in the United States.
- Maryland — Ben Jealous (D) vs Gov. Larry Hogan (R). Former NAACP president.
- Florida — Andrew Gillum (D) vs Ron DeSantis (R). Tallahassee mayor, first Black gubernatorial nominee in Florida.
For week-of-primary analysis and roll-call tracking, subscribe via the newsroom page.