Voters decided congressional primaries in five states June 9


Five states—Georgia, Nevada, North Dakota, South Carolina, and West Virginia—held congressional primaries on June 9, 2020. Winners of the primaries either advanced to primary runoffs or to general elections, depending on the state’s election system. The primary runoff in Georgia is August 11, and the primary runoff in South Carolina is June 23. The other three states do not hold primary runoffs. The general election in all five states will be held November 3.

Georgia, South Carolina, and West Virginia had one U.S. Senate seat up for election each. All five states also had U.S. House seats up for election:
  • Georgia: 14 U.S. House seats
  • Nevada: four U.S. House seats
  • North Dakota: one U.S. House seat
  • South Carolina: seven U.S. House seats
  • West Virginia: three U.S. House seats

A total of 32 congressional offices were up for election on June 9, and 56 primaries were held—28 Democratic, 27 Republican, and one Libertarian. South Carolina cancels primaries if candidates are unopposed. Nine primaries—four Democratic and five Republican—in that state were canceled due to lack of opposition, and the candidates in those races automatically advanced to the general election.

The incumbents who did run for re-election included 19 Republicans and 10 Democrats. Fifteen incumbents ran unopposed, while 14 faced challengers. Twenty-eight incumbents advanced to the general election, and one advanced to a primary runoff. No incumbents were defeated.

Additional reading:
United States Senate election in Georgia, 2020
United States House of Representatives elections in Georgia, 2020
United States House of Representatives elections in Nevada, 2020
United States House of Representatives election in North Dakota, 2020
United States Senate election in South Carolina, 2020
United States Senate election in West Virginia, 2020
United States House of Representatives elections in West Virginia, 2020