Congressional Filings: April 2025
Time to head into choppy waters!
I can’t sugarcoat things. This month really felt like the beginning of America’s democratic collapse.
April started out with Democrats handing out belt to ass on April Fool’s Day and Trump’s “Liberation Day’ involving global tariffs immediately afterwards, sparking an incredibly volatile stock market and increasing worries of stagflation and recession. In addition to deliberately crashing the global economy for gits and shiggles, the Trump administration captured innocent American civilians and deported them to either ICE black sites in Louisiana or to concentration camps in El Salvador. Global stock markets resembled an EKG scan more than anything as they tried to cling on to any hope that Trump would back off on his global tariff agenda. Thus, big names and rising stars put their hats in the ring as Q1 fundraising deadlines came and went. Once the filing deadlines pass, you’ll start to see further coverage of the Congressional races themselves, as I try to make my own shitty version of the now-defunct Primary School (read their old stuff, y’all, it was an excellent left-wing electoral publication). Regardless of this, we have a lot more filings to get through, so let’s revisit the absolute madhouse that was politics in April 2025.
Alabama
Senate: Birmingham Democrat Dakarai Larriett, a former business executive who sued Michigan State Police for a dehumanizing arrest on ultimately false drunk driving accusations in October, has announced a bid for the Senate seat being vacated by GOP Sen. Tommy Tuberville, who is opting to run for Governor to succeed the term-limited Gov. Kay Ivey. While Greg Howard decided to bow out of the race, former Tanner Williams steelworker, 2x Trump voter, and 2024 DNC speaker Kyle Sweetser is now in the Senate race as a Democrat, and his name recognition alone will help him become the early favorite in a race that has gone from uncontested to crowded - at least as far as AL Democrats are concerned.
AL-02: Octavia Coleman, an epidemiologist and midwife running out of Evergreen, has decided to challenge freshman Rep. Shomari Figures for the Democratic nomination. Her platform’s major plank is delivering justice for the descendants of slaves, including providing for them to have universal healthcare. Most of her political activism seems to be in PA and especially GA, however, and not in Alabama. Remember that Shomari Figures got 92% of the vote in his native Mobile County during his runoff against State House Minority Leader Anthony Daniels last year - Coleman needs to break through in Montgomery and the rural Black Belt to have any shot at doing the unthinkable.
AL-05: This is where Capshaw’s Greg Howard Jr. has decided to focus his efforts. This North Alabama seat, which contains Huntsville and Decatur, has been held by the GOP’s Dale Strong since 2023. Howard will not go through uncontested, however, as something seems to have snapped among Democrats in north Alabama. Huntsville registered nurse Amanda Pusczek, Huntsville professional and activist Candace Duvieilh, Athens’s Jeremy Devito, and Huntsville business owner Andrew Sneed are all challenging him in the Democratic primary. AL-05 has seen Democratic nominees in 2018 and 2022, but not in 2020 or 2024. As of writing, there are five different Democratic challengers to the former Chair of the Madison County Commission. Alabama Democrats like myself will hope that some of these candidates run for some of the highly competitive State House or State Senate races in this region.
Arizona
AZ-01: We’ve got another crowded Democratic primary in this tossup district, as Scottsdale native Jonathan Treble and Phoenix media executive Rick McCartney put their names into the hat that includes 2024 candidate Marlene Galán-Woods and 2024 nominee Dr. Amish Shah. All are vying to unseat GOP incumbent David Schweikert.
AZ-05: Arizona started out hot in April, as Gilbert Republican and former State Rep. Travis Grantham joins the list of MAGA candidates, which includes Daniel Keenan, State Rep. Alex Stovall, and former NFL kicker Jay Feely in the primary to replace Rep. Andy Biggs. Feely is of particular note, as he did play for the Cardinals during his lengthy professional football career and could continue a trend of players trading the gridiron for Congress - just ask Heath Shuler, Anthony Gonzalez, or Colin Allred.
AZ-06: Independent Tucsonan Trevor Dickinson could throw a wrench into the battle for GOP incumbent Juan Ciscomani’s seat if he makes it on the ballot. On the Democratic side, former FBI Special Agent Johnathan Buma, who has accused the agency of being pro-MAGA, announced his bid a month after he was arrested for disclosing confidential records in a bid to prove his claims. It doesn’t help when you highlight portions of the old 1st district held by conservative Democrat Tom O’Halleran instead of the current 6th on your website. Oro Valley immigration lawyer and podcaster Mo Goldman has also filed for this race, likely running on an anti-establishment bent, and Samantha Severson turned her attention to this district after withdrawing from the special election in the 7th. Speaking of which…
AZ-07: As expected, the Democratic primary is crowded for this special election. While moderate State Rep. Daniel Hernandez filed last month, Adelita Grijalva, a Pima County Supervisor and daughter of the late Rep. Raul Grijalva, and Deja Foxx, a reproductive rights activist who turned 25 on April 18th, joined the race in April. Jose Malvido, Jr. and Patrick Harris, Sr. have also made the Democratic ballot. Grijalva and Hernandez, representing separate political dynasties in Tucson, will be your main candidates here, and Tucson mayor Regina Romero will chair Grijalva’s campaign. Grijalva should start as the favorite of the two, having already racked up endorsements from both of Arizona’s U.S. Senators and Bernie Sanders, alongside many, many labor unions and local politicians. As for the GOP, Jorge Rivas did the logical thing and extended his 2026 campaign to 2025. He will face 2024 GOP nominee Daniel Butierez and Jimmy Rodriguez in the special GOP primary.
Arkansas
AR-02: Arkansas is on the board, as 2020 GOP State House candidate and term limits activist Chase McDowell has launched a primary challenge to Republican incumbent French Hill. His first FEC F2 was mistakenly filed for VA-02, funnily enough, although I can’t see AR-02 being quite as competitive as the perennial tossup seat that determines control of the House in our modern elections.
California
Note that California has jungle primaries and mandated runoffs for their non-Presidential general elections.
CA-01: Jim Salegui, a Democrat from Mount Shasta, is the first candidate to file for a run against GOP incumbent Doug LaMalfa in this rural Northern California-based district.
CA-03: Heidi Hall, a Democratic Nevada County Commissioner from Grass Valley, has declared her challenge to Republican incumbent Kevin Kiley. Hall has made it out of a runoff before, placing 2nd to Rep. Doug LaMalfa and losing by 21 points in the 2014 runoff. Endorsed by State Treasurer Fiona Ma and 2024 Dem nominee Jessica Morse, she will face fellow Democrat Doug Huhn for the right to face Kiley next November.
CA-05: Angelina Sigala, the Modesto Democrat who originally challenged moderate incumbent Adam Gray, has decided to move her efforts to the 5th District and GOP incumbent Tom McClintock. I’m still not entirely convinced that Sigala’s candidacy isn’t AI. 2024 Dem nominee Michael Barkley and GOP challenger Jason Weland are also competing for this seat.
CA-06: Chris Bennett, a Sloughhouse veteran and left-wing Democrat, has joined the field in this race. The Army veteran came out swinging against Rep. Ami Bera (D), calling him “do nothing” while advocating for Medicare for All and the Green New Deal, among other progressive policy planks. Bera is also defending against Democrat Kindra Pring and Republicans Christine Bish, the 2024 GOP nominee, and Robla School Board member Craig DeLuz.
CA-07: Sacramento upstart Erica Lee, 26 years of age, launched a Democratic primary challenge from the left against longtime incumbent and dynast Doris Matsui. She’s certainly active on Twitter, but whether this leads to any sort of regional attention, let alone votes, is another question entirely.
CA-11: Cole Bettles, a San Francisco musician and Democrat, has joined the increasingly crowded Democratic primary that includes former AOC chief of staff Saikat Chakrabarti, a recently filed Darren Helton, and a certain Rep. Nancy Pelosi. The GOP has also decided to field a candidate in David Ganezer, and he will have his sights set on denying Chakrabarti the second runoff spot.
CA-13: While his run was leaked late last month, Ceres Mayor Javier Lopez (R) formally entered the race against freshman Democratic incumbent Adam Gray in early April. Lopez is backed by former GOP Rep. John Duarte, which makes the upcoming Gray-Lopez race one of the most anticipated of the 2026 election cycle. Lopez does have to contend with 2024 CA-14 GOP nominee Vin Kruttiventi for the right to face Gray next November, however.
CA-17: San Jose business executive and perennial candidate Ritesh Tandon, who was Rep. Ro Khanna’s GOP opponent in the 2020 and 2022 runoffs before switching to becoming a moderate Democrat in 2024, is back for another Democratic contest against Rep. Ro Khanna. Tandon did not do nearly as well within the Democratic Party as he did with the Republicans.
CA-19: Peter Coe Verbica, a Republican certified financial planner from Felton, will ensure that Republicans have at least one candidate in this Democratic district held by incumbent Jimmy Panetta.
CA-20: Ben Dewell, an independent meteorologist and two-time candidate for this district, is making it three runs as he challenges freshman GOP incumbent Vince Fong.
CA-22: Randy Villegas, a Visalia Democrat and school board member affiliated with the Working Families Party, is making sure that Rudy Salas doesn’t have an easy road to the general election against Republican incumbent David Valadao.
CA-23: It looks like High Desert Democrats have taken a particular dislike to GOP incumbent Jay Obernolte this go around. Yucca Valley distiller Paul Chakalian and Teamster steward Edwin Alonzo are the 3rd and 4th Democrats to announce runs against Obernolte, and the GOP may be wise to let a higher-profile MAGA challenger challenge for 2nd place against the four Democrats.
CA-25: Joe Males, a GOP city councillor for Hemet, has jumped in the race to see if he can become the GOP nominee against Democratic incumbent Raul Ruiz. Males will also have to face fellow Republicans Ceci Truman and Ronald Huffman in the first round.
CA-29: Freshman Democratic Rep. Luz Rivas has another Republican to contend with in Margarita Maria Carranza, who seems to just be reposting her right-leaning TikTok feed onto her campaign’s Facebook page. It’s not exactly something I would expect to be able to flip a deep blue, albeit right-trending, district.
CA-32: Jake Rakov, a Studio City Democrat and former staffer for Rep. Brad Sherman, has launched his own primary challenge in what is likely to be an extremely crowded Democratic field. Rakov’s challenge is driven by age and vigor: he blamed Sherman’s style for Trump’s election and attacked him as being too absent in the district, particularly during the Los Angeles wildfires. Rakov joins Christopher Ahuja in launching serious challenges, while Mia Phillips and David Brown, all Democrats, have also filed for the race.
CA-34: Ángela Gonzales-Torres, a Highland Park Neighborhood Councillor and self-styled anti-gentrification activist, has filed to take on incumbent Democrat Jimmy Gomez in what could be one of the more closely-watched districts in the nation for a Democratic revolt. Gonzales-Torres is running on a UBI pilot, Medicare for All, the Green New Deal, free public college, a pathway to citizenship, and a housing policy that focuses more on preventing homelessness than building new housing. She was joined this month by fellow Democrats Arthur Dixon, a 28-year old organizer who is essentially running on the same kind of left-wing platform as Gonzales-Torres, and Rob Lucero, a nonprofit executive and former national Latino outreach director for the RFK Jr. campaign. I will praise Dixon for making his website available in six languages, including Korean and Tagalog. Gomez, as I will make abundantly clear in a future musing, has found it incredibly difficult to hold his downtown LA-based seat against a left-wing challenger, even as a progressive who spoke at the Bernie-AOC Fight Oligarchy tour in Los Angeles.
CA-37: Los Angeles Democrat Todd Lombardo doesn’t want progressive incumbent Sydney Kamlager-Dove to go without any intraparty opposition. I don’t believe he’ll get far with his challenge, but stranger things have happened.
CA-40: Someone didn’t turn off the conveyor belt of Democrats challenging Republican incumbent Young Kim yet. Nina Linh, the Tustin resident and President and Executive Director of the WonderSeed Foundation, has made it four Democrats fighting to take on Kim. Linh, running on a moderate liberal platform with a progressive tinge on education, will be joined by San Bernardino County’s Christina Gagnier, 2024 Dem nominee Joe Kerr, and arts dealer/impressive fundraiser Esther Kim Varet in facing Young Kim.
CA-41: Palm Springs economist and entrepreneur Brandon Riker and former OneRepublic bassist Tim Myers, the latter of whom is apparently important enough to warrant an AP article, make it six Democrats running against GOP incumbent Ken Calvert in this tossup district. The already-crowded race notably includes moderate Republican Cody Wiebelhaus, who is so moderate he’s even fundraising through ActBlue. There will likely be no Will Rollins to clear the field this time.
CA-48: Curtis Morrison, an immigration attorney and Democrat from Bonsall, and Fallbrook abortion rights advocate Whitney Shanahan have joined the race against GOP Rep. Darrell Issa. They are joined by Democrat Albert Mora in this inland San Diego-area district.
CA-50: Noel Perez, a San Diego Democrat, is challenging Democratic incumbent Scott Peters in the primary. Dr. Timothy Bilash bailed on this race to run in Missouri. Bit strange, that.
Colorado
Senate: With the news that Democratic incumbent Sen. Michael Bennet is running for Governor, it is going to lead to a fight for who he appoints to finish his term. Top contenders include Gov. Jared Polis and Rep. Joe Neguse. As for the Senate seat which is actually up this cycle, Broomfield Republican George Washington Markert (yes, that is his name) has decided to make a run at Democratic incumbent John Hickenlooper.
CO-03: Alex Kelloff, the Armada Skis co-founder and Snowmass Democrat with familial ties to the San Luis Valley, launched his challenge to GOP incumbent Jeff Hurd late this month, ensuring that Democrats will field a candidate in all of Colorado’s congressional seats.
CO-05: Jamey Smith, a Colorado Springs activist, and Joe Reagan, the former Wreaths Across America director who narrowly lost to River Gassen in the 2024 primary, have joined the Democratic primary to challenge GOP incumbent Jeff Crank. Michelle Lynn Tweed will also be in this race to provide extra competition for Colorado Springs Democrats.
CO-08: Former Rep. Yadira Caraveo wants her seat back. The Eastlake Democrat filed to run in 2026, setting up a blockbuster primary against State Rep. Manny Rutinel, who raised nearly $1.2 million in Q1 2025, and Thornton Democrat John Szemler for the right to challenge GOP Rep. Gabe Evans in the general election. Rutinel is certainly not backing down from the challenge, again touting his lengthy list of endorsements after Caraveo’s announcement.
Connecticut
CT-01: It looks like Dr. Amy Chai, the Republican who was challenging Rosa DeLauro in CT-03, has switched her candidacy to Democratic incumbent John Larson’s district. Quite a strange move going from one safely Democratic district to another, but we don’t discriminate when musing on a broken America.
Delaware
DE-AL: Lee Murphy, a Wilmington Republican and the 2020 and 2022 GOP nominee for this seat, has decided to give it another crack after forgoing a 2024 run and not being nominated in 2018. He is going up against 2024 GOP primary runner-up Donyale Hall for the right to face freshman Democrat Sarah McBride.
Florida
Senate: Justin Green of the Veterans Party of America has decided to run for this seat. If he manages to get on the ballot, it would be some of the biggest exposure the Veterans Party has had in recent memory. Also, can somebody please get rid of Alan fucking Grayson? You’d think that no one would have the ego to run for U.S. Senate against GOP incumbent Ashley Moody after finishing 3rd of three candidates in a State Senate race as the candidate with high name recognition, especially when also running against two members of the Bracy family in another State Senate special election, but the perennial candidate has done just that. His campaign logo for said State Senate special election is made with generative AI. Fuck off. Other Democrats filing this month included Gainesville’s Dennis Stevens and St. Petersburg moderate Alex Gould.
FL-05: In the eastern Jacksonville seat, right-wing activist Mark Kaye has launched a primary challenge against entrenched incumbent John Rutherford. For all that want to engorge themselves with the enshittification of the GOP, his donation website contains a ChatGPT starter pack. I wish I was joking.
FL-06: Aaron Baker, a Republican from Sorrento, didn’t even wait for Randy Fine to win his election before filing for this seat. He and Fine, who did file for re-election this month, will be joined by Ernest Audino in the GOP primary. Baker is swiping at Fine for not actually living in the district, but considering that the majority of FL-06 residents were not even born in Florida, I think the attack is a lot more blunted than some in the Baker camp want to admit.
FL-07: Oviedo nuclear scientist and Navy veteran Marialana Kinter filed a Democratic challenge late last month to GOP incumbent Cory Mills. Mills has been under fire recently for some, uh… questionable arms deals, which could put him under a microscope if 2026 is to be a blue leaning year.
FL-09: Marcus Carter, a Kissimmee Republican, has filed a MAGA challenge to Democratic incumbent Darren Soto in this Osceola County-based seat. Carter ran as an independent for this seat in 2024, winning 2.3% of the vote.
FL-14: Riverview Republican John Wick (no, not that one) has joined 2024 nominee Rocky Rochford in the GOP primary against Democratic incumbent Kathy Castor.
FL-24: Patricia Gonzalez, a Miami entrepreneur, has decided to become the GOP’s sacrificial lamb against elderly Democratic incumbent Federica Wilson. This ensures that the GOP has candidates for every district in Florida.
Georgia
Note: if no candidate wins a majority of the vote in the primary, the top two candidates will advance to a runoff election.
Senate: The Chris Capparell saga has come all the way around, as the Atlanta man has now filed in the Republican primary for this race. Not everyone can be Peter Welch in 2016, although Capparell has also filed for the GOP nomination for President in 2028. Strange, strange man.
GA-02: Longtime Democratic incumbent Sanford Bishop has a primary challenger in Danny Glover, a Macon Democrat.
GA-11: Mitchell Laminack, a Democrat from Kennesaw, filed a challenge to GOP incumbent Barry Loudermilk late April. GA-11 Dems have had a rough go of it in recent years. First, it was that Trump supporter who somehow beat the 2022 Dem nominee last year, now it’s someone who was arrested for DUI just a week before filing a run for office…
GA-13: Jonathan Bonner, a Democrat from Peachtree City, has entered the race against longtime Rep. David Scott. If Bonner pulls off a miracle and wins here over both Scott and State Sen. Emanuel Jones, it would prove the existence of the rare Liberty University Democrat. However, it doesn’t seem like that’s happening, as Jonesboro attorney Ron McKenzie and former Gwinnett County school board member Everton Blair, Jr. of Stone Mountain add additional firepower to the list of Scott’s challengers. Blair may be geographically advantaged given that Gwinnett was by far Scott’s worst area in last year’s primary, while McKenzie looks to eat at Scott’s home base in Clayton County.
Illinois
Senate: The long-standing rumors are true: veteran Senator Dick Durbin, the second-in-command of the Senate Democrats, is not running for re-election. The open primary is likely to be one of the most expensive in American political history. Lt. Gov. Julianna Stratton and Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi will likely have giant war chests, and Reps. Lauren Underwood and Robin Kelly could also catch up. Stratton, who will be able to rely on Gov. JB Pritzker’s support and massive coffers, filed in April, and we’ll mention the other three more in May’s newsletter assuming that Underwood decides to run - the other candidates have. That’s two and potentially three open seats in the U.S. House. Illinois is going to be a key feature of my musings, isn’t it?
IL-06: Niki Conforti, the energy consultant and 2024 GOP nominee from Wheaton, is back for another contest against Democratic incumbent Sean Casten in what has to be one of the most obvious 15 point wins of all time for Casten.
IL-07: Chicago is going to be a key battleground in the fight for the Democratic Party. Jason Friedman, a Chicago businessman, is the first of probably a few Democratic challengers to longtime Rep. Danny Davis. POLITICO deemed it important enough to write an article about… as for me, I’m a lot less convinced considering the district he’s running in. The winner will face GOPer Chad Koppie and independent Jerico Brown in a walkover of a general election.
IL-08: Schaumburg businessman Neil Khot is running as a Democrat in the now-open race for the district held by Democratic incumbent Raja Krishnamoorthi. Khot certainly will not be the last Democrat looking to succeed Krishnamoorthi - this will certainly be a knife fight. Speaking of knife fights…
IL-09: This is gonna be a recurring slot in my Congressional writings. Fuck.
Jan Schakowsky, the 80-year-old veteran progressive Democrat, is also not running for re-election. She formally announced this decision in early May. The primary will, of course, still be contested. David Abrevaya, a moderate Chicago Democrat, has thrown his hat into the ring for what is shaping up to be one of the most talked about Democratic primaries of the cycle. Abrevaya describes himself as a “natural-born immigrant,” having been born in Detroit and spending most of his life in Israel before re-immigrating to the U.S. in 2019. This race includes left-wing journalist Kat Abughazaleh and others which we will talk about in May’s newsletter, but I’m watching for Evanston mayor Daniel Biss to get into the race. If he does, he likely gets Schakowsky’s endorsement.
IL-13: Rep. Nikki Budzinski is getting a left-wing primary challenge in the district that stretched from East St. Louis to Urbana-Champaign. Dylan Blaha, an Army veteran and scientist from Urbana, is running on a progressive anti-oligarchy platform, attacking Budzinski for accepting “dark money” and championing the Green New Deal, Medicare for All, universal basic income, nonpartisan redistricting commissions (ironic given his district), and an arms embargo against Israel, among other left-wing policy planks. As Budzinski is from Springfield, in the middle of the district, Blaha may be at a geographic disadvantage - running up the score in a progressive college town might not matter if the incumbent dominates in the center and west of the district.
IL-14: Before Democratic incumbent Lauren Underwood indicated if she would run for U.S. Senate or not, Earlville marketing manager Roman Valenciano declared his candidacy for the Dem-leaning Chicagoland district. Valenciano, an Aurora native, is running as a progressive, supporting Medicare for All, labor unions, immigration reform, and a 2% wealth tax on individuals worth over $100 million. Interestingly, he is also running on making Illinois more economically independent, which might be a very underrated policy line for Democrats in the coming years.
IL-15: Centralia nurse Jennifer Todd looks to ensure that right-wing GOP incumbent Mary Miller, famed for her pro-Hitler remarks at J6, does not go unchallenged like she did in 2024. Todd will run as a Democrat in this deep-red Central Illinois district.
Indiana
IN-05: Yorktown Democrat William Kory Amyx has joined the suddenly crowded Democratic primary to challenge Republican incumbent Victoria Spartz north of Indianapolis. Amyx combines bipartisan rhetoric with progressive policies, including a $20 minimum wage and tuition-free community colleges.
IN-07: George Hornedo, an Indianapolis Democrat and alum of the Hillary Clinton and Pete Buttigieg campaigns, is challenging progressive Rep. André Carson, who is 50 years old, on a message of generational change. Judging off of the website and the campaigns he has worked on, this is a centrist primary challenge - as I have said and will say in the future, the left will not be the only faction of the party looking for scalps after 2024’s humiliations. Whether Hornedo can take one here is another question entirely.
IN-09: Charlestown Democrat Jim Graham has filed to give competition to Republican Rep. Erin Houchin in southeast Indiana. He was joined this month in the Democratic primary by Williams resident Emilee McCartney.
Iowa
Senate: Nathan Sage, a mechanic and sports radio host from Mason City, has thrown his hat into the ring as a Democrat against GOP Sen. Joni Ernst. The man with a website so Iowa that it probably scores 14 points per game is running on a populist platform striking back at billionaires and warning of a new Gilded Age. The increasingly waning Iowa Democrats are looking for a bounceback year in terrain that is growing more hostile to them by the year - maybe such a platform could offer a way forward.
IA-01: GOP incumbent Mariannette Miller-Meeks is getting another primary challenge - this time, from a sex offender. Keota felon Grant Hill, who spent almost three years in prison for jacking off in front of a 13 year old boy and twice grabbing a male staffer’s dick at an Iowa City cookie shop, somehow believes that he’s gonna win this primary. Good luck, asswipe.
IA-02: Former U.S. Attorney Kevin Techau of Cedar Rapids has launched his Democratic challenge to GOP Rep. Ashley Hinson. His background means he should have the primary on lock, and it could receive national attention in the final months of the campaign.
IA-04: Ryan Melton, a Webster City Democrat and two-time nominee for IA-04, is back for Round 3 against GOP incumbent Randy Feenstra in deep-red Northwest Iowa. He seems to be repurposing his website for 2026.
Kansas
Senate: Wellington Democrat, 2022 U.S. Senate candidate, and proud woke gay progressive Michael Soetaert is running again, this time to take on GOP incumbent Roger Marshall. Soetaert, a former Republican, supports establishing a Department of Peace and will hope not to finish last, as he did in 2022.
Kentucky
Senate: Rep. Andy Barr (KY-06) is running in the GOP primary to succeed the outgoing Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell. He is likely to face opposition from the Club for Growth in his bid, although Barr is tying himself to trump so deeply he might as well have orange makeup himself..
KY-02: There will be a Democratic primary in this deep red district in western Kentucky, as Scottsville mechanic Megan Wingfield will be challenging Blue Springs city commissioner William Compton for the right to challenge Republican incumbent Brett Guthrie.
KY-06: State Rep. Ryan Dotson (R-Winchester) will assist the game of musical chairs in central Kentucky by running to succeed Andy Barr. KY Democrats are moving here too - Gov. Andy Beshear is looking for either Lt. Gov. Jacqueline Coleman or conservative former State House Minority Leader Rocky Adkins to enter the race, as 2024 nominee Randy Cravens said this month that he’s not running. Former State Rep. Cherlynn Stevenson is interested in running, but has not formed an exploratory committee as of yet.
Louisiana
Note that Louisiana has jungle primaries on Election Day and top-two runoffs if no candidate gets a majority of the vote.
Senate: As Sen. John Kennedy faces some danger of a MAGA primary challenge, Denham Springs doctor Sammy Wyatt joined the fray this month in what is likely to be a crowded and mostly GOP battlefield.
Maine
Senate: Democrats have their first main candidate against Republican Sen. Susan Collins in Jordan Wood, a former End Citizens United leader running out of Bristol. Wood is running on an anti-corruption and anti-pollution platform which focuses on transparency and protection of Social Security and Medicare.
Maryland
MD-01: Rev. Terrence Rogers of Prince Frederick will ensure that Maryland Democrats have candidates in all congressional districts. He is joined in the primary by Royal Oak consumer watchdog Dan Schwartz, who is running on anti-corruption bonafides - a common theme among new Democratic candidates. They will challenge GOP incumbent Andy Harris in this Eastern Shore-based district, the sole red district in Maryland.
Massachusetts
Senate: Longtime incumbent Democratic Sen. Ed Markey has his first primary challenger: Alex Rikleen of Acton. I would watch for several enterprising Democrats from the left and especially the center to try their hand at knocking out the elderly progressive incumbent.
MA-04: Newton independent and therapist Steven Chasse is the first candidate to challenge Democratic incumbent Jake Auchincloss in MA-04.
Michigan
Senate: The worst-kept secret in Michigan politics is finally out: State Sen. Mallory McMorrow of Royal Oak has announced her bid for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Sen. Gary Peters. A rising star in the Democratic Party, McMorrow’s announcement, which belies anti-Schumer and pro-change themes, was coupled by a TIME Magazine interview for her troubles. This opened a seriously contentious Democratic primary for the open seat. U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens, who will be heavily backed by AIPAC and is running as a pro-Schumer candidate, and Dr. Abdul El-Sayed, a 2018 left-wing gubernatorial candidate and former Wayne County Health Director who has already earned the Bernie endorsement, also announced their runs this month. We’ll get to former MI Speaker of the State House Joe Tate in May’s edition. On the GOP side, Ludington resident Kent Benham and a certain 2024 GOP nominee in Mike Rogers hope to flip the seat for his party and secure a years-long Senate majority in the process. Rogers immediately became a mega favorite for the primary with this filing. I don’t think Royal Oak’s Genevieve Scott is gonna make enough of a difference to change this outlook. Ironwood independent Lydia Christensen is running on a socially progressive and pro-crypto platform.
MI-04: Diop Harris, II of Battle Creek, a former legislative assistant to former Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown, has joined the Democratic primary in a race that includes 2024 nominee Jessica Swartz and Richard Allen. All are vying to upset GOP incumbent Bill Huizenga.
MI-07: Dewitt Democrat Muhammad Rais, a former Clinton County Commission candidate, is the first from his party to file a challenge to freshman Republican incumbent Tom Barrett. I would expect a decently crowded primary field in this Lansing-area district now that former Rep. Elissa Slotkin is now in the U.S. Senate. Milford independent Alexandra Preiditis, a progressive with a libertarian streak, will be a thorn in the side of Mid-Michigan Democrats.
MI-10: Rep. John James (R) is making another run for statewide office, launching his bid for Governor this month. This opens up his GOP-leaning competitive seat in Macomb County, with Warren prosecutor Christina Hines, Pontiac mayor Tim Greimel, and Sterling Heights lawyer Eric Chung joining Alexander Hawkins in the Democratic primary. All are running on fairly standard liberal platforms. Hines, the 2024 Democratic nominee for Macomb County Prosecutor, is endorsed by two-time district nominee Carl Marlinga, while Chung decided to run to save the CHIPS and Science Act, which he had a hand in implementing at the Department of Commerce.
MI-13: Let the battle for Detroit begin. Former State Sen. Adam Hollier and current State Rep. Donavan McKinney are running against embattled Democratic incumbent Rep. Shri Thanedar. Hopefully, Hollier will actually make the ballot this time and not fake the required signatures needed to do so. McKinney is off to a much better start than Hollier; he is running with endorsements stretching from Hines endorser and State Sen. Veronica Klinefelt to Dearborn State Rep. Alabas Farhat and former State Rep. Abraham Aiyash of Hamtramck. It is safe to assume that McKinney, who is also a Justice Democrats candidate, will receive the lion’s share of the pro-Palestine vote.
Minnesota
Senate: Radio show producer, talent booker, and St. Paul DFLer Billy Nord is the third DFLer to join this soon-to-be crowded primary to replace the outgoing Sen. Tina Smith. He is expected to be a minor candidate in the primary, as everyone waits to see if Rep. Angie Smith takes the moderate lane in a field that includes former State Sen. Melissa López Franzen, Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan, and now Rep. Angie Craig. The moderate MN-02 incumbent known for her great rural overperformances announced her run in late April as moderates and progressives look to fight in a pitched battle in DNC chair Ken Martin’s home state. Independent conservative Edina businesswoman Marisa Simonetti has also declared her candidacy, although she is fighting a misdemeanor assault case stemming from her throwing a live tarantula - yes, a fucking tarantula - at an Airbnb guest. She recently lost a Hennepin County Board race to DFLer Heather Edelson in nonpartisan special and general elections.
MN-01: Jake Johnson, a Rochester public school teacher, and State Rep. Andy Smith of Rochester have filed to challenge GOP incumbent Brad Finstad as Democrats in this southern Minnesota-based district. Smith just hasn’t officially announced yet.
MN-02: Southern suburbs of Minneapolis, welcome to the Open Race Shittacular! Rosemount’s Michael Stefanko, a Cornell Delta Sig who worked on a third-placed NYC city council campaign in 2021, and former Lakeville Mayor and State Sen. Matt Little both filed as Democrats for runs in April. The list of candidates will only grow in the coming months.
Mississippi
MS-02: Longtime Democratic incumbent Bennie Thompson has a Democratic primary challenger… and it’s another Bennie. Jackson pastor and mentorship coach Bennie Foster, Jr. filed a challenge to the former Mayor of Bolton this month.
Missouri
MO-02: This is where Dr. Tim Bilash ran off to. The former 2024 Democratic challenger to CA’s Scott Peters has decided that a move to St. Louis in a competitive Democratic primary against GOP incumbent Ann Wagner is a good sight; it’s unclear whether he’s still running against Peters.
MO-04: Marshall Democrat Ricky Dana filed to run against GOP incumbent Mark Alford in this sprawling red district that stretches from the Kansas City exurbs to northern portions of Columbia and rural south-central Missouri.
Montana
MT-01: Russell Cleveland, a moderate Democrat and rancher from Saint Regis, announced his challenge to GOP Rep. Ryan Zinke this month. Democrats have been targeting this district for a flip ever since Montana got two districts, so maybe the third time’s the charm here.
Nebraska
Senate: Dan Osborn, the 2024 independent U.S. Senate candidate from Omaha, is at it again. This time, he has filed an exploratory committee and his FEC papers to consider challenging GOP incumbent Pete Ricketts. His performance against Deb Fischer should once again put off the Nebraska Democrats from running their own party candidate.
NE-03: Even deep-red rural Nebraska is seeing some action. David Huebner, a former Border Patrol supervisor from North Platte, is challenging GOP incumbent Adrian Smith from the right in the Republican primary, while South Sioux City Democrat Becky Stille ensures that Democrats in rural Nebraska will have a candidate on their ballot in some of the most hostile territory in the nation.
Nevada
NV-01: He’s at it again. Jim Marchant, the right-wing 2020 GOP nominee for NV-04, 2022 GOP nominee for NV Secretary of State, and failed 2024 U.S. Senate candidate, is challenging Democratic incumbent Dina Titus in a classic case of upper-tier perennial candidate status.
NV-03: Aury Nagy, a neurosurgeon from Henderson, and former Las Vegas mayoral candidate Tera Anderson are joining the GOP primary to challenge Democratic incumbent Susie Lee in this Dem-leaning competitive district in southern Clark County.
NV-04: Aaron Hill, a Marine Corps veteran from Las Vegas, is running in the Republican primary to challenge Democratic incumbent Steven Horsford in a district that stretches from Las Vegas to rural areas in the middle of the state. He joins rancher Cody Whipple in the GOP primary.
New Hampshire
Senate: On the GOP side, Gov. Chris Sununu confirmed that he is not running for U.S. Senate in a major blow to the party. Unaffiliated Wolfeboro Falls native Matthew Giovonizzi originally filed for this open race, in which Democratic Rep. Chris Pappas is the favorite to succeed Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, but it seems like Giovonizzi, a progressive, has his eyes set on a 3rd place finish in NH-01. Speaking of which…
NH-01: Let the race to replace Pappas begin. Maura Sullivan, a former Obama administration official within DoD and Marine from Manchester, announced her bid to succeed Pappas, who beat her in the 2018 Democratic primary to succeed Rep. Carol Shea-Porter. Other candidates will have a big fight on their hands to deny Sullivan the nomination and, ultimately, the seat.
NH-02: Lily Tang Williams, the Weare libertarian and 2024 GOP nominee for this district, is back for round 2 against freshman Democratic incumbent Maggie Goodlander. My verdict: good luck, Lily. You’re gonna need it.
New Jersey
NJ-07: Make it six Democrats running against incumbent Tom Kean Jr. in this heavily contested seat. Long Valley businessman and ex-Forward Party chair Brian Varela, Union Democrat Felipe Santos, and Mountainside’s Michael Roth, who briefly led the Small Business Administration, have added themselves to what is now a crowded Democratic race.
NJ-12: Darius Mayfield, the 2024 GOP nominee who previously filed for this district again against Democratic Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman, has moved out of the state to run in a different race. Thus, Watson Coleman currently has no GOP opponent.
New York
NY-17: If you’re sick of new Democrats coming in to challenge GOP incumbent Mike Lawler, tough shit. Croton-on-Hudson journalist Mike Sacks and Piermont former FBI analyst John Sullivan add their names to the lengthening list of candidates, with Sacks’ slogan of “Unfuck Our Country” (yes, I’m serious, that is his slogan) representing a mass opposition lane that could help define the Democratic Party for the rest of this decade. They have a very, very serious challenge on their hands trying to get past Jessica Reinmann, Beth Davidson, and Cait Conley in the primary.
NY-22: West Edmeston Republican John Salka, a former State Assemblymember, has filed to challenge freshman Democratic incumbent John Mannion in this Syracuse-based district.
North Carolina
Senate: Former U.S. Rep. Wiley Nickel, a Democrat, launched a challenge to GOP Senator Thom Tillis this month. The moderate’s run would have gotten a lot more attention than it has if it weren’t for rampant speculation about the potential involvement of former Gov. Roy Cooper in the race.
NC-05: David Clayton, a Lenoir independent, is running against GOP incumbent Virginia Foxx and Democratic challenger Chuck Hubbard.
NC-08: Rockingham Democrat Kevin Clark has filed for a challenge to GOP incumbent Mark Harris in this district that lies between Charlotte and Fayetteville. He will face Justin Bunting in the Democratic primary.
NC-09: I may have mentioned this before, but Republican incumbent Richard Hudson has three Democratic challengers to contend with now that Raeford’s Lent Carr II has entered the race. Other Democratic candidates include 2024 Dem nominee Nigel Bristow and former WV state Senator Richard Ojeda.
NC-10: Freshman GOP incumbent Pat Harrigan also has a Democratic challenger, as Greensboro physician Ashley Bell is challenging him on a platform that espouses anti-fascism and women’s rights.
NC-11: Four Republican NC districts, four Democratic candidates. This time, Asheville nurse practitioner and moderate populist Chris Harjes is challenging GOP incumbent Chuck Edwards, he of dismantling Madison Cawthorn’s political career, in western NC. Edwards should watch out - Democrats could target this seat as a reach flip considering the region’s liberal trends in both 2022 and 2024.
Ohio
OH-04: 2024 Democratic nominee Tamie Wilson is back for another run against infamous GOP incumbent Jim Jordan. At least Lima Democrats won’t have an empty space on this ballot line, which could lift up city-level candidates if nothing else.
OH-09: The GOP sweepstakes to see who can finally beat longtime Democratic incumbent Marcy Kaptur received another addition in the form of Toledo Air Force veteran Alea Nadeem. Her donation site includes a link to where people can donate in Bitcoin, if anyone was wondering about the memeification of politics these days.
OH-13: Akron Republican and 2024 GOP nominee Kevin Coughlin, a former State Senator, is back for Round 2 against Democratic incumbent Emilia Sykes. Coughlin lost by 2.2% the first time around last year.
OH-15: Former State Rep. Adam Miller, a Democrat, has filed to again challenge GOP incumbent Mike Carey in the district that sprawls from north of Dayton to the southern Columbus suburbs. Miller lost to Carey by 13 points in 2024.
Oregon
Senate: Tim Skelton, a Sandy Scoutmaster, has launched a GOP challenge to incumbent Democrat Jeff Merkley. Skelton’s focus includes forest management, education, and job creation, which should make him the ideal candidate for the Oregon GOP establishment to push should that Qfuck Jo Rae Perkins decide to take a third stab at the U.S. Senate.
Pennsylvania
PA-01: Republican incumbent Brian Fitzpatrick actually has a somewhat competent Democratic challenger. This is not a drill. Bucks County Commissioner and Fallsington resident Bob Harvie wants to be the one to finally take down the local Fitzpatrick machine - the question is if he can actually pull it off.
PA-03: David Oxman, a Philadelphia physician filed to challenge Democratic incumbent Dwight Evans in the primary. Oxman will also face Gabriel Caceres in said primary in this deep blue district, and it may get more challengers if Evans, who suffered a stroke last year, continues with his pitiful fundraising hauls. Under $40k? Really?
PA-09: Another deep-red Pennsyltucky district sees a Democrat contest it - actually, two this time - as Williamsport retail manager Daniel Byron Jr. and Laceyville’s Jenn Brothers filed to take on GOP incumbent Dan Meuser, who may be eyeing a run for Governor.
Rhode Island
Senate: Connor Burbridge, a Providence elder-care worker and Army veteran, has decided to challenge incumbent Sen. Jack Reed from the left in the Democratic primary. He is running on a standard left-wing platform - supporting single-payer universal healthcare, overturning Citizens United, taxing the rich, expanding reproductive rights - while also emphasizing platitudes for more public transit, 18-year term limits, and a special focus on grinding the gears of government business to stop Trump as opposed to searching for compromises. Let’s see if the RI left can stop being a bunch of incompetent nitwits.
RI-01: Barrington fencer Wilfred Curioso launched an independent challenge to Democratic incumbent Gabe Amo.
South Carolina
Senate: Lee Johnson, a Columbia Democrat, has entered the race against GOP incumbent Lindsey Graham. That’s all I have for him.
SC-05: Alex Harper, a Rock Hill progressive Democrat, has filed to challenge Republican incumbent Lindsey Graham in the district sandwiched between Charlotte and Columbia. His website is barebones for now, but his Bluesky indicates support for universal healthcare. That’s all I could find for now.
South Dakota
Senate: Sioux Falls small business owner Julian Beaudion filed as a Democrat to ensure that the race against GOP Senator Mike Rounds does not go uncontested. Beaudion’s bid is complicated by the fact that 2022 Dem nominee Brian Bengs has decided to go full Dan Osborn and run as an independent. South Dakota Democrats will be faced with the choice Utah Dems faced in 2022 and Nebraska Dems faced in 2024 - put up a party candidate, or force everyone to stand down due to the national party’s tarred brand in these states and allow the independent to run a one-on-one race?
Tennessee
TN-06: In this deep-red district mostly east of Nashville, Crossville Democrat and former federal worker Mike Croley is the first to declare his candidacy. The seat is being vacated by GOP incumbent John Rose, who is running for Governor.
Texas
Note: if no candidate wins a majority of the vote in the primary, the top two candidates will advance to a runoff election.
Senate: Andrew Alvarez, a self-proclaimed RINO hunter from Victoria, joined the extremely crowded GOP primary field against GOP incumbent John Cornyn, but I have a hunch that the inclusion of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, whose first name is William, will likely lead to one of the more brutal primaries in modern Republican history. Democrats also finally got on the board this month, with Helotes worker Michael Swanson entering the race.
TX-01: Masikah Ray, a Democrat from Longview, has filed to take on GOP incumbent Nathaniel Moran in this rural East Texas-based district. She must be one of the first politicians to call herself a “conservative Democrat” and also advocate for Medicare for All.
TX-02: If you’re in line to challenge Republican incumbent Dan Crenshaw from the right in a GOP primary, stay in line! Houston Iraq War veteran and former Amazon executive Nicholas Plumb and Spring business owner Nick Tran have joined the race as Democrat Peter Filler wonders who he will face in the general election in this deep red suburban seat.
TX-03: We have a Democratic primary coming for this Collin County-based seat, as McKinney Air Force veteran and self-styled conservative Democrat Evan Hunt, whose platform is a lot more moderate than conservative, will challenge Jordan Wheatley for the right to take on right-wing GOP incumbent Keith Self.
TX-05: Republican incumbent Lance Gooden has earned a primary challenge from Athens Army medic Travis Edwards, whose platform is a bit eclectic. While he is a debt hawk and supports term limits and the abolition of the IRS plus other three-letter agencies, he is also opposed to school vouchers and supports due process for immigrants, which probably endangers his ballot access if the fascists controlling the Texas GOP apparatus have any say. Edwards is also hindered by geography, as his more rural background might hurt him in a district where the majority of the residents are Dallas suburbanites and exurbanites.
TX-09: Alexandria Butler, the VP of Comms for Urban Conservatives of America and a Missouri City mother, is the third Republican to challenge longtime Democratic Rep. Al Green in this cobalt blue Houston-area district. Texas Republicans do not like Al Green.
TX-10: Brandon Hawbaker, a far-right Republican and software engineer from Sealy, joins Cypress’s Phillip Suarez in challenging GOP incumbent Michael McCaul.
TX-18: After House Democrats and leading candidate Christian Menefee threatened to sue Gov. Greg Abbott for not calling a special election, Abbott announced that TX-18 will have its special election on Nov. 4th, adding geographic diversity to a mostly NJ/VA-focused election calendar while also leaving this staunchly Democratic seat in Houston empty for most of 2025. Houston Republican Allen Berry has made the general election have a three-way GOP primary between himself, Carmen Montiel, and Cyrus Sajna.
TX-28: Laredo healthcare worker Juan Esparza hopes to be the candidate that takes down the Henry Cuellar (D) dynasty in South Texas. He will have to take on Universal City’s Jay Furman, the 2024 GOP nominee, in the primary for that chance. However, both have since been upstaged by former Rep. Mayra Flores, the 2024 GOP nominee for TX-34 and Los Indios resident who decided to move across the valley to run here.
TX-30: TX Republicans have two candidates to run against firebrand Democratic incumbent Jasmine Crockett. Too bad Michael Vivroux, a general manager at an IHG hotel, lives in Seguin, which is not even close to Dallas or Duncanville, but at least Sholdon Daniels is actually from Dallas. We’ll see if Jasmine “Crashout” Crockett catches on or not.
TX-31: Abhiram Garapati, a Cedar Park real estate executive, has joined the crowded GOP primary race against elderly incumbent John Carter. This field includes the ever so infamous and vitriolic Missouri carpetbagger Valentina Gomez.
TX-37: Longtime Austin Democratic Rep. Lloyd Doggett has gotten his first primary challenger in Austin cancer survivor Dillon Fleharty. Someone should’ve told Fleharty he was running in Austin, not Amarillo, as his platform is that of a standard liberal, which might even be to the right of Doggett’s. As I have said before here and will say again, the left is not the only wing of the Democratic Party looking for scraps after losing to Trump last year.
Vermont
VT-AL: Andrew Giusto, who filed as a Unity Party candidate for NY-Sen in 2028, has now filed under the same label for Democratic incumbent Becca Balint’s seat in 2026. He’s running out of Millbrae, CA for some random reason.
Virginia
VA-02: In the district which determines control of the House in the modern day, Democrats are starting to find candidates. Suffolk military spouse Nicolaus Sleister and Virginia Beach Navy veteran Burk Stringfellow filed this month to challenge GOP incumbent Jen Kiggans. Sleister focuses on military policy, criminal justice reform, and civil rights, while Stringfellow, a more left-wing candidate, emphasizes a Bernie Sanders-esque agenda on taxation, healthcare, and housing with a special focus on what he calls a chronic disease epidemic.
VA-07: This is where the previously aforementioned Darius Mayfield (R) moved to. Now a resident of Stafford, his challenge is beating back Woodbridge Republican and 2023 VA House of Delegate nominee John Gray for the right to take on freshman Democratic incumbent Eugene Vindman and his money printer in a more competitive, albeit Dem-leaning district.
VA-11: I promise we’ll get to the Connolly situation next month. I promise y’all.
Washington
Note: Washington has jungle primaries and top-two runoffs. Candidates in the primary may take the ballot line of their choice.
WA-04: With West Richland’s John Duresky filing as a Democrat to take on GOP incumbent Dan Newhouse, Democrats now have candidates for every congressional district in Washington. Newhouse needs to worry about his right flank, however, as 2024 runner-up and far-right former NASCAR driver Jerrold Sessler decided to have another go at the much more moderate Newhouse.
Wisconsin
WI-03: 2024 Dem nominee Rebecca Cooke is not going unchallenged in the primary, as fellow Eau Claireans Emily Berge, who serves as the city council’s President, and former City Councillor Laura Benjamin have also filed for the right to take on vulnerable GOP incumbent Derrick Van Orden in 2026. Both Berge and Benjamin are running on fairly progressive platforms, with Benjamin being the more left-wing of the two largely thanks to her advocacy for Medicare for All and her bemoaning of what she sees as Democrats continuously going right. How Berge or Benjamin expect to have an answer for Cooke’s +7.3 Split Ticket WAR Score is anyone’s guess. Benjamin, if she were to somehow win, would be the second ever openly trans Member of Congress. Additionally, Pepin independent Rustin Provance looks to again be a thorn in the side of any party’s attempt to win the seat. All candidates now await the result of the recent redistricting lawsuit that may radically change the district lines and the candidates’ fortunes.
WI-05: Andrew Beck, a moderate Democrat and lifelong health worker from West Bend, is challenging Republican incumbent Scott Fitzgerald in the beating heart of Wisconsin conservatism: the Milwaukee suburbs and exurbs.
WI-06: Veteran GOP incumbent Glenn Grothman had two Democratic challengers file this month: Kelly Brown of Juneau and Aaron Wojciechowski of Oshkosh. Brown is a left-wing trans Eminem fan (of course White America is on their fucking playlist), and they hope to add to the surprisingly large number of queer Wisconsin Democrats. Wojciechowski, a former City Councillor and Winnebago County Board Supervisor, styles himself as a pragmatic progressive and is running on an anti-corruption and pro-transparency platform.
WI-07: Tom Tiffany, the most conservative of Wisconsin’s Republicans, also got a Democratic challenger, as New Richmond business owner Chris Armstrong fills the slot for north Wisconsin.
Wyoming
Senate: Whoever heard of anti-Trump challenger to Sen. Cynthia Lummis from within the Republican Party? Casper oil businessman Jimmy Skovgard aims to make that a reality - although the only indication of his party is his FEC filing. He’s not gonna succeed, fuck no, but it’s a perfect way to end off the list of April 2025 congressional candidates because you don’t see these candidates anymore - especially not in Wyoming.
That’s 22 pages of House and Senate candidates for y’all to read - and this was just April. I can promise y’all two things: first, that these things might get longer as I start talking about the races themselves and not just who filed.
Secondly, I am writing my list of endangered House Democrats, which I hope to publish this week. I’ve spent months compiling this list after the relative success of my list of endangered House Republicans, and I hope y’all will enjoy it!
Is the “Endangered Democrat” list still happening?