REVIEW - US Primary Elections Test Trump's Popularity Against Democrats Hoping For �Blue Wave

WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 15th August, 2018) A wave of Primary elections to choose Republican and Democratic Party candidates in the four US states of Wisconsin, Minnesota, Vermont and Connecticut on Tuesday night is being watched closely for clues to the midterm Congressional elections in November.

Last weeks results showed a Democratic surge of support in a traditionally safe House of Representatives seat in Ohios 12th Congressional District, though not quite enough to win.

However, candidates supported by Trump won their primary races against challengers within their own party, confirming Trumps enduring popularity and hold over Republican grassroots voters.

The most important state voting on Tuesday is Wisconsin, a major agricultural and industrial producer in the US Midwest. US House of Representatives Speaker Paul Ryan is leaving Congress and is backing Leah Vukmir as Republican candidate for the US Senate.

However, Vukmir has been embarrassed by video of her describing Trump in 2016 as "offensive to everyone." Also, Ryan has been at odds with Trump on numerous issues and many grassroots Trump supporters seem to regard him as "Republican in name only."

Vukmir is being challenged by former US Marine Kevin Nicholson. If Nicholson beats her, the result will be seen as strengthening Trumps hold on Midwest Republicans.

TRUMP BACKS WISOCONSIN GOVERNOR

Trump also supports Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker to be re-chosen to run again as the Republican candidate after two terms in office.

Two Democrats are contesting the right to run for Speaker Paul Ryans old seat - one of the safest for Republicans in the state. Ironworker Randy Bryce brings a charismatic working class style, but also a record of nine arrests, including for drunken driving and not paying promised child support to his ex-wife.

In the Republican primary, Ryan has backed his former staffer Bryan Steil, a corporate lawyer and Washington insider. If Bryce wins the Democratic primary, he is hoping Steil will be vulnerable to his populist appeal in November.

Trump carried Wisconsin by only 1 percent in the 2016 presidential election - the first time in 32 years that the state had gone for a Republican presidential candidate. Turnout on Tuesday will be scrutinized closely to see which of the two major parties mobilizes more voters.

Former two-term Republican Governor Tim Pawlenty is running to be chosen to run again for his old job in Minnesota. But in 2016 he described Trump as "unhinged and unfit for the presidency." His challenger Hennepin County Commissioner Jeff Johnson in 2016 called Trump a "jackass."

Both men now claim to be loyal supporters of Trump, but the president has refused to endorse either of them.

In Vermont, US Senator Bernie Sanders, who ran a strong race for the Democratic presidential nomination against Hillary Clinton in 2016, is seeking the Democratic Partys nomination. Whether Sanders gets it or not, he is expected to win reelection in November running as an Independent.

In traditionally Democratic Connecticut, unpopular governor Dan Malloy, a Democrat is retiring. The front-runner to win the partys nomination to succeed Malloy is Ned Lamont, who successfully beat incumbent Senator Joe Lieberman in a 2006 party primary, but then lost to Lieberman in the actual election.

In Minnesota, most attention is focused on US Congressman Keith Ellison, a powerful figure in the national Democratic Party who is seeking the nomination as state attorney general. But he is facing domestic abuse allegations that erupted on Saturday when the son of his former girlfriend publicly accused him of abusing her.