这个“全国第一”的州将在今年的国会初选中垫底。但结果可能会像通常在总统年一样至关重要。
新罕布什尔州是周二在2022年最后一场初选中投票的三个州之一，它提供了一系列熟悉的故事情节:当权派与MAGA摊牌，民主党人希望在艰难的环境中坚持下去，民主党更多地干预共和党初选，以推动被认为较弱的候选人。
最终，新罕布什尔州的投票将标志着共和党内部关于参议院共和党领袖米奇·麦康奈尔(Mitch McConnell)所谓的“候选人素质”的长期辩论的最新和最重要的一章。
部分是因为这种情况在其他州的表现，与新罕布什尔州民主党参议员玛吉·哈桑(Maggie Hassan)的竞争对共和党参议院的希望至关重要。所以这是杂志看好的，选举-否认退休将军Don Bolduc和州参议院主席Chuck Morse已经结束了半年前开始的初选。
前总统唐纳德·特朗普(Donald Trump)没有正式支持竞选，但州长克里斯·苏努努(Chris Sununu)被广泛认为是共和党最强有力的候选人，如果他竞选参议院支持的莫尔斯的话。虽然苏努努称博尔达克“不是一个严肃的候选人”和“阴谋论者类型”，但他在投票前夕表示，如果他赢得初选，他将支持他。
花岗岩州倾向于抓住国会两个方向的波浪。一些最激烈的众议院和参议院席位可能会归结为选民是否同意当选领导人和专家关于什么类型的候选人最适合共和党人提出。
2022年9月10日，新罕布什尔州拉科尼亚，共和党参议员候选人唐·博尔达克在市政厅活动中问候支持者
斯科特艾森/盖蒂图片社
与...的概要阿维里·哈珀
在亚利桑那州，看起来选民们在参观投票站之前不会听到州长候选人正面交锋。
此前，民主党候选人、现任亚利桑那州司法部长凯蒂·霍布斯(Katie Hobbs)拒绝与共和党候选人卡莉·莱克(Kari Lake)一起参加竞选，后者支持关于2020年大选的谎言。
竞选经理妮可·德蒙特在一份声明中说:“不幸的是，辩论像卡莉·莱克这样的阴谋论者——他的整个竞选纲领是引起巨大的混乱，使亚利桑那州成为全国嘲笑的对象——只会导致不断的干扰，毫无意义的分心和幼稚的辱骂。”
莱克通过推特表示:“越来越清楚的是，霍布斯的策略是在整个竞选过程中躲避我、媒体和选民，并耗尽亚利桑那州人民的时间。”。
在这个选举周期，政治辩论的命运比以往任何时候都更加不确定，两党候选人都在回避曾经是竞选标准的东西。在北卡罗来纳、宾夕法尼亚和佐治亚等关键州，辩论仍在进行中。
在候选人不辩论的情况下，选民就失去了听他们回答棘手问题的机会。这意味着选民在投票箱中做出重要决定的工具将会减少。越来越多的没有辩论的竞选也是美国政治两极分化时刻的一个指标，争夺尚未决定的选民不如吸引自己的基础更流行。
2022年7月21日，亚利桑那州斯科茨代尔，亚利桑那州民主党州长候选人凯蒂·霍布斯在放下她的初选选票前对媒体讲话。
罗斯·富兰克林/美联社，文件
小费亚里沙·维尔塞马
来自威斯康星州的参议员塔米·鲍德温(Tammy Baldwin)和来自缅因州的参议员苏珊·科林斯(Steve Baldwin)将于本周开始，他们希望召集至少10名共和党人克服阻挠议事的障碍，投票支持旨在将同性婚姻合法化的《尊重婚姻法案》。尽管预计下周将对该法案进行最终投票，但这个问题正在竞选中的一些共和党人中间浮出水面。
正如《华盛顿邮报》首先报道的那样，400多名共和党官员已经签署了一封支持该法案的信，其中包括宾夕法尼亚州参议员候选人穆罕默德·奥兹博士。自众议院通过该法案以来，奥兹在整个夏天都表示支持该法案，尽管同性婚姻问题并没有在他的竞选网站上被列为他旨在追求的首要政策问题之一。
“穆罕默德·奥兹博士认为同性伴侣应该拥有和异性恋伴侣一样的结婚自由，他很自豪能加入这一努力，”竞选发言人布里特妮·亚尼克在一份声明中告诉美国广播公司新闻。
面对今秋激烈的参议院竞选，并非所有共和党人都有这种情绪。佛罗里达州参议员。马尔科·卢比奥批评这项立法是“浪费时间”，并称其为民主党在中期选举前争取支持的努力。
“人们对那个问题有不同的看法。但是...这个国家没有一个州试图通过法律来挑战这一点。没有一个案子被送上法庭。一个也没有...来自民主党的参议院领导层将优先考虑投票，”卢比奥周一在一次保守派会议上说。
威斯康星州参议员罗恩·约翰逊(Ron Johnson)也因他即将进行的投票而受到密切关注，此前他似乎扭转了立场，先是说他看不到反对的理由，最近又说，由于对宗教自由的担忧，他不会支持目前形式的立法。
“但同时，我也不想看到数百万人的生活被打乱。对我来说，这是一个被治愈的裁决。算了吧，好吗?向前看，好吗?据报道，约翰逊在本月早些时候从Heartland Signal获得的音频中说:“我们已经有足够多的问题，我们已经有足够多的事情使这个国家分裂，让我们不要再旧事重提。”
New Hampshire voters close out 'candidate quality' primaries: The Note
The TAKE withRick Klein
The "first-in-the-nation" state is going last in the primaries for Congress this year. But the outcomes could matter every bit as much as they normally do in a presidential year.
New Hampshire -- one of three states voting Tuesday in the final primaries of 2022 -- offers a range of familiar storylines: establishment versus MAGA showdowns, Democrats hoping to hang on in a tough environment and more Democratic meddling in GOP primaries to boost candidates perceived as weaker.
Ultimately, voting in New Hampshire will mark the latest and among the most important chapter in the long-running debate inside the GOP over what Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell has called "candidate quality."
In part because of how that's played out in other states, the race to take on Sen. Maggie Hassan, D-N.H., has become vital to GOP Senate hopes. So it is that the showdown between MAGA-favored,election-denying retired Gen. Don Bolduc and state Senate President Chuck Morse has the primary season ending much as it started half a year ago.
Former President Donald Trump did not officially endorse in the race, but Gov. Chris Sununu -- widely seen as the strongest GOP candidate himself if he had run for Senate -- backed Morse. While Sununu has called Bolduc "not a serious candidate" and a "conspiracy theorist type," he nonetheless said on the eve of voting that he would support him if he wins the primary.
The Granite State tends to catch congressional waves in either direction. Some of the swingiest House and Senate seats could come down to whether voters agree with elected leaders and pundits on what types of candidates are best for Republicans to put forward.
The RUNDOWN withAveri Harper
In Arizona, it looks like voters won't get to hear gubernatorial candidates argue their cases head-to-head before they visit the polls.
This after Democratic candidate and current Arizona Attorney General Katie Hobbs declined to participate with Republican nominee Kari Lake, who espouses lies about the 2020 election.
"Unfortunately, debating a conspiracy theorist like Kari Lake -- whose entire campaign platform is to cause enormous chaos and make Arizona the subject of national ridicule -- would only lead to constant interruptions, pointless distractions and childish name-calling," campaign manager Nicole DeMont said in a statement.
"It's becoming clearer everyday [sic] that Hobbs' strategy is to hide from Me, the Press, and the Voters throughout the entirety of this campaign and run out the clock on the people of Arizona," Lake said via Twitter.
This election cycle, the fate of political debates is more uncertain than ever with candidates on both sides of the aisle shying away from what was once a standard for campaigns. Debates are up in the air in battleground states such as North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Georgia.
In instances where candidates don't debate, the voters lose an opportunity to hear them answer tough questions. It means voters will have fewer tools to make that all-important decision at the ballot box. The increasing number of debate-less races is also an indicator of this polarized moment in American politics where vying for undecided voters is less en vogue than appealing to one's base.
The TIP withAlisa Wiersema
Sens. Tammy Baldwin from Wisconsin and Susan Collins from Maine are heading into this week hoping to rally at least 10 Republicans to overcome a filibuster and vote in favor of the Respect for Marriage Act, which seeks to enshrine same-sex marriage. Although final votes on the legislation are expected next week, the issue is surfacing among some Republicans on the campaign trail.
As first reported by The Washington Post, more than 400 Republican officials have signed a letter in support of the bill -- including Pennsylvania Senate candidate Dr. Mehmet Oz. Oz has expressed his support for the legislation throughout the summer, since its passage in the House, although the issue of same-sex marriage is not listed on his campaign website as one of the top policy issues he aims to pursue.
"Dr. Mehmet Oz believes that same-sex couples should have the same freedom to get married as straight couples and he was proud to join this effort," Brittany Yanick, a campaign spokeswoman, told ABC News in a statement.
The sentiment is not shared by all Republicans facing competitive Senate races this fall. Florida Sen.Marco Rubiohas criticized the legislation as a "waste of time" and branded it an effort by Democrats to shore up support ahead of the midterms.
"People have different views on that issue. But... There's not a single state in the country, not one, trying to pass a law to challenge that. There's not a single case working its way up the courts. Not one and yet... the Senate leadership from the Democrats is going to prioritize [it] as a vote," Rubio said during a conservative conference on Monday.
Wisconsin Sen. Ron Johnson is also under the microscope for his upcoming vote, after appearing to reverse his stance by first saying he saw no reason to oppose it, and, more recently, saying he wouldn't support the legislation in its current form due to concerns over religious liberties.
"But at the same time, I don't want to see millions of lives disrupted either. To me, that was a ruling that was healed. Let it go, OK? Move on, OK? We've got enough problems, we've got enough things that divide this nation, let's not drag that back up," Johnson reportedly said in audio obtained by Heartland Signal earlier this month.
