The 2022 midterm election season kicks off in earnest next week, with Indiana and Ohio holding primaries on May 3 with key House and Senate seats up for grabs. In all, voters in 29 states will go to the polls to choose Democratic and Republican nominees in May and June, the most crowded two-month period of the 2022 midterm elections. Most of the rest will vote in August and September.
Here's an at-a-glance look at who's voting where and when, along with a key race to watch on each date.
MAY 3
States holding primaries: Indiana, Ohio
Key race to watch: Ohio's GOP Senate race tests the power of an eleventh-hour Trump endorsement (best-selling Hillbilly Elegy author J.D. Vance) in a crowded and contentious field.
MAY 10
States holding primaries: Nebraska, West Virginia
Key race to watch: In West Virginia, two GOP House members face off in a newly-created district: Trump-backed Alex Mooney vs. David B. McKinley, backed by Republican Governor Jim Justice.
MAY 17
States holding primaries: Idaho, Kentucky, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania
Key races to watch: A pair of high profile races for Pennsylvania's open Senate seat: for the GOP, it's celebrity doctor Mehmet Oz vs. former hedge fund executive David McCormack; the Democrats have moderate Representative Conor Lamb vs. progressive Lt. Governor John Fetterman.
MAY 24
States holding primaries: Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia
Key race to watch: Trump is out for revenge in Georgia, where he's backed several candidates for state offices in an effort to oust GOP incumbents (including Governor Brian Kemp) who refused to help him undo Biden's 2020 win.
JUNE 7
States holding primaries: California, Iowa, Mississippi, Montana, New Jersey, New Mexico, South Dakota
Key race to watch: A crowded GOP gubernatorial field in New Mexico includes state legislator Rebecca Dow and former TV weatherman Mark Ronchetti vying for a shot to unseat Democratic incumbent Michelle Lujan Grisham.
JUNE 14
States holding primaries: Maine, Nevada, North Dakota, South Carolina
Key race to watch: South Carolina's Tom Rice, one of the 10 Republicans who voted to impeach Trump last year, fights to keep his House seat against Trump-endorsed State Representative Russell Fry.
JUNE 21
States holding primaries: Virginia
Key race to watch: Feeling hopeful after GOP Governor Glenn Youngkin's win last year, several Republicans vie for the chance to unseat two Democrats elected to the House in 2018's blue wave, Abigail Spanberger and Elaine Luria.
JUNE 28
States holding primaries: Colorado, Illinois, New York, Oklahoma, Utah
Key race to watch: Democratic Governor Kathy Hochul of New York seeks her party's nomination for her first full term after taking over for scandal-ridden Andrew Cuomo last year.
JULY 19
States holding primaries: Maryland
Key race to watch: Making for an intriguing race: Outgoing GOP Governor Larry Hogan is backing a Democrat, former prosecutor Thiru Vignarajah, for State Attorney. He's running against Democratic incumbent Marilyn Mosby, who is under indictment for perjury.
AUGUST 2
States holding primaries: Arizona, Kansas, Michigan, Montana, Washington
Key race to watch: In Michigan and Washington, three of the 10 House Republicans who voted to impeach the president in 2021 are facing stiff primary challenges from fields that include Trump-backed opponents.
AUGUST 4
States holding primaries: Tennessee
Key race to watch: The spotlight is on a House race in which the Tennessee GOP recently removed Trump-backed Morgan Ortagus, a former State Department spokesperson, from the ballot. Ortagus, who recently moved to the state, failed to meet the party's requirement of voting in three of the last four statewide primaries.
AUGUST 9
States holding primaries: Connecticut, Minnesota, Vermont, Wisconsin
Key race to watch: In Wisconsin, Lt. Governor Mandela Barnes leads a field of Democrats seeking the chance to run against Senator Ron Johnson, a Republican, in the fall.
AUGUST 13
States holding primaries: Hawaii
Key race to watch: Lt. Governor Josh Green leads a bevy of Democrats hoping to succeed Governor David Ige, who can't run again due to term limits. In the deeply blue state, whoever wins the Democratic primary is likely to win the office.
AUGUST 16
States holding primaries: Alaska, Wyoming
Key races to watch: In Wyoming, Representative Liz Cheney, the most visible anti-Trump Republican in Congress, faces Trump-endorsed GOP activist Harriet Hageman. Plus: In Alaska, former Governor Sarah Palin tries for a political comeback in a crowded race for the state's sole House seat.
AUGUST 23
States holding primaries: Florida
Key race to watch: Representative Charlie Crist, a former governor, faces Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried in the Democratic race to square off against incumbent Governor Ron DeSantis, a Republican.
SEPTEMBER 6
States holding primaries: Massachusetts
Key race to watch: Democrats are looking to pick up the governor's seat in the liberal state after current GOP Governor Charlie Baker, a moderate, declined to run again. Democratic Attorney General Maura Healey is among the hopefuls.
SEPTEMBER 13
States holding primaries: Delaware, New Hampshire, Rhode Island
Key race to watch: In New Hampshire, Democratic Senator Maggie Hassan, who won narrowly in 2016, is considered vulnerable. The crowded GOP field hoping to replace her includes State Senate president Chuck Morse.
NOVEMBER 8
States holding primaries: Louisiana
Key race to watch: The line-up in the state's open Senate primary features three Democrats challenging GOP incumbent John N. Kennedy. If no one get a majority, the two top vote-getters go to a runoff in December.
