Two more House Democrats face primary danger: From the Politics Desk

Welcome to From the Politics Desk , a daily newsletter that brings you the NBC News Politics team’s latest reporting and analysis from the White House, Capitol Hill and the campaign trail.

In today’s edition, we take a look at the next round of House incumbents staring down tough primary challenges. Plus, our Capitol Hill team reports on the latest development in the Rep. Max Miller saga.

Sign up to receive this newsletter in your inbox every weekday here.

📩 Just launched: Make sure to check out The Data Dive with Steve Kornacki , a new weekly newsletter for NBC News subscribers on the numbers and trends shaping the biggest stories heading into the midterms.

What to watch for tonight: Two more House Democrats face primary danger

After a bit of a slowdown in July, we’re diving right back into the thick of primary season tonight, as voters in five states — Kansas , Michigan , Missouri , Virginia and Washington — head to the polls.

The Democratic Senate clash between Rep. Haley Stevens and former public health official Abdul El-Sayed in battleground Michigan is the headliner . President Donald Trump is getting involved again in GOP primaries across the map. And as we highlighted last week , voters in Kansas and Missouri will decide on under-the-radar ballot measures that could allow Republicans to further solidify their power in the red states.

But we could also see the continuation of one of the bigger trends of the election cycle so far: members of Congress falling in primaries. So far, seven House incumbents and two Senate incumbents have lost renomination this year. As Ben Kamisar notes , two more House Democrats are at risk tonight.

Missouri’s 1st District: Rep. Wesley Bell unseated former Rep. Cori Bush two years ago in a victory for establishment Democrats over progressives. Now, they are set for a rematch.

Bell has been boosted by millions of dollars from the AIPAC-aligned United Democracy Project, which has criticized Bush as ineffective and as not a loyal Democrat. Bush, meanwhile, has argued her brand of politics is what Democrats need in the current moment and has criticized Bell for supporting Israel.

Bell is backed by House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries , D-N.Y., and the Congressional Black Caucus, while Bush won endorsements from prominent progressive politicians like Sen. Bernie Sanders , I-Vt., and groups like Justice Democrats.

Michigan’s 13th District: Rep. Shri Thanedar faces a tough challenge from state Rep. Donavan McKinney . Thanedar narrowly won the Democratic primary for the Detroit-based seat in 2022 but has faced scrutiny since. After initially running as a progressive, Thanedar broke with the Democratic Socialists of America in 2023.

Thanedar also drew criticism from fellow Democrats for a push to impeach Trump that wasn’t blessed by party leaders. Still, he recently received endorsements from Jeffries and other top House Democrats. McKinney, backed by Sanders and other leading liberals, has accused Thanedar of trying to buy the seat by self-funding his bid and blasted him as insufficiently progressive.

Read more from Ben, Bridget Bowman, Adam Edelman and Henry J. Gomez about tonight’s primaries →

Ohio GOP Rep. Max Miller requests an Ethics Committee investigation into himself

By Scott Wong, Frank Thorp V and Ryan J. Karlin

Embattled Rep. Max Miller , R-Ohio, said he would request the House Ethics Committee to investigate domestic abuse allegations made by his ex-wife — an unusual move to try to exonerate himself amid a messy custody battle that is playing out in public view.

“In light of all the renewed interest in my family affairs I am going to file my own paperwork for an ethics investigation into myself to clear my name from these horrific attacks on myself and family. I have absolutely nothing to hide,” Miller, who has vehemently denied the allegations, said in a post on X .

“We will be providing the committee all necessary documents needed for a detail examination. The accusations continue to change, but my facts stay the same. I am looking forward to my colleagues reading everything for themselves,” Miller continued.

Hours later, the Ethics panel said it had launched an investigation into whether Miller may have engaged in “domestic violence and abuse or illegal drug use in violation of the Code of Official Conduct.”

Such an investigation would likely take weeks, if not months, to complete. The House is out on its August recess and will return in September.

But the fact that he is making the request suggests Miller is not planning to drop out of his race for re-election, despite a declaration from his former father-in-law, Sen. Bernie Moreno , a fellow Ohio Republican, that Miller is not fit to serve in Congress.

Lawmakers typically do not request Ethics investigations into themselves, but it has happened before. In 2008, then-House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Charlie Rangel , D-N.Y., asked the Ethics Committee to investigate allegations that he had improperly used congressional letterhead to rally support for an educational center named after him.

But the strategy backfired for Rangel. After a two-year Ethics probe, the panel found the longtime congressman guilty of violating 11 House ethics rules, and he was censured by the full House . Rangel had to relinquish his powerful Ways and Means gavel in the process, and he did not seek re-election in 2016.

🗞️ Today's other top stories

That’s all From the Politics Desk for now. Today’s newsletter was compiled by Adam Wollner and Annelise Hanson.

If you have feedback — likes or dislikes — email us at politicsnewsletter@nbcuni.com

And if you’re a fan, please share with everyone and anyone. They can sign up here .