https://www.foxnews.com/politics/2020-purge-long-serving-incumbents-being-toppled-house-primaries
Members of Congress usually have the upper hand when they run for re-election. But this past week, two more House incumbents were ousted in contested primaries.
That brings to seven the number of sitting House members who’ve been defeated by primary challengers in the 2020 election cycle. While that’s not a record, the list includes some longtime veterans of Capitol Hill.
Rep. Lacy Clay, D-Mo.
The 10-term congressman was defending a seat that’s been represented by his family for more than half a century. Clay succeeded his father – the late Rep. William Clay Sr. – who held the St. Louis-area seat for more than 30 years and was one of the founders of the Congressional Black Caucus.
Rep. Steve Watkins, R-Kan.
Weeks before Tuesday’s primary, Watkins was charged with three counts of voter fraud for using the address of a UPS store rather than his home when registering to vote. The incumbent told voters he had made a simple mistake and argued that the charges were a political attack.
Rep. Eliot Engel, D-N.Y.
Engel – who’s spent three decades in the House – is the longest-serving incumbent this cycle to lose. The powerful chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee was ousted by Jamaal Bowman, a former middle school principal and first-time candidate.
Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa
After making comments defending the term "white nationalism," King lost the support of fellow House Republicans and was stripped of his seats on committees. That was enough for state Sen. Randy Feenstra to oust King in the GOP primary.
Rep. Daniel Lipinski, D-Ill.
Lipinski – who’s served in Congress for a decade and a half – is one of the last anti-abortion Democrats on the Hill. He was defeated in his suburban Chicago district by Marie Newman, a vocal supporter of abortion rights and proponent of "Medicare-for-all."
Rep. Scott R. Tipton, R-Colo.
Tipton – who has represented his rural Colorado district for nearly a decade – was endorsed by President Trump. That’s usually enough for a GOP incumbent to ward off a primary challenger.But Tipton’s challenger was ultra-conservative Lauren Boebert, a vocal gun rights activist who kept touting that she was keeping the doors open during the coronavirus pandemic to Shooters Grill, her weapons-themed restaurant.
Rep. Denver Riggleman, R-Va.
Like Tipton, the first-term Riggleman – who represents a rural district – had the backing of the president. But he was defeated by social conservative challenger Bob Good at the party convention.
An apparent major reason for Riggleman’s ouster: Last year, he officiated the same-sex wedding of two campaign volunteers.