With the more than certain victories of Joe Biden and Donald Trump in the primaries of Maryland, Nebraska and West Virginia, Tuesday's election day featured several congressional races that will be decisive in the upcoming November elections.

Maryland becomes competitive and decisive for the Senate

Without a doubt, one of the notes of the day was signed by the Democrat Angela Alsobrooks, Prince George's County executive, who took the Democratic primary for the Maryland Senate seat after defeating the representative of Maryland's 6th District, David Trone, who spent a fortune on his self-financed campaign to achieve the candidacy but ultimately failed.

Alsobrooks, who has made abortion a central issue in her campaign, will face Republican Larry Hogan, a former Republican governor who is quite moderate (anti-Trump) and popular in the state and right now leads the polls to occupy the seat that will be empty in Maryland when the departure of Democrat Ben Cardin is confirmed, who announced that he will retire at the end of his third term in January.

This contest between Democrat Alsobrooks and Republican Hogan will be absolutely decisive for control of the Senate.

The Democratic candidate will seek to become the third black woman in history to be elected to the United States Senate, but to do so she will have to defeat an opponent with an illustrious political career who is doing well in the polls and is presenting himself as an independent-moderate candidate.

“I want to congratulate County Executive Alsobrooks on her nomination. I know Angela well, and I value our respectful relationship. I look forward to a real debate on what this campaign is about: who can actually help fix the mess in Washington,” Hogan wrote on X. "Voters have a clear and stark choice: more of the dysfunctional partisan status quo or real independent and bipartisan leadership. We need leaders who will stand up to the political bosses and bring both parties together to actually get things done, like keeping our communities safe, improving education, and addressing the out-of-control cost of living. I have a proven track record of that exact kind of strong independent leadership."

Despite being the favorite, Hogan should not be complacent, because Alsobrooks has already proven that she can beat an experienced politician, as she did in the primary.

Don Bacon will have a rematch against Tony Vargas

The House of Representatives race also had important primaries this Tuesday. Incumbent Rep. Don Bacon, a Republican from Nebraska, decisively defeated his opponent Dan Frei, a candidate described as a “right-wing populist” who had the support of the Nebraska Republican Party and Bacon's own colleague in Congress.

According to Fox News, this race was a test to measure the dominance of the most conservative wing of the Republican Party in areas that could be swing districts in the upcoming November elections. The test was not passed by Frei, who watched Bacon, one of the most moderate legislators in the House of Representatives, win with 62% of the votes.

Bacon's victory is fundamental for Republicans because the three-term legislator won the midterms in an area where President Biden won by more than 6% in 2020.

Now, with his victory consummated, Bacon will once again face Tony Vargas, a Democratic state senator in Nebraska whom he defeated by a 3% margin in 2022.

Will Joe Manchin's vacant seat go to a Republican?

The West Virginia Republican Senate primary looked like it was going to be a bloodbath between West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice and former President Trump's ally Alex Mooney, who represents the 2nd Congressional District.

When everyone expected that Trump was going to endorse Mooney, who had already been previously endorsed by the former president for the midterms, the former president decided to support Justice in a strategic decision to ensure that Republicans control the seat that Senator Joe Manchin III will vacate, a moderate Democrat who could now leave his former seat in the hands of the GOP.

Now, Justice, after comfortably defeating Mooney, will face Glenn Elliott in the general election, Wheeling's two-term mayor who won the Democratic primary thanks to the support of prominent Democratic figures including Manchin himself.

This race will be decisive for control of the Senate, as will the battle in Maryland between Alsobrooks and Hogan.

Other important races of the day

There were several notable news items throughout election day. Among them, the winners of the Democratic and Republican primaries in Maryland's 2nd Congressional District, where the successor to Democratic Rep. Dutch Ruppersberger will be determined.

Democrats nominated John “Johnny O” Olszewski Jr., a moderate Baltimore executive who received support from Ruppersberger and is a heavy favorite to take the seat in a predominantly blue district.

To do so, he will have to defeat Republican Kim Klacik, a 42-year-old conservative radio host who won by a wide margin in the GOP primaries.

Other important news was the resounding failure of Harry Dunn, a 15-year veteran of the Capitol Police who was present at the events of Jan. 6, who was seeking the nomination in Maryland's Third District.

However, Dunn, branded “far left” by his critics, fell to Maryland state Senator Sarah Elfreth, who received substantial support in recent weeks from the United Democracy Project, a super PAC linked to the powerful American Israel Public Affairs Committee that spent more than $4 million to boost her candidacy. Elfreth is now a big favorite to win the seat in November.