The four most important down-ballot races — and how they could affect the presidential election

The conventions are in the books. Former president Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris are sniping at each other about their presumptive debate in September. Trump has reportedly tapped anti-vaccine conspiracy theorist Robert F Kennedy Jr to work on his transition team, while Harris recently announced that 200 former staffers for Mitt Romney, George W Bush and John McCain have endorsed her campaign (that’s part of her larger effort to court “McCain Republicans.”)

Second Gentleman Douglas Emhoff has taken part in a number of campaign receptions, while Governor Tim Walz will speak to the International Association of Fire Fighters on Wednesday. Meanwhile, Trump and his running mate, Ohio Senator JD Vance, will trek through Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and Michigan.

But, of course, the presidency is only one race being decided in November. And some of the races down-ballot are just as bloody. They also might have a massive impact on the top of the ticket.

Here is a roundup of the most important non-presidential races that could make a huge difference.

One persistent problem for many Republicans, even before Joe Biden stepped aside, was that even as Trump beat Biden in numerous swing states, Senate candidates continued to underperform him. Nowhere is this problem more persistent than in Arizona.

Biden narrowly won Arizona in 2020 and the state has not elected a Republican to the Senate since John McCain won re-election in 2016. Now, Ruben Gallego, a Marine Corps veteran and Democrat who was a member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, is running against Kari Lake, the news-anchor-turned election denier who lost her race for governor in 2022.

Democrats hope to hold the seat after Kyrsten Sinema, the mercurial