Voters in Kansas, Missouri, Virginia and Washington go to the polls on Tuesday in a round of US primary elections, Al Jazeera reports.
Background
American primaries decide which candidates appear on the ballot in November, and turnout in them is typically a fraction of the general election. Because the electorate that shows up is smaller and more committed, primaries are a better guide to the direction of each party than to the eventual result, and they are where the balance between establishment and insurgent candidates is settled. State-level results also determine the shape of the House and Senate races that follow.
Why it matters here
United States policy reaches Kenya through several channels at once: trade preferences and the future of AGOA, development and health financing including HIV and malaria programmes, and security cooperation in the region. The composition of Congress affects all three, which is why Kenyan readers have a practical interest in races that appear entirely domestic.
What to watch next
Which candidates emerge, what the results suggest about the November contests, and whether trade preferences for African exporters feature in any of the campaigns.
Read the full story on Al Jazeera
Source: Al Jazeera
