A beautiful 80-degree sunny day forecast for Tuesday is great for just about everything except primary election voter turnout. Summer primaries always have much lower turnout than November elections, and this year is likely no exception.

That’s why Democratic 5th Congressional District candidate Don Samuels will be out on street corners Monday and Tuesday with supporters holding signs reminding people to vote. He narrowly lost to incumbent Rep. Ilhan Omar in a 2022 primary and is trying to convince his supporters he has a better chance this year.

“They want someone who is engaged,” Samuels told 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS on Monday. “Who is not divisive. Who can bring people together even during contentious times and on contentious issues.”

Omar attended a couple of official events on Monday and says she’s been campaigning hard to keep her job and fend off another primary challenge from Samuels.

“Positive thoughts. Really excited. Keep talking to voters, getting them out,” she says, urging voters not to vote for Samuels. “He will be a disaster for our district and our country. Why? Because he is just like the Don we are trying to defeat in November.”

Another key race we’ll be watching is the statewide U.S. Senate Republican primary between Joe Fraser and endorsed candidate Royce White. The winner will take on incumbent Democratic Sen. Amy Klobuchar.

“I want to hold Amy Klobuchar accountable,” Fraser said in an online news conference where former Republican Gov. Tim Pawlenty endorsed him.

“He’s had a distinguished military career at the highest levels,” Pawlenty said Monday. “He’s had a distinguished and honorable business career at the highest level and we are fortunate to have someone of his quality and caliber stepping forward and putting his hat in the ring.”

Appearing on WCCO Radio over the weekend, White said he was endorsed at the Republican state convention because he’s not a traditional candidate.

“People are sick of the status quo,” White said. “They’re sick of it. They’re sick of people who are qualified, have all the right credentials, but they get to DC and they sell out the people.”

Two other significant races we’ll be watching are the 2nd Congressional District primary pitting the Republican-endorsed candidate Tayler Rahm — who has actually dropped out of the race — against Joe Teirab. Rahm’s name will still appear on the ballot.

Republican incumbent Rep. Michelle Fischbach also faces a challenger, Steve Boyd, in Minnesota’s 7th Congressional District.

Polls are open 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Tuesday. If you’re a Minneapolis resident and still have your absentee ballot, you cannot drop it off at your polling center Tuesday. Instead, bring it to either of the city’s two election offices.

“If you’ve changed your mind and want to vote in person, that’s OK,” said Katie Smith, Minneapolis director of elections and voter services. “Just leave your materials at home and head out to the polls. If you have your ballot still, we highly recommend just getting it dropped off. Don’t put it back in the mail at this point, it’s really close to the wire.”

We’ll have results from all of these races and key legislative primaries online and on KSTP-TV.