'Top-two' fears appear overblown and women dominate in Tuesday's primary elections

A top-two lockout for Democrats in California?

The major fear coming into the evening for Democrats would be that Democrats would be "locked out" in three of the districts that Hillary Clinton won in 2016 and currently have a Republican representative. These were the 39th (where Ed Royce is retiring), 48th (where Dana Rohrabacher is running for re-election) and 49th (where Darrell Issa is retiring).

The polling suggested that those fears were probably overstated and there was even the chance of a Republican lockout in 39th and 49th. Well, Republicans don't look like they're going to be locked out, but it doesn't look like Democrats will be either.

As of right now, a Republican occupies the top slot in all three contests and a Democrat occupies the second slot.

Now obviously, we'll have to keep an eye out over the next few days to see if this shifts. Fortunately for Democrats, the ballots that are counted last have tended to lean, if anything, more Democratic than the votes that are counted earlier.

In the 39th, Republican Young Kim is in first with Democrat Gil Cisneros in second.

CNN has projected Kim will advance to the general election along with a Democrat, although it's still unclear which Democrat that will be.

In the 48th, Republican Rohrabacher leads and either Democrats Hans Keirstead and Democrat Harley Rouda look most likely to get the second slot. In the 49th, Republican Diane Harkey is in first and Democrat Mike Levin is in second, with Democrat Sara Jacobs also in the mix.

In other words, the most likely scenario at this point is that Democrats will have candidates on the ballot in the fall in all seven Republican-held seats in California where Clinton won in 2016.

A lockout for Republicans in the biggest governor's race?

The thought here was pretty simple. Through much of the campaign, Democrat Gavin Newsom led the field while Democrat Antonio Villaraigosa was in second place. Republicans worried that if two Democrats claimed the top spots, then Republicans might not come out to vote in the fall in the key congressional races.

Late polling turned out to be correct, however. Republican John Cox came on strong at the end of the campaign and was certainly helped by an endorsement from Republican President Donald Trump.

CNN has projected that Newsom and Cox will advance to the general election in the fall. This means that, like it looks in the House races, the belief that the "top-two" primary would lock out one of the political parties did not come to fruition.

Will the women surge continue this week?

Democratic women have been winning congressional primaries in large numbers. Republican women less so. Tuesday offered another chance for Democratic women to do well and for Republican women to win a number of governor primaries.

Unlike the lockout fears, the women surge certainly held steady in the results. In California's 45th Congressional District (a district that Clinton won but a Republican representative currently occupies), Republican Rep. Mimi Walters leads with Democrat Katie Porter currently in second.

In the governor races, women did well across the board. In fact, women claimed the top spot in four of the five key races. Alabama Republican Gov. Kay Ivey took 57% of the vote, according to the Secretary of State's website. Iowa Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds was unopposed in her primary. In New Mexico, Democrat Michelle Lujan Grisham is currently pulling well over 60% of the vote, according to the Secretary of State's website. She'd be the second woman governor in a row in that state. Finally in South Dakota, Republican Rep. Kristi Noem is well ahead with 56% of the vote with nearly all the votes counted, according to the Secretary of State's website. All four women are favored to win the general election.

And in congressional races outside of California, women also dominated. Iowa Democrats Abby Finkenauer in the first district and Cindy Axne in the third district led over their nearest opponents by over 30 points. Finkenauer would be the youngest women ever elected to the House, if she prevails in the fall. In New Mexico's First Congressional District, Democrat Deb Haaland was leading her closest opponent by 15 points with nearly all the votes counted. She'd be the first Native American woman ever elected to Congress. And in New Jersey's 11th district, Democrat Mikie Sherrill declared victory for a seat that will be closely contested in the fall.

Interestingly, there was at least one woman candidate who did not fare so well. Republican Rep. Martha Roby in Alabama's Second District got well under 50% of the vote and will face a runoff. Roby's problem stem from her withdrawing her endorsement of Trump in 2016. Her opponents went after her 2016 Trump stance, and it's clear Republican voters remain closely attached to the President.