Two Primary Losses Show It’s Hard to Move From House to Governor

Two elections this week underscored the difficulty facing the many House members who want to leave legislating in the nation’s capital in favor of leading the executive branch in their state capital.

Reps. Randy Feenstra (R-Iowa) and Dusty Johnson (R-S.D.) both lost June 2 primaries for governor despite wielding some advantages over their rivals.

Feenstra, who’s represented Iowa’s most conservative district for three terms, led in endorsements, fundraising, and won an 11th-hour endorsement from President Donald Trump. He still fell to Zach Lahn, a businessman and farmer who ran as a pro-Trump conservative outsider.

Johnson, a policy wonk who was ...