ton, pr power trum from election deniers -- >> we are going to restore honesty and faith in our elections. no more stolen elections. >> to those stopping short. >> do you think the election was legitimate? >> i believe the wrong guy is in the white house. >> how tonight's vote could define the republican party. plus abortion test. for the first time since the supreme court overturned roe v. wade, voters in kansas weigh in on abortion. >> every family has -- should have that right to decide what's best for their babies. and luke bryan, country star in the big city. ♪ one margarita two margarita three margarita shot ♪

>> the "one margarita" singer and "idol" judge on tour and gearing up for a show-stopping performance. >> work hard, play hard. ♪ we'll be gone ♪ rd, play hard. ♪ we'll be gone ♪

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tonight, results coming in from hotly contested primaries across the country. in kansas, a major victory for abortion rights advocates. the midterms less than 100 days away, republicans in arizona hoping to define their party's future. whit johnson is on the ground in paradise valley. >> the ballots are still being counted but the energy is high at kari lake headquarters. her campaign staffers tell me that lake is taking in the gravity of the moment. remember, she was a local news anchor here for more than 20 years. she's used to covering elections. now she's at the center of one. meanwhile, her top rival, her opponent in the republican primary, karen taylor robson, the gop establishment pick, she believes she has all the momentum right now and she's showing well in early results that are coming in. she thinks that she is peaking at just the right time. this is a primary election that has gained national interest, and it's a battle over the identity of the republican

party, putting former president donald trump up against his former vice president, mike pence. with polls closed in arizona and ballots being counted, supporters of kari lake hope she will be the republican nominee for arizona governor. kari lake, a former tv news anchor, catapulted into the national spotlight after being endorsed by former president trump. >> no one understands better than kari how to fight back against the fake news media and the radical left. >> reporter: tonight's primaries testing former president trump's power over the republican party and perhaps a signal of where the gop is headed. >> the trump endorsement meant a lot in arizona. and the idea of running on the maga and trump banner, that is how kari lake tried to define herself. her loyalty to the false claims around the last election. she did not have the republican establishment backing. >> reporter: lake has been a fervent supporter of trump,

continuing to push the false claim the 2020 election was stolen. >> we will no longer accept corruptness, and i know for a fact we will no longer accept rigged elections. who's with me on that? [ cheers and applause ] >> reporter: arizona was not stolen. biden won the state by more than 10,000 votes. lake's opponent, real estate developer karen taylor robson, has the endorsement of former vice president mike pence but she edged when i asked her this -- >> do you think the election was legitimate? >> i believe the wrong guy is in the white house. i believe my opponent and media is obsessed with 2020. i'm obsessed with 2022 and 2024. >> reporter: trump's endorsement paired with trump's fiery rhetoric -- >> when mama goes maga, it is game over. >> reporter: appealing to many voters. >> all of my morals, they align with kari. i think she's very brave. i think she's also very loud and she's also a fighter. i don't feel the opponent is. at all. that's why i'm here.

>> governor doug doocy -- >> reporter: for decades, lake worked at the fox affiliate station in phoenix before quitting journalism, a move some of her supporters find admirable. >> doing the news every night for a decade more, you know what the problems are in your valley and your area, and you can deal with that now. she's a humble candidate. >> reporter: other voters were hoping to move on from the chaos that has engulfed the state since 2020. >> i can't just keep being dragged through this over and over again. hey, there's voter fraud! okay, show it to us. then they show us nothing. >> you're looking forward, not back this. >> forward, absolutely right. >> reporter: those voters choosing robson, backed by former vice president mike pence. >> there is only one candidate in this race who will be ready on day one to lead arizona even to greater heights, and that's karen taylor robson. >> we want level heads.

we don't want no more craziness, we've had enough of that, right? that's behind us. we are only concerned about what's in front of us. >> reporter: many have tried to make this race about a battle versus the gop establishment and the trump maga loyalists. do you see the race that way? >> i see this race as the future of arizona and what direction we're going. arizona has a lot of challenges, like many states across this country. arizonans are looking for tough, principled, experienced leadership. they're tired of the drama. >> reporter: it's too early to know which side will prevail. >> as bell larrizing as trump is in many circles and many people in the republican party are trying to rally to oppose him and his choices, he remains an extraordinarily valuable commodity in republican politics. another test of trump's hold over the party, the race between trump-backed candidate david farnsworth and the current state speaker of the house rusty bowers. trump attacked bowers on the campaign trail after he testified during the january 6th hearings. >> rusty bowers.

he's a rino coward who participated against the republican party in the totally partisan, unselect committee political thugs and hacks -- >> reporter: bowers telling the committee despite immense pressure from trump and his associates, he refused to overturn arizona's election results. >> i said, look. you are asking me to do something that is counter to my oath when i swore to the constitution to uphold it, and to quote the former president, during the conversation, he told me the election was rigged and that "i won arizona," unquote. did you have such a conversation with the president? >> i did have a conversation with the president. that certainly isn't it. anywhere, anyone, any time has said that i said the election was rigged, that would not be true. >> reporter: he spoke to my colleague, jon karl, last week.

>> let's go back to what trump actually wanted you to do after the election in 2020, and rudy giuliani. they basically wanted you to overturn the results in arizona? >> that would be the result of what they asked, yes. >> did you ever consider going along with this? >> the idea of throwing out the election of the president is like, okay, so what part of stupid do i get to land on and colonize? >> reporter: bowers, a longtime state republican lawmaker, voted for trump twice, but not again. >> i'll never vote for him. but i won't have to, because i think america's tired. and there's some absolutely forceful, qualified, morally defensible, and upright people. and that's what i want. that's what i want in my party, that's what i want to see. >> reporter: primaries were held in five states tonight, but in kansas, voters weighed in on another hot-button issue. >> we want to make abortion not only illegal but unthinkable.

>> women need to have this hoice for themselves. >> reporter: for the first time since the overturning of roe v wade, abortion on the ballot. kansans voting to keep constitutional abortion protections that allow most abortions up to 22 weeks, a rare instance where citizens, not just legislators, have a say in their state's abortion laws. my colleague rachel scott. >> tonight, a major victory for abortion rights advocates here in kansas. it is a strong signal that this state, these voters, do value abortion rights. the battle still not over yet. there are 14 states where abortion has all but stopped. others are considering bans as well. but for this group, those gathered here today, they were shattered by the news of roe v. wade being overturned weeks ago. today they are celebrating this victory and hope it sends a message ahead of the critical midterm elections less than 100 days away. >> kansas has long prided itself for being a free state and perusing freedom.

>> reporter: couples like briana and brian are relieved abortion protections will remain in their state. the devout catholics terminated their pregnancy in june after learning their child was diagnosed with two rare genetic conditions that would cause a significant disability and shortened life span. >> every family has -- should have that right to decide what's west for their babies. it's not just about kansas women. this is going to be an example that's set throughout the whole u.s. >> reporter: fiercely competitive races across the ballot giving us a glimpse of what's to come in november and ultimately which party could control congress and beyond. >> if we learned anything from this primary season, it's that uncertainties around electoral politics continue. there continue to be upsets, there continue to be surprises, there continue to be issues that the change is almost by the day, almost by the week, it's going to culminate in 2022 and 2024. there's a lot of dividing and a lot of anger for this country to work itself through. >> our thanks to whit.

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♪ luke bryan may be the busiest man in country music. performing at cma fest, hosting "american idol," and headlining a cross-country tour. he still finds time to have a little fun. abc's will reeve has the story. ♪ >> reporter: country superstar luke bryan has built his career singing about raising a glass and letting loose. ♪ one margarita two margarita

three margarita shot ♪ >> reporter: anthems like "one margarita" -- ♪ out here on the floating dock hand me another beer ♪ >> reporter: and "my kind of night." ♪ lay you down and love you right yeah that's my kind of night ♪ >> reporter: don't let the party vibes fool you. he's one of the hardest-working artists in country music. >> i think with me, obviously i'm very, very busy professionally. i mean, my weekends, i don't even know what weekends are like. >> reporter: touring north america. ♪ performing for thousands of country fans at cma fest in nashville. ♪ ♪ better have your boots on ♪ >> reporter: re-signing as a judge on abc's "american idol." >> he did a great job. what i love is hi did his own thing with it. >> reporter: luke bryan may be booked up, but he's not bothered. how do you keep it all together,

how do you keep that sparkle? >> i just grew up waking up, getting after it. you know, work hard, play hard. >> where do you find time to write music, make music? >> i'm constantly typing song ideas into my iphone. sometimes an idea like, you know, "old wooden fence post." you're like what? what was i thinking? a lot of times it's trying to sit down and focus -- i don't write nearly as much as i used to. but when i do sit down and write, it's very enjoyable. >> luke bryan! >> reporter: the multifaceted superstar doesn't stop there. he hosted last year's cma awards. >> in the heart of music city, nashville, tennessee. >> reporter: he'll do it again this november with a famous friend. just announced you're hosting the cma awards in november with first-time cohost peyton manning? >> yeah, you know, peyton's got me saying his name a lot, you know.

he's hired me to be his, you know, roving peyton supporter. but peyton and i, we've got a 10-year friendship, maybe even longer. thank god, after all these years, i've gotten a little more comfortable in that spot. so it's going to be fun to see if peyton -- he's been in high-profile football games and moments through the years, see if he gets a little jittery before we go out there. it's going to be fun to have him bring his sense of humor to the cma stage. and there will be no shortage of he and i roasting each other up there. >> reporter: the georgia native began his music career as a songwriter for other artists when he got to nashville in 2001. ♪ rain is a good thing ♪ >> reporter: bryan scored his first number one hit with "rain is a good thing." singles like "country girl" became fan favorites. ♪ country girl shake it for me girl shake it for me ♪

>> reporter: these days, bryan is country music royalty. racking up 29 number one songs and over 17 billion streams worldwide. throughout his rise to the top, bryan has never forgotten his southern roots. especially when it comes to raising sons bo, age 14, and tate, almost 12. >> i raised up in the south around so many different cultures. we want our boys to be raised to give everybody a fair shot, to look at the person and the integrity of that person. >> reporter: the star and his college sweetheart, wife caroline, famously taking in two nieces and a nephew after the sudden death of his sister and, later, brother-in-law. >> what impact has it had on you and your family? >> after they lost, obviously, my sister and their father, we let teal tildon, my nephew, live with us full-time. the girls were in their college and high school years.

my wife has sacrificed so much. i mean, when you're dealing with girls that are 21, 17, they got a lot of drama going on. and thank god we were in a position to where we could do all that. i look at teal. then i look at my oldest son, bo, and then tate. i mean, they are brothers. they fight like brothers. they love like brothers. and if i can run around this world and people hear my story, and they can see me smiling and trying to have positivity through it all, maybe it can inspire people. inspire people to get up out of bed and get rocking. >> reporter: bryan and his wife love to prank each other. a sense of fun that he shares with another family, his fellow judges on "american idol." >> why don't i just let luke start talking? >> yeah, tell us what you think, luke? >> yeah, tell us what you think.

>> hm. i tell you -- i'm gonna guess. >> "american idol" on abc, the train keeps chugging along. >> we keep showing up. >> how do you like it? >> it's been really amazing. getting to call lionel and katy and ryan my friends over the past going on six years. we're invested with each other outside of the show. i mean, obviously katy being a new mother. you know, we're sitting at a desk, she's always facetiming orlando, i'm always facetiming my kids, always checking on one another. we just seem to have the right vibes with how we want the show to go, how we want our professional and personal lives to go. >> what does this feel like in the moments where you have to say no to a contestant? >> you never really get used to it. some of these kids are talented, they're just not ready.

sometimes i have to yell at lionel and katy for sending people away, sometimes i know they're going to yell at me. that's how it works. >> reporter: hectic as his life may be, bryan always keeps perspective. what accomplishment are you most proud of in your own life? >> i'm pretty proud of the happiness through it all. really. i mean, i'm going to go walk around new york city and just look at people and smile and shop a little. somebody recognizes me, i'm not going to freak out. i'm going to take a picture with them and be happy about it. i mean, i look back, i was in a 15-passenger van trying to play my first single. i had fun, i have fun now. i have fun. try and have fun with the stuff. it's too hard not to have fun every day. >> our thanks to will. catch luke's performance tomorrow night at cma fest here on abc.

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♪ finally tonight, a landmark appointment for the marine corps. a military milestone, the senate confirming lawsuit than general michael langley as the first black four-star general in the marine corps in its only 250-year history. >> it was a great honor to be the president's nominee. i'm grateful for the trust and

confidence extended by him, the secretary of defense, the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, and commandant of the marine corps. >> he's now in charge of u.s. africa command. a momentous honor. that's "nightline" for this evening. catch our full episodes on hulu. we'll see you right back here same time tomorrow. thanks for the company, america. good night.