There are two red state primary elections on Tuesday -- Alaska and Wyoming.

In Alaska there is a heated contest to determine which Republican candidate will face incumbent Senator Mark Begich (D). Alaska will be a critical state in the midterm elections for determining which party has control of the Senate. Republics need six Senate seats to upset the Democratic majority, currently 55-45.

Begich was first elected in 2008 and spent $8 million to win the election by 4,000 votes against veteran incumbent Republican Senator, Ted Stevens. A few weeks before the election, Stevens had been found guilty of seven charges of corruption in a federal trial. Those charges were later overturned.

In the three-way race for the GOP nomination are Dan Sullivan, a former state attorney and natural resource commissioner, Mead Treadwell, the well-known lieutenant governor, and Joe Miller, a Tea Party-backed candidate.

Sullivan is the front runner, with more money than the other candidates and broad support from conservative and business organizations, but he has been the target of millions of dollars spent in attack advertisements labeling him an outsider. He was born in Ohio and moved in and out of the state over the last two decades. Heightening the contest, over the weekend, former Alaska Governor and Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin endorsed Miller.

"To restore liberty, to defend our Constitution, to build American exceptionalism, we must send fighters to the U.S. Senate who will stop Barack Obama's fundamental transformation of the nation we love," Palin said in a statement to Fox News. "The status quo has got to go, and in Alaska the man who understands this key to our state and country's future also has the guts, wisdom, experience and optimism to fight for what is right -- and win. Vote for Joe Miller on Tuesday and shake off the liberal stronghold so we can get on the right track."

Alaska is a big state with a small population. Because of the state's size, people can vote by mail and absentee ballot. There were 300,000 registered voters in 2010, and native peoples represented 14 percent of the vote.

In a Huffington Post poll, Sullivan leads at 37 percent, Treadwell at 26.5 percent and Miller at 16.6 percent.

Wyoming, in contrast is essentially one-party state, with 167,000 registered Republicans and 52,000 Democrats. Democrats haven't held office in the state for four years. The big contest is for governor, with Republican candidates vying for the state's top position. Incumbent Matt Mead is on his second term and opposed the Obama Administration's Affordable Care Act, He has also mounted lawsuits against federal air quality regulations, which he says threatens the state's coal industry. He faces two Republican opponents -- Cindy Hill and Taylor Haynes. His Democratic opponent Pete Gosar is unopposed. No one is challenging incumbent Rep. Cynthia Lummis.

The Senate seat is where there is challenge. Senator Mike Enzi (R) is seeking a fourth term, and the well known and well funded politician is facing four candidates. They are "Thomas Bleming of Lusk, a self-described soldier of fortune; Arthur Bruce Clifton of Cheyenne, an oil company worker; Bryan E. Miller of Sheridan, a retired Air Force officer and energy consultant; and James Gregory of Jackson," according to the Sacremento Bee.

On the Democratic side, Charlie Hardy of Cheyenne, a former Roman Catholic priest; Rex Wilde of Cheyenne, a worker with a contracting company; Al Hamburg of Torrington and William Bryk of Brooklyn, New York are seeking the party's Senate nomination.