November’s general election matchups are taking shape as voters in Maine, Nevada, South Carolina and North Dakota took to the polls in primary elections on Tuesday to select their party’s candidates.
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President Donald Trump continues to prove his influence over the Republican primaries across the nation with key wins by his favored GOP candidates. Republican incumbent Sen. Lindsey Graham secured the nomination in South Carolina, while Dave Flippo won the GOP nod in Nevada’s 2nd Congressional District after Trump’s endorsements. And his support of Pamela Evette made her a front-runner in South Carolina’s runoff gubernatorial election.
But the success of Trump-favored candidates only served to highlight Democrats’ fight to flip those and other GOP seats in November’s general election.
Here are some key results from each state.
Maine: Senate, House, Governor
Oyster farmer Graham Platner is the projected winner of the Democratic nomination in the U.S. Senate contest, earning 71.9% of the vote and besting the 19.4% taken by Gov. Janet Mills, who withdrew from the race but remained on the ballot.
Platner, a former Marine who faced a bumpy road due to revelations of misogynistic behavior and a tattoo associated with Nazi imagery, will face Republican incumbent Sen. Susan Collins, who has served since 1997. Collins ran unopposed but may face trouble come November with a strong Democratic undercurrent in the state that went for Vice President Kamala Harris in 2024.
The seat is a top target for Democrats, who view the election as a chance to flip a long-held GOP seat.
In the governor’s race, Mills was term-limited, giving both parties a chance to claim the top office in the state. The gubernatorial primary election is still too close to call, but the current front-runners are not a surprise. Dr. Nirav Shah, the former head of Maine’s Center for Disease Control and Prevention during the COVID-19 pandemic, leads the Democratic field with 26.9% of the vote. Hannah Pingree, former speaker of the Maine House of Representatives, trails closely with 23.2%.
Republican Robert Charles leads his party’s race with 37.1% of the vote, garnering support as the former assistant secretary of state.
With Democratic Rep. Jared Golden out of the House race, Maine Democrats are struggling to unite behind a candidate in the 2nd District. Although Joe Baldacci leads with 31.4%, the election will proceed to ranked-choice voting after none of the three candidates received more than 50% support. The process could take days as votes will be reallocated to the top contenders.
Paul LePage won the Republican nomination in an uncontested contest. The businessman and former governor of Maine is a well-known figure and viable candidate to win the race.
South Carolina: Senate, House, Governor
Gov. Henry McMaster’s term-limited seat is up for grabs, opening South Carolina’s governor’s race for the first time since 2010.
Trump voiced his support in the gubernatorial election, but his endorsement only went so far.
While the president’s backing made Pamela Evette a front-runner in the Republican primary – she took 28.9% of the vote – her victory was not yet secured. Alan Wilson followed closely with 26.2%. The divided votes between the two candidates sent the election to a June 23 runoff. The winner will face Jermaine Johnson, the projected winner of the Democratic gubernatorial primary with 59.7%.
In the Senate race, longtime incumbent Graham took 56.8% of votes to win his party’s Senate nomination, despite recent criticism from his colleagues in the Republican Party. Still, with Trump’s endorsement in hand, the crowded ballot created little competition for Graham in the primary – though the general election could be a different story.
Annie Andrews, a pediatrician, won the Democratic nomination with 61.5% of the vote and will face Graham in November. Andrews represents another chance for Democrats in their ongoing effort to unseat Graham.
READ:
Winners and Losers in June 2 Primaries
Nevada: House, Governor
Nevada’s gubernatorial primaries were largely decisive. Republican incumbent Joseph Lombardo won with 90.9% of the vote.
Under Lombardo, the option “none of these candidates” finished second with 2.3% ahead of the other six choices.
Aaron Ford, Nevada’s first Black attorney general, won the Democratic nomination, earning 63.8% support, and will face Lombardo in November.
For the first time in over 15 years Nevada’s 2nd Congressional District seat was contested following the retirement of Rep. Mark Amodei.
With 13 candidates in the running, Flippo – the Republican who secured Trump’s endorsement – won the seat with 45.7% support.
Amodei and Gov. Joe Lombardo’s endorsement of GOP state Sen. James Settelmeyer earned him 35.3% but was not enough to push him through.
North Dakota: House
After winning the 2024 Republican primary with just 46% of the vote, incumbent Rep. Julie Fedorchak outperformed that total in this year’s primary, with 72.9% support.
Democrats are looking to flip the seat in the heavily Republican state, settling on Trygve Hammer for their nomination in an uncontested primary.
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