Maine is one in all 4 states the place major voters headed to the polls on Tuesday, and it has one of the crucial intently watched races within the nation, as Democrat Graham Platner seeks to lock up the nomination to tackle incumbent GOP Sen. Susan Collins regardless of his latest string of scandals.
Polls are closed in Maine and South Carolina, which additionally held primaries on Tuesday. Nevada and North Dakota have primaries Tuesday as properly.
Listed below are the foremost races to observe:
Maine Senate race
The Senate race in Maine has been a precedence for Democrats looking for to topple Collins of their quest to win again the higher chamber.
Platner, a 41-year-old navy veteran and oyster farmer, has seen surging help amongst Democrats in Maine, billing himself as a working class, anti-establishment candidate with a concentrate on opposing the “billionaire class.”
However new allegations in opposition to Platner emerged within the week earlier than the first, and it is not but clear how or whether or not they may have an effect on the race.
Simply over per week in the past, the Wall Avenue Journal reported that Platner’s spouse informed his marketing campaign that he had despatched sexually express textual content messages to different ladies quickly after the couple acquired married in 2023. And final week, the New York Instances reported on alleged “unsettling” habits by Platner towards some ladies he dated, together with one who described him as “poisonous” and “abusive,” notably when he had been consuming. Platner has denied bodily abuse and instructed the allegations are politically motivated. He has acknowledged combating PTSD and alcohol throughout what he referred to as a “very darkish interval of my life.”
The developments adopted different private controversies, together with problematic web feedback he made years in the past, together with a tattoo he acquired throughout his time within the Marines that’s well known as a Nazi image. Platner has since apologized for the posts and lined up the tattoo.
The Instances’ report got here after Platner had all however secured the nomination, since Maine Gov. Janet Mills, 78, dropped out of the race in April. Though nationwide Democrats recruited and initially backed Mills, the one Democrat to win statewide in Maine in 20 years, Platner’s groundswell of help eclipsed her efforts. Mills’ identify will nonetheless seem on the poll Tuesday, together with one other candidate, David Costello.
Platner expressed confidence heading into Tuesday’s major. His allies in Congress have largely defended him, whereas acknowledging the controversies. Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna of California Sunday mentioned on “Face the Nation” that if there have been proof of violence or sexual assault, he wouldn’t help Platner.
“We should always concentrate on acknowledging it was misogynistic, acknowledging it was fallacious, transferring on with redemption, after which specializing in his points, that are stopping the conflict, taking up the billionaire class,” Khanna mentioned.
Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, an impartial who caucuses with Democrats and is among the many social gathering’s most influential progressives, has additionally stood by Platner. He informed CBS Information chief Washington analyst Robert Costa on Monday he’ll “do every part I can” to assist Platner win.
“I feel whenever you have a look at politics on the whole, there are not any saints in the USA Senate,” Sanders informed Costa throughout an interview on the Nationwide Press Membership. “Folks can argue about this side of Graham or one other, however to my thoughts proper now, we want allies in the USA Senate who’ve the heart to tackle the massive cash that’s dominating this nation.”
In the meantime, the previous political director of Platner’s marketing campaign — Genevieve McDonald — excoriated the candidate in a Washington Submit op-ed on the eve of the election, saying he “just isn’t somebody who could be good for Maine or for the nation.”
McDonald left the marketing campaign final fall, round when Platner’s on-line posts and tattoo got here to gentle. She accused Platner and his marketing campaign of downplaying these points, and wrote that he “displays a sample of dishonest habits that’s inconceivable to disregard.”
Collins, who’s operating unopposed within the GOP major on Tuesday, is the one Republican looking for reelection within the Senate in a state that Vice President Kamala Harris received in 2024. However Collins, who’s been within the higher chamber since 1997 and workouts important energy as chair of the Appropriations Committee, has fended off plenty of challenges from Democrats in earlier cycles, together with in 2020 when Joe Biden received the state.
The nonpartisan Prepare dinner Political Report charges the race a toss-up.
Maine 2nd Congressional District
Democrats are hoping to hold on to Rep. Jared Golden’s seat in Maine’s 2nd Congressional District. Golden, a reasonable Democrat who declined to endorse Kamala Harris within the 2024 election and has at instances voted with Republicans, is retiring after 4 phrases in Congress, giving Republicans a stronger alternative to flip the seat.
The Prepare dinner Political Report charges the race as doubtless Republican. President Trump received the district within the final three presidential elections.
4 Democrats are vying to face Republican Paul LePage within the common election. LePage is a former two-term governor who’s operating unopposed within the GOP major.
Joe Baldacci, a state senator, is seen because the frontrunner for the Democratic nomination and has the backing of Home Democrats’ marketing campaign arm, the Democratic Congressional Marketing campaign Committee. He’s operating in opposition to state auditor Matt Dunlap, social employee Paige Loud and former congressional staffer Jordan Wooden.
Maine governor’s race
Mills, the highest-ranking Democrat elected statewide, is term-limited, leaving the sphere vast open. There are seven Republicans who’re actively campaigning and 5 Democrats on the poll for his or her events’ nominations.
Maine has ranked-choice voting, and voters can rank as much as 5 candidates on their poll.
Pingree and fellow Democrats former state Senate President Troy Jackson and state Lawyer Normal Shenna Bellows have shaped an alliance, asking supporters to rank all three to close out Nirav Shah and Angus King III, the son of Sen. Angus King.
State Sen. Richard Bennett has submitted sufficient signatures to qualify for the November poll as an impartial, which implies there will likely be a three-way poll on Election Day with the winners of Tuesday’s contests.
The Prepare dinner Political Report ranks the race as Doubtless Democrat.
South Carolina governor’s race
The Republican candidates vying to interchange term-limited Republican Gov. Henry McMaster are Pamela Evette, South Carolina’s lieutenant governor who enjoys Mr. Trump’s backing; Rep. Nancy Mace; Rep. Ralph Norman; Josh Kimbrell, a South Carolina state senator; Alan Wilson, South Carolina’s longtime legal professional common; and Rom Reddy, a former enterprise government.
Within the GOP major for governor, if not one of the candidates appeal to majority help, the 2 high candidates would head to a runoff race later this month.
Mr. Trump handed over Mace and Norman to endorse McMaster-backed Evette. The president referred to as Evette a “good good friend, fighter, and WINNER.”
Mr. Trump and Mace have had their tense moments, together with when she condemned Mr. Trump after the Jan. 6, 2021 riot, and he endorsed a major challenger in her Home reelection race in 2022. Though she and Mr. Trump had hotter interactions afterward, Mace was instrumental within the Home push to launch the Epstein recordsdata.
Norman additionally had little likelihood of successful Mr. Trump’s help, since he backed former U.N. Ambassador and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley over Trump within the 2024 GOP presidential major.
On the Democratic facet, South Carolina State Rep. Jermaine Johnson, legal professional Mullins McLeod and businessman Billy Webster are vying to be on the ticket for governor in November.
The chair of South Carolina’s Democratic Get together urged McLeod to drop his marketing campaign and concentrate on his psychological and emotional properly being after The Submit and Courier unearthed police dashcam video of him shouting incoherently at the back of a police cruiser.
No Democrat has received statewide workplace in South Carolina since 2000 and Mr. Trump received the state with 58% of the vote, so the primaries are usually extra aggressive than the final election.
South Carolina Senate major
Sen. Lindsey Graham additionally has some opponents in his Senate GOP major as he seeks his fifth time period, however none are anticipated to oust him from the seat he is held since 2003. Mr. Trump on Monday repeated his endorsement of Graham, and is holding a tele-rally Monday evening for him.
The Democrats seeking to unseat Graham, a tall order given Republican dominance in South Carolina and Graham’s longtime affect within the state, are pediatrician Annie Andrews, former Biden adviser and funeral residence proprietor Brandon Brown and logistics skilled Kyle Freeman.
Graham beat Democrat Jaime Harrison by 10 factors in 2020, though Harrison raised a report $130 million, in line with his marketing campaign. Harrison went on to turn out to be the chairman of the Democratic Nationwide Committee.
Nevada governor’s race
Nevada’s Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo tops Democrats’ goal record this yr to flip, and two Democrats are vying for the prospect to take him on in November. Lombardo has a number of major opponents on the poll, however none are considered as severe threats, says College of Nevada-Las Vegas political science professor Rebecca Gill.
However Lombardo has an “uphill battle” forward of him after the primaries, Gill mentioned. Aaron Ford and Alexis Hill are competing within the Democratic major to tackle Lombardo in November.
Ford has locked up a lot of the institution wing of the Democratic social gathering, whereas Hill is operating as a progressive challenger.
Nevada had constantly voted for Democrats within the presidential election since 2008 and the state has two Democratic senators. However the state’s financial system is closely depending on tourism, which was decimated by the COVID pandemic and its lockdowns, main Nevadans to vote Lombardo into workplace as governor in 2022. Two years later, Mr. Trump received the state by three factors.
North Dakota
North Dakota’s two senators, governor and lieutenant governor aren’t going through reelection till a minimum of 2028. However the state’s sole Home member, Republican Rep. Julie Fedorchak, is looking for her second time period and faces a major challenger. Democrat Trygve Hammer, who took on Fedorchak in 2024 and misplaced by 39 factors, is operating unopposed on Tuesday.
