Voters in four states went to the polls Tuesday in primary elections that will help define the November midterm landscape, with the Democratic Senate primary in Maine all but settled and a Republican gubernatorial primary in South Carolina testing the power of a Trump endorsement.
Graham Platner, 41, was poised to win the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate in Maine, running effectively unopposed after former Gov. Janet Mills dropped out of the race. Platner, a political newcomer who has drawn Democratic support despite questions about his past treatment of women and the disclosure of explicit text messages, will now face veteran Republican Sen. Susan Collins in the general election. The Wall Street Journal reported that Platner’s campaign “has been rocked by numerous questions (stemming from his treatment of women to his tattoos).”
The Maine primary is seen as a critical test for Democratic hopes of flipping a Senate seat in a state that has trended blue in recent presidential elections but where Collins has won repeatedly. Platner’s unconventional campaign, which MSI previously reported relied on trivia games and happy hours to build grassroots support, has divided national Democrats.
In South Carolina, Rep. Nancy Mace, 48, faced an uphill battle to win the GOP nomination for governor. Polls showed her trailing substantially, in what would mark a sharp reversal for a politician once described as a rising star in the party since she entered Congress in 2021. The Journal cited Trump’s endorsement of an opponent as a key factor in Mace’s struggles.
“We could tell us a lot about the direction of American politics,” Wall Street Journal Washington coverage chief Damian Paletta wrote in a newsletter previewing Tuesday’s contests, noting that the electoral fates of Platner and Mace — both in their 40s with political careers ahead of them — “will help frame the November elections in less than five months.”
Separately, President Trump was greeted with a chorus of boos Monday night when he appeared on the video board at Madison Square Garden before Game 5 of the NBA Finals between the New York Knicks and San Antonio Spurs. The crowd’s reaction was loud and sustained, the Journal reported. The Knicks fell 115-111, ending a 13-game winning streak.
Primary voters also cast ballots in Nevada and North Dakota, with several congressional races described by the Journal as among “the five ugliest congressional battles across the country” in a cycle marked by redistricting and ideological trench warfare.
The results Tuesday are expected to set up several high-stakes November matchups, including Platner’s challenge to Collins and the Republican gubernatorial contest in South Carolina.