Voters across Maine, Nevada, South Carolina and North Dakota will cast their ballots Tuesday in another day of primary elections in America, but much of the political world will be focused on Maine’s high-stakes U.S. Senate contest.
The results aren't in question. Neither Republican incumbent Sen. Susan Collins nor Democratic challenger Graham Platner faces serious opposition for their party’s nomination. And yet Tuesday marks an especially significant moment for Platner, the embattled veteran and oyster farmer, who's fighting to rebuild his credibility in a campaign rocked by controversy.
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Elsewhere, President Donald Trump’s clout within his party will be tested anew in states like South Carolina and Nevada, where he’s endorsed his favored candidates. Democrats hope to build momentum in Nevada in their broader push to reclaim key governor’s seats.
Here's the latest:
Voter voices from Graham Platner’s hometown of Sullivan, Maine
Brenda Wood said she voted for Republicans in the primary because she doesn’t believe Platner’s campaign promises and expressed dissatisfaction with his party generally.
“I think the Democrats have been a disgrace to Maine for years,” she said.
Annette Babcock, also from Sullivan, said she supported Platner, whom she said she’s met a few times and likes because he’s not an established politician.
She did not sound concerned over recent controversies surrounding his campaign.
“The Republicans don’t have much moral high ground to stand on when they’re criticizing him for what he’s done when Trump is a convicted felon,” she said.
What’s at stake in Maine’s US Senate race
The road for the Democrats to take back the U.S. Senate goes through Maine. That road starts today.
The Democratic Party needs to net four seats to retake the Senate majority, and thinks some of its best chances are in states like Maine, North Carolina, Alaska and Ohio. The party is set to officially pick its nominee in Maine on Tuesday.
Oyster farmer and combat veteran Graham Platner is the party’s presumptive nominee because his main rival, Democratic Gov. Janet Mills, suspended her campaign weeks ago. Mills remains on the ballot. David Costello, who hasn't campaigned aggressively, is also on the ballot.
Evette calls Trump endorsement ‘golden ticket’ in her South Carolina gubernatorial campaign
After voting at her precinct in Taylors on Tuesday, South Carolina Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette said she was confident about how her campaign for governor had gone.
But if she doesn’t win the primary outright and has to campaign for two more weeks in a runoff, the Republican said she’d work hard to win over voters who didn’t initially support her.
President Donald Trump is backing Evette’s bid and the candidate said that, while she thinks that will help her in this “proud Trump state,” she’ll focus primarily on her own stances, like cutting taxes and regulations.
Graham Platner’s tattoo and social media controversies, explained
Platner’s campaign has spent months navigating controversies about a tattoo of a Nazi symbol that he had covered up and his history of inflammatory online postings.
Platner has said he was drunk on leave with some fellow Marines many years ago when he got a skull and crossbones tattoo on his chest. He had it covered up last year after saying he learned that it was a Nazi image.
There has also been much attention on his former social media and Reddit posts, which were dismissive of military sexual assaults, insulting of police and rural residents and used homophobic slurs, for which he's apologized.
Trump’s hold on Nevada GOP to be tested
Nevada’s primary will give an indication of the influence the president maintains in the battleground state.
In 2024, Trump became the first Republican presidential candidate in 20 years to win Nevada. For Tuesday’s primary, he's backed candidates in three of the state’s four congressional races:
1. State Sen. Carrie Buck in the 1st District, a seat long held by Democratic Rep. Dina Titus.
2. Retired Air Force Lt. Col. David Flippo in the 2nd District, which opened after Rep. Mark Amodei announced his retirement.
3. And “Halo” composer Marty O’Donnell in the 3rd District, the state’s most competitive seat. Trump narrowly won the district in 2024.
Trump has a string of victories for his endorsed candidates so far this primary season. That includes those he endorsed in an effort to take down Republicans he deemed insufficiently loyal.
The GOP primary for the 2nd District appears to be the most contentious. Trump’s endorsed candidate faces James Settelmeyer, a rancher with a long political resume who has the backing of Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo and the retiring incumbent.
South Carolina’s Republican governor primary was all about Trump’s support
Trump’s endorsement is a powerful factor in a state where Republicans dominate politics.
U.S. Reps. Nancy Mace and Ralph Norman, state Attorney General Alan Wilson and Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette all showcased their proximity to the president. Mace worked for his 2016 campaign, Norman votes with him in the House, Wilson traveled to New York City when Trump was on trial, and Evette hired one of his advisers for her campaign.
In the end, Trump endorsed Evette in the primary’s closing days, also saying on social media that “A BIG added plus” was that Henry McMaster Jr. — the sitting governor’s son — could be Evette’s running mate.
McMaster is close to Trump, backing him in 2016 when much of the Republican establishment was hesitant to embrace the New York businessman and reality television star. So when McMaster endorsed Evette in February, it was a sign that Trump’s support could be on the way.
4 Democrats running for crucial Maine congressional seat
Many Maine Democrats are voting to pick a candidate for the 2nd District, which Republicans see as a key chance to pick up a seat in the narrowly divided chamber.
Incumbent Rep. Jared Golden, a Democrat, is not seeking reelection. The 2nd District includes much of rural Maine and Trump has had great success there at the top of the ticket in the last three presidential elections.
The Republicans’ presumptive nominee is former Gov. Paul LePage. Democrats will choose between former Maine Secretary of State Matt Dunlap; state Sen. Joe Baldacci; former U.S. Senate candidate Jordan Wood; and social worker Paige Loud.
Nevada website shows the status of mail ballots
The Nevada Secretary of State’s Office has launched a website designed to provide transparency around mail ballots.
The website shows how many were mailed, returned and accepted. It also notes the number requiring fixes by voters. Nevada mails a ballot to every registered voter unless a voter opts out.
It’s one of several swing states where Trump disputed his loss in 2020 with false claims of fraud. The secretary of state at the time, a Republican, investigated various claims and found no evidence of any widespread fraud. Trump also has repeatedly attacked the use of mail ballots generally.
Secretary of State Cisco Aguilar, a Democrat, said he created the website to increase transparency around Nevada’s elections and provide a way for voters to see in real-time how many ballots are outstanding.