Primary races to watch in Nevada, South Carolina, Maine

Primaries in different parts of the country on Tuesday could exert some influence on Republicans’ chances at gaining back ground from Democrats in November and help decide whether an often unpredictable House Republican who has upset members of her own party will make it to the general election. Here are a few races to watch:

Nevada Republicans to choose nominee to take on  Democratic Sen. Jacky Rosen

Republicans will pick their Senate nominee to try and defeat Democratic incumbent Sen. Jacky Rosen this fall. 

Rosen’s Senate seat is one of the most vulnerable in the country in the closely watched battleground state that former President Donald Trump lost in 2016 and 2020. Rosen is facing small-scale primary opposition  on Tuesday. 

In the GOP race to take on Rosen, Trump recently endorsed Republican Sam Brown who finished second in Nevada’s GOP Senate primary back in 2022. 

Yet Brown is facing some primary competition in his latest race, including from Jeff Gunter, who served as the U.S. Ambassador to Iceland during Trump’s presidency.  

Rep. Nancy Mace tries to hold seat in South Carolina amid GOP concerns

Republican Rep. Nancy Mace is facing a challenging path to reelection in her seat. 

Mace, who soon after the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol attack said she held Trump accountable, has since endorsed the former president’s 2024 run. Trump has also endorsed Mace. 

She has however encountered some pushback for being among the eight Republicans who helped oust Kevin McCarthy as the Republican speaker of the House last fall. 

Mace is the first of that group to be tested at the ballot box. She is being challenged in the Republican primary by Catherine Templeton, who served as the director of the South Carolina Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation while former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley was in office before she became the director of the South Carolina State Department of Health and Environmental Control. 

A political action committee aligned with former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy has donated to Templeton’s campaign, according to federal campaign finance filings. In South Carolina, a primary candidate needs to get a majority of the vote in that specific race to win the primary and avoid a runoff, according to the South Carolina election commission’s website. If that doesn’t happen, a runoff would be held on June 25.

Conservative incumbent Rep. William Timmons faces challenge in South Carolina 

Elsewhere in South Carolina, GOP Rep. William Timmons is being challenged by fellow Republican Adam Morgan, a state representative who is the chairman of the South Carolina Freedom Caucus. Timmons has been endorsed by Trump. 

Maine battleground district primary 

Maine’s second congressional district is held by Democratic Rep. Jared Golden who has long been a major target for Republicans. His seat is once again being closely watched this fall in a race that could help decide which party wins control of the House in November. 

A state representative and former NASCAR driver named Austin Theriault is running for the Republican nomination against Maine House Rep. Mike Soboleski. 

North Dakota picks nominee to succeed Gov. Doug Burgum

In the reliably red state of North Dakota, Republicans are set to pick their nominee to succeed current Gov. Doug Burgum. The Republican race for governor is between Rep. Kelly Armstrong and Burgum’s Lt.- Gov. Tammy Miller. 

Trump has endorsed Armstrong in this race, while Burgum is supporting Miller.