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Maine is one of four states with primary voters going to the polls on Tuesday, and it has one of the most closely watched races in the country, as Democrat Graham Platner seeks to lock up the nomination to take on incumbent GOP Sen. Susan Collins despite his recent string of scandals.
There are also primaries in South Carolina, Nevada and North Dakota. Here are the major races to watch:
Maine Senate race
The Senate race in Maine has been a priority for Democrats seeking to topple Collins in their quest to win back the upper chamber.
Platner, a 41-year-old military veteran and oyster farmer, has seen surging support among Democrats in Maine, billing himself as a working class, anti-establishment candidate with a focus on opposing the “billionaire class.”
But new allegations against Platner emerged in the week before the primary, and it’s not yet clear how or whether they will affect the race.
Just over a week ago, the Wall Street Journal reported that Platner’s wife told his campaign that he had sent sexually explicit text messages to other women soon after the couple got married in 2023. And last week, the New York Times reported on alleged “unsettling” behavior by Platner toward some women he dated, including one who described him as “toxic” and “abusive,” particularly when he had been drinking. Platner has denied physical abuse and suggested the allegations are politically motivated. He has acknowledged struggling with PTSD and alcohol during what he called a “very dark period of my life.”
The developments followed other personal controversies, including problematic internet comments he made years ago, along with a tattoo he got during his time in the Marines that is widely recognized as a Nazi symbol. Platner has since apologized for the posts and covered up the tattoo.
The Times’ report came after Platner had all but secured the nomination, since Maine Gov. Janet Mills, 78, dropped out of the race in April. Although national Democrats recruited and initially backed Mills, the only Democrat to win statewide in Maine in two decades, Platner’s groundswell of support eclipsed her efforts. Mills’ name will still appear on the ballot Tuesday, along with another candidate, David Costello.
Platner expressed confidence heading into Tuesday’s primary. His allies in Congress have largely defended him, while acknowledging the controversies. Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna of California Sunday said on “Face the Nation” that if there were evidence of violence or sexual assault, he would not support Platner.
“We should focus on acknowledging it was misogynistic, acknowledging it was wrong, moving on with redemption, and then focusing on his issues, which are stopping the war, taking on the billionaire class,” Khanna said.
Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, an independent who caucuses with Democrats and is among the party’s most influential progressives, has also stood by Platner. He told CBS News chief Washington analyst Robert Costa on Monday he will “do everything I can” to help Platner win.
“I think when you look at politics in general, there are no saints in the United States Senate,” Sanders told Costa during an interview at the National Press Club. “People can argue about this aspect of Graham or another, but to my mind right now, we need allies in the United States Senate who have the guts to take on the big money that is dominating this country.”
Meanwhile, the former political director of Platner’s campaign — Genevieve McDonald — excoriated the candidate in a Washington Post op-ed on the eve of the election, saying he “is not someone who would be good for Maine or for the country.”
McDonald left the campaign last fall, around when Platner’s online posts and tattoo came to light. She accused Platner and his campaign of downplaying those issues, and wrote that he “exhibits a pattern of dishonest behavior that is impossible to ignore.”
Collins, who’s running unopposed in the GOP primary on Tuesday, is the only Republican seeking reelection in the Senate in a state that Vice President Kamala Harris won in 2024. But Collins, who’s been in the upper chamber since 1997 and exercises significant power as chair of the Appropriations Committee, has fended off a number of challenges from Democrats in previous cycles, including in 2020 when Joe Biden won the state.
The nonpartisan Cook Political Report rates the race a toss-up.
Maine 2nd Congressional District
Democrats are hoping to hang on to Rep. Jared Golden’s seat in Maine’s 2nd Congressional District. Golden, a moderate Democrat who declined to endorse Kamala Harris in the 2024 election and has at times voted with Republicans, is retiring after four terms in Congress, giving Republicans a stronger opportunity to flip the seat.
The Cook Political Report rates the race as likely Republican. President Trump won the district in the last three presidential elections.
Four Democrats are vying to face Republican Paul LePage in the general election. LePage is a former two-term governor who is running unopposed in the GOP primary.
Joe Baldacci, a state senator, is seen as the frontrunner for the Democratic nomination and has the backing of House Democrats’ campaign arm, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. He is running against state auditor Matt Dunlap, social worker Paige Loud and former congressional staffer Jordan Wood.
Maine governor’s race
Mills, the highest-ranking Democrat elected statewide, is term-limited, leaving the field wide open. There are seven Republicans who are actively campaigning and five Democrats on the ballot for their parties’ nominations.
Maine has ranked-choice voting, and voters can rank up to five candidates on their ballot.
Pingree and fellow Democrats former state Senate President Troy Jackson and state Attorney General Shenna Bellows have formed an alliance, asking supporters to rank all three to shut out Nirav Shah and Angus King III, the son of Sen. Angus King.
State Sen. Richard Bennett has submitted enough signatures to qualify for the November ballot as an independent, which means there will be a three-way ballot on Election Day with the winners of Tuesday’s contests.
The Cook Political Report ranks the race as Likely Democrat.
South Carolina governor’s race
The Republican candidates vying to replace 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 attorney general; and Rom Reddy, a former business executive.
In the GOP primary for governor, if none of the candidates attract majority support, the two top candidates would head to a runoff race later this month.
Mr. Trump passed over Mace and Norman to endorse McMaster-backed Evette. The president called Evette a “good friend, fighter, and WINNER.”
Mr. Trump and Mace have had their tense moments, including when she condemned Mr. Trump after the Jan. 6, 2021 riot, and he endorsed a primary challenger in her House reelection race in 2022. Although she and Mr. Trump had warmer interactions afterward, Mace was instrumental in the House push to release the Epstein files.
Norman also had little chance of winning Mr. Trump’s support, since he backed former U.N. Ambassador and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley over Trump in the 2024 GOP presidential primary.
On the Democratic side, South Carolina State Rep. Jermaine Johnson, attorney Mullins McLeod and businessman Billy Webster are vying to be on the ticket for governor in November.
The chair of South Carolina’s Democratic Party urged McLeod to drop his campaign and focus on his mental and emotional well being after The Post and Courier unearthed police dashcam video of him shouting incoherently in the back of a police cruiser.
No Democrat has won statewide office in South Carolina since 2000 and Mr. Trump won the state with 58% of the vote, so the primaries are typically more competitive than the general election.
South Carolina Senate primary
Sen. Lindsey Graham also has some opponents in his Senate GOP primary as he seeks his fifth term, but none are expected to oust him from the seat he’s held since 2003. Mr. Trump on Monday repeated his endorsement of Graham, and is holding a tele-rally Monday night for him.
The Democrats looking to unseat Graham, a tall order given Republican dominance in South Carolina and Graham’s longtime influence in the state, are pediatrician Annie Andrews, former Biden adviser and funeral home owner Brandon Brown and logistics professional Kyle Freeman.
Graham beat Democrat Jaime Harrison by 10 points in 2020, although Harrison raised a record $130 million, according to his campaign. Harrison went on to become the chairman of the Democratic National Committee.
Nevada governor’s race
Nevada’s Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo tops Democrats’ target list this year to flip, and two Democrats are vying for the chance to take him on in November. Lombardo has several primary opponents on the ballot, but none are viewed as serious threats, says University of Nevada-Las Vegas political science professor Rebecca Gill.
But Lombardo has an “uphill battle” ahead of him after the primaries, Gill said. Aaron Ford and Alexis Hill are competing in the Democratic primary to take on Lombardo in November.
Ford has locked up much of the establishment wing of the Democratic party, while Hill is running as a progressive challenger.
Nevada had consistently voted for Democrats in the presidential election since 2008 and the state has two Democratic senators. But the state’s economy is heavily dependent on tourism, which was decimated by the COVID pandemic and its lockdowns, leading Nevadans to vote Lombardo into office as governor in 2022. Two years later, Mr. Trump won the state by three points.
North Dakota
North Dakota’s two senators, governor and lieutenant governor are not facing reelection until at least 2028. But the state’s sole House member, Republican Rep. Julie Fedorchak, is seeking her second term and faces a primary challenger. Democrat Trygve Hammer, who took on Fedorchak in 2024 and lost by 39 points, is running unopposed on Tuesday.
