Today’s installment of campaign-related news items from across the country.
* In a surprising number of Republican primaries lately, candidates endorsed by Donald Trump have lost, and that list might soon grow. In South Carolina’s Senate special election, Sen. Darline Graham advanced to a runoff against Rep. Ralph Norman, with the winner poised to succeed the late Sen. Lindsey Graham.
Graham, who enjoyed the president’s backing, finished first in a crowded GOP field, but the fact that she only garnered about a third of the vote suggests she might struggle in the runoff if Norman successfully consolidates support from the other contenders.
The runoff is just two weeks away. The winner will face Dr. Annie Andrews, a South Carolina pediatrician, who won the Democratic nomination.
* In Connecticut, longtime Democratic Rep. John Larson became the latest incumbent member of Congress to lose in a primary, coming up short against former Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin in a generational challenge. Meanwhile, Gov. Ned Lamont fended off a challenger in the state’s Democratic gubernatorial primary.
* In Minnesota’s closely watched Democratic Senate primary, progressive Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan won with relative ease over Rep. Angie Craig. Flannigan will now face Michele Tafoya, a sports reporter, as part of a race to succeed retiring Sen. Tina Smith.
* Though Wisconsin’s secretary of state race hasn’t generated a lot of national attention, it’s worth noting that Jay Schroeder, a self-described “authentic MAGA activist,” won the GOP nomination, running on a platform of taking greater control over the state’s system of elections and eliminating the bipartisan Wisconsin Elections Commission.
* Republicans this year don’t just have to worry about campaign ads focused on the economy. In Alaska, incumbent Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan is facing a new ad campaign from VoteVets Action Fund, which is slamming the senator over his votes against reining in Trump’s Iran war powers. Sullivan faces former Democratic Rep. Mary Peltola in the fall in what’s shaping up to be one of the nation’s most competitive Senate contests.
* And in New York, a new Siena University poll showed incumbent Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul leading Republican challenger Bruce Blakeman by 10 points, 49% to 39%.
The post Wednesday’s Campaign Round-Up, 8.12.26: Darline Graham pushed into S.C. runoff appeared first on MS NOW.
