Maine primary – Voters in Maine are set to cement a November Senate matchup between Senator Susan Collins and Democrat Graham Platner, while primary elections in South Carolina, Nevada and North Dakota also set the stage for governor and House races that could ripple into con
In Maine, the primary outcome on Tuesday is expected to lock in one of the most consequential Senate matchups of the year: a November fight between Senator Susan Collins, a vulnerable Republican, and Graham Platner, a Democrat seeking to unseat her.
The stakes aren’t abstract. Political watchers will be tuned to this week’s result for a blunt reason—whether Platner’s controversies are denting voter enthusiasm after a campaign that began with an insurgent promise. Platner’s path to the nomination looked unusually smooth from the start: as a military veteran who operates a small oyster farm. he built momentum against the establishment wing of his party. He held such a significant lead over Gov. Janet Mills, the pick of the Democratic establishment, that she bowed out of the Democratic primary months ago.
But Platner’s rise has never been uncomplicated. From the beginning. the campaign has been shadowed by controversies that repeatedly tested how much risk voters were willing to absorb. They include a tattoo on his chest recognized as a Nazi symbol. and old social media posts with offensive comments about women and rape. Platner has apologized for past comments and said he was unaware that the tattoo was a Nazi symbol; he has covered it. The latest scandal broke last week. when The New York Times reported that several former girlfriends said he engaged in unsettling and. in at least one case. physically threatening behavior.
Platner has vowed to remain in the race, and many Democrats are standing by him. Republicans, however, see vulnerability—and they are trying to keep attention fixed on it. Mills has also worked the contrast from the ballot itself. reminding voters in recent days that she is still on the Democratic primary ballot.
Even if Platner is still expected to win the primary easily. how votes land may matter just as much as who wins. Democrats who support Mills. or a disparity in votes cast between Platner’s race and the Democratic primary for governor. are likely to be watched as a warning sign for his November chances.
The same question—how much baggage gets punished, and how quickly—plays out across other states where primaries are poised to shape general-election matchups.
Maine’s parallel governor contest is one of the most crowded storylines heading into what is expected to be a hard general election. Mills cannot run again because of term limits, and her replacement bid has drawn intense competition on both sides.
On the Democratic side. the two leading candidates appear to be Troy Jackson. a logger and state senator endorsed by Platner. and Dr. Nirav Shah, who led Maine’s coronavirus pandemic response. On the Republican side. Bobby Charles—who worked in the Reagan White House and the second Bush administration—has an edge over a field that includes Jonathan Bush. Jonathan Bush, a cousin of President George W. Bush and nephew of President George H.W. Bush, is a tech entrepreneur who grew up in Manhattan before moving to Maine. He is running as an outsider despite the family’s deep ties to the state, including the Bush family estate.
In South Carolina, Tuesday’s primaries also carry real consequences because the governor’s seat is open. Gov. Henry McMaster can’t run again because of term limits, leaving a crowded Republican field in a state that is safely red.
The race has become another test of how much political weight endorsements from President Trump can still move. Trump backed a candidate in Iowa’s Republican primary for governor last week—and suffered a rare loss when that candidate fell short. In South Carolina, he has also thrown his support behind Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette. Evette faces Rom Reddy. a wealthy former Exxon executive; Alan Wilson. the state’s attorney general; Representative Nancy Mace; and Representative Ralph Norman. a champion of the far right.
If no candidate clears a majority in the first round, the top two finishers will advance to a runoff on June 23.
Nevada’s governor picture is expected to be tight. shaped by a matchup that voters are likely to finalize this fall. Gov. Joe Lombardo, a relatively moderate Republican, is battling a stubbornly stagnant economy. On the other side is Aaron Ford, the state’s attorney general. Ford faces Alexis Hill, a county commissioner, in the Democratic primary, but he is expected to easily prevail. The expectation now is that Nevada will head into its general election with Ford and Lombardo set against each other.
Republicans are trying to find opportunities in House races even as they largely defend their position in the chamber. One potential pickup spotlight is Maine’s Second Congressional District. The district went for Trump in 2024 and is represented by Jared Golden. a moderate Democrat and military veteran who announced last year that he would not seek re-election.
Former Gov. Paul LePage, a Republican running unopposed in the primary, is the front-runner heading into November. Four Democrats are vying to face him: Matt Dunlap, the state auditor; Joe Baldacci, a state senator; Jordan Wood, a former congressional staff member; and Paige Loud, a social worker.
Nevada presents a more uphill struggle for Republicans in the House. in part because all three of the state’s Democratic representatives in the Las Vegas area won re-election in 2024 even as Nevada voted for Trump. Still, Republicans see the most opportunity in Nevada’s Third District, where Representative Susie Lee is running for re-election. Marty O’Donnell. a video game music composer who has run for Congress before. has Trump’s endorsement in the Republican primary to challenge her.
In the state’s relatively rural and safely Republican northern district. Representative Mark Amodei is retiring. opening the door for a competitive Republican race. The front-runners are James Settelmeyer. a former state senator. and David Flippo. a military veteran and small business owner backed by Trump.
South Carolina also adds another point of tension within its political ecosystem: a bid by Senator Lindsey Graham to avoid a runoff in his own Republican primary. Graham, a prominent Republican, has Trump’s endorsement. Still, the relationship between the two men has been rocky over the years.
A decade ago, Graham was one of Trump’s toughest critics, calling him a “demagogue” and a “race-baiting xenophobic religious bigot.” Trump, in turn, referred to Graham as “a disgrace” and “one of the world’s dumbest human beings.” Over time, like many Republicans, Graham has come around to Trump.
Now Graham is hoping to avoid the fate that has befallen other senators. He is looking to stay out of a runoff similar to what happened to Senators John Cornyn and Bill Cassidy. who both lost their Republican primary races this year after Trump backed challengers and said they had been insufficiently loyal.
Despite Trump’s support, Graham’s standing with the Republican base appears uneven. His popularity is mixed, and he has occasionally even received boos when introduced at Trump events. Being forced into a runoff—most likely against Mark Lynch. a businessman—would be an embarrassment for Graham. a four-term senator.
Tuesday’s primaries are shaping more than ballots. They’re testing whether voters treat controversy as background noise or a deal-breaker. and whether endorsement-driven momentum can still override discomfort. In Maine, that question is already sharpening around Platner. In South Carolina. Nevada and beyond. it’s quietly deciding which candidates will be strongest when the general-election campaign starts to bite.
Maine Senate primary Susan Collins Graham Platner Janet Mills Troy Jackson Nirav Shah South Carolina governor Henry McMaster Pamela Evette Nevada governor Joe Lombardo Aaron Ford House races Lindsey Graham runoff Mark Lynch