{"id":693447,"date":"2026-06-09T12:21:10","date_gmt":"2026-06-09T12:21:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/693447\/"},"modified":"2026-06-09T12:21:10","modified_gmt":"2026-06-09T12:21:10","slug":"maine-nevada-north-dakota-and-south-carolina-vote-tuesday-npr","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/693447\/","title":{"rendered":"Maine, Nevada, North Dakota and South Carolina vote Tuesday : NPR"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>            <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/1781007670_549_.jpeg\" data-template=\"https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/8640x5760+0+0\/resize\/{width}\/quality\/{quality}\/format\/{format}\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fde%2Ff1%2F8a3f2f104ab9b7a1807ca561af2a%2Fap24310810234252.jpg\" class=\"img\" alt=\"Voting stickers are displayed on a table at a polling place inside City Hall, Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024, in Las Vegas.\" fetchpriority=\"high\"\/><\/p>\n<p>\n                Voting stickers are displayed on a table at a polling place inside City Hall, Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024, in Las Vegas.<\/p>\n<p>                    John Locher\/AP Photo<\/p>\n<p>                hide caption\n            <\/p>\n<p>            toggle caption<\/p>\n<p>        John Locher\/AP Photo<\/p>\n<p>Today&#8217;s primary contests stretch from Maine to North Dakota, South Carolina and Nevada, where voters will decide on races for the U.S. Senate, House, governor and more.<\/p>\n<p>A lot is riding on the Senate race in Maine, where political newcomer Graham Platner, facing a series of controversies, is the presumptive Democratic nominee to take on Republican Sen. Susan Collins, who has had the job for 30 years.<\/p>\n<p>Another Republican incumbent, Nevada&#8217;s Gov. Joe Lombardo, is facing a tough challenge in November.<\/p>\n<p>And in a field of MAGA-devoted Republicans in South Carolina, Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette was the one to grab President Trump&#8217;s endorsement in the race for governor.<\/p>\n<p>Here, reporters from the NPR network tell us about the key races to watch.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/2026\/06\/09\/nx-s1-5850231\/maine-nevada-south-carolina-primary-trump#mainesen\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Maine U.S. Senate seat<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/2026\/06\/09\/nx-s1-5850231\/maine-nevada-south-carolina-primary-trump#maine2\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Maine&#8217;s 2nd Congressional District<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/2026\/06\/09\/nx-s1-5850231\/maine-nevada-south-carolina-primary-trump#mainegov\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Maine governor<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/2026\/06\/09\/nx-s1-5850231\/maine-nevada-south-carolina-primary-trump#nevadagov\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Nevada governor<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/2026\/06\/09\/nx-s1-5850231\/maine-nevada-south-carolina-primary-trump#scgov\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">South Carolina governor<\/a><\/p>\n<p>You can also check out <a href=\"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/2026\/06\/09\/nx-s1-5850231\/maine-nevada-south-carolina-primary-trump#voterresources\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">voter resources for the June 9 primaries<\/a> from the NPR network.<\/p>\n<p>   Maine&#8217;s primary winners will set up crucial November races   <\/p>\n<p>\u2014 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mainepublic.org\/people\/kevin-miller\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Kevin Miller<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mainepublic.org\/people\/steve-mistler\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Steve Mistler<\/a>, Maine Public\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>      Maine&#8217;s U.S. Senate seat    <\/p>\n<p>If Democrats want control of the U.S. come November, they almost certainly need to take five-term Republican Sen. Collins&#8217; seat in Maine.<\/p>\n<p>The outcome of the pivotal race could hinge on whether voters value Collins&#8217; clout and ability to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mainepublic.org\/npr-news\/2026-05-21\/susan-collins-brings-federal-dollars-to-maine-shes-hoping-thats-worth-it-to-voters\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">secure federal dollars<\/a> over Democratic insurgent Platner&#8217;s call to upend a political system he says is rigged against working-class Americans.<\/p>\n<p>The first-time Democratic candidate has so far run a barnstorming campaign that&#8217;s already pushed his Democratic rival, Gov. Janet Mills, out of the race.<\/p>\n<p>After recent accusations published by The New York Times that he was <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mainepublic.org\/politics\/2026-06-05\/graham-platner-accused-of-threatening-behavior-by-ex-girlfriend-in-new-report\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">physically threatening<\/a> in a past relationship, and previous revelations that he sexted with several women early in his marriage, some are wondering if he still has enough support to flip the seat in November. In an interview with Maine Public, Platner <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mainepublic.org\/politics\/2026-06-05\/in-an-interview-with-maine-public-graham-platner-denies-being-physically-threatening\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">denied the accusations<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>   Maine&#8217;s 2nd Congressional District    <\/p>\n<p>In a district that has voted for Trump three times, four Democrats are vying to replace retiring Democratic Rep. Jared Golden. Whoever wins the primary will face former Republican Gov. Paul LePage in the fall.<\/p>\n<p>The Democratic nominee in this congressional district will offer a sense of what kind of candidates primary voters think can succeed in hard-to-win seats.<\/p>\n<p>      Maine&#8217;s governor   <\/p>\n<p>The race to replace term-limited Democratic Gov. Janet Mills <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cookpolitical.com\/governor\/race\/479516\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">is likely to go to a Democrat<\/a>, according to an analysis by the Cook Political Report, but it&#8217;s still a question of who. There is a five-way Democratic race for the nomination, seven active candidates on the GOP side and both races have the potential to go to a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mainepublic.org\/politics\/2026-06-01\/two-maine-primary-races-may-come-down-to-a-ranked-choice-runoff-heres-how-the-process-works\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">ranked-choice<\/a> runoff.<\/p>\n<p>The affordable housing crisis, rising property taxes, access to health care and standing up to President Donald Trump have emerged as <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mainepublic.org\/politics\/2026-05-08\/how-the-democrats-running-to-be-maines-next-governor-are-trying-to-stand-out-from-the-crowd\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">central themes<\/a> in the primary contest.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/scholars.unh.edu\/survey_center_polls\/960\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Recent polls show<\/a> former Maine CDC Director Dr. Nirav Shah in the lead, though former Maine Senate President Troy Jackson appears to be surging in popularity ahead of the ranked-choice primary election.<\/p>\n<p>The presumptive frontrunner in the GOP contest is <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mainepublic.org\/politics\/2026-05-15\/looking-to-topple-bobby-charles-maines-gop-primary-candidates-are-turning-to-an-unlikely-tool\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Bobby Charles<\/a>, an attorney and former Navy intelligence officer. <\/p>\n<p>In November, State Sen. Rick Bennett will also be on the ballot running as an independent.<\/p>\n<p>      Nevada&#8217;s GOP governor faces a tough November    <\/p>\n<p> <a href=\"https:\/\/knpr.org\/people\/paul-boger\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Paul Boger<\/a>, Nevada Public Radio<\/p>\n<p>Trump&#8217;s economic policies are so unpopular in Nevada that the incumbent governor, Republican Joe Lombardo, is facing what could be a tough November election. Cook rates the race as a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cookpolitical.com\/governor\/race\/479546\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">toss-up<\/a>, and the candidate who may have the best shot against Lombardo, former Clark County Sheriff, is the state&#8217;s top cop, Democratic Attorney General Aaron Ford.<\/p>\n<p>With a sizeable war chest, Lombardo should sail through the primary. Still, it may not be enough in November to assuage Nevadans worried about increasing costs in a tourism-based economy that is welcoming fewer domestic and international visitors every month.<\/p>\n<p>Ford&#8217;s path to the Democratic nomination isn&#8217;t guaranteed. He&#8217;s drawn criticism from Republicans for his extensive domestic and international travel as attorney general. And from his main Democratic opponent in the primary, Washoe County Commissioner Alexis Hill, for Ford&#8217;s support of data centers, which are an existential concern in the country&#8217;s driest state.<\/p>\n<p>      The governor&#8217;s race in South Carolina tests Trump&#8217;s endorsement power   <\/p>\n<p>\u2014 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.southcarolinapublicradio.org\/people\/gavin-jackson\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Gavin Jackson<\/a>, South Carolina Public Radio<\/p>\n<p>The crowded race for governor in South Carolina doesn&#8217;t have a clear frontrunner, even though the president has endorsed Republican Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette, a longtime supporter of his, in Tuesday&#8217;s primary.<\/p>\n<p>Evette&#8217;s biggest challenger is another Trump enthusiast, four-term Attorney General Alan Wilson. Congresswoman Nancy Mace, who claims her vote for more transparency of the Epstein files cost her Trump&#8217;s endorsement, is also on the ballot. The race is widely expected to go to a runoff.<\/p>\n<p>Three Democrats are vying for their party&#8217;s nomination: Columbia state Rep. Jermaine Johnson, Charleston lawyer Mullins McLeod and Greenville businessman Billy Webster.<\/p>\n<p>After Trump lost his first primary endorsement race last week <a href=\"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/2026\/06\/02\/g-s1-125550\/iowa-election-results-josh-turek-zach-lahn\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">in Iowa<\/a>, political watchers are sure to have a close eye on how votes shake out in South Carolina.<\/p>\n<p>      Voter resources for the June 9 primaries from the NPR Network   <\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.mainepublic.org\/tags\/your-vote-2026\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Maine<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kunr.org\/kunr-2026-election-coverage\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Nevada<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/www.prairiepublic.org\/election-2026\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">North Dakota<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/www.southcarolinapublicradio.org\/election-2026-coverage\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">South Carolina<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Voting stickers are displayed on a table at a polling place inside City Hall, Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024,&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":693448,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[23,3,21,19,22,20,25,24],"class_list":["post-693447","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-united-states","tag-america","tag-news","tag-united-states","tag-united-states-of-america","tag-unitedstates","tag-unitedstatesofamerica","tag-us","tag-usa"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/693447","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=693447"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/693447\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/693448"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=693447"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=693447"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=693447"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}