Do South Carolina Republicans love Trump more than they hate Lindsey Graham?
Tuesday will test whether conservatives will hold their noses if Trump tells them to
After a high-profile rescue mission led by Donald Trump crashed and burned in Iowa last week, Trump’s influence over his party will be tested once again in several more primaries on Tuesday.
Trump has endorsed in half a dozen high-profile contests across four states, but two of his picks face especially loud opposition: South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham, who has long struggled to win over his state’s conservative base; and David Flippo, who is trying to win over skeptical Republicans in northern Nevada after relocating from Las Vegas just months ago.
Below, you’ll find our guide to these primaries, as well as the other top races to watch, in Maine, Nevada, North Dakota, and South Carolina. You can also find interactive congressional maps from Dave’s Redistricting App linked to each state’s name just above. (North Dakota has just a single congressional district.)
When it’s available, we’ll tell you about any reliable polling that exists for each contest, but if we don’t mention any numbers, it means no recent surveys have been made public.
And please join The Downballot on our private Discord server to discuss the election returns with fellow community members as they come in on Tuesday night, starting at 7 PM ET when polls start to close in South Carolina.
South Carolina
Polls close at 7 PM ET. A June 23 runoff will take place in any primaries where no candidate earns a majority of the vote.
SC-Sen (R) (58-40 Trump)
Sen. Lindsey Graham is about to find out whether Trump’s seal of approval and a huge infusion of outside help are enough to overcome a hardline opponent who says he’s part of the problem in Congress.
Mark Lynch, a wealthy businessman who has self-funded $5 million, has argued that Graham has been anything but loyal to Trump and Republicans during his more than three decades in Congress.
Graham and allies, though, have deployed millions to tout the senator as a loyal MAGA footsoldier and attack Lynch, including over his arrests on drug charges in the 1980s. Trump himself is also no fan of the challenger, whom he’s blasted as “a LUNATIC” who “would be a DISASTER for the Republican Party.”
Polling has been scarce, but one recent data point suggests this race, which features four minor Republicans, could go into overtime. The Citadel, the prominent military academy that regularly polls its home state, found Graham leading Lynch 46-36, leaving him a few points short of the majority necessary to avoid a runoff.
The eventual GOP nominee will likely face pediatrician Annie Andrews, a well-funded Democrat who faces two little-known primary opponents.
SC-Gov (R & D) (58-40 Trump)
Five major Republicans are competing for the two spots in the all-but-certain runoff for the post that GOP Gov. Henry McMaster, the longest-serving governor in the state’s history, is finally termed out of.
Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette, who is McMaster’s preferred successor, received Trump’s endorsement less than two weeks before Election Day. That nod from MAGA’s master alone could power Evette, who had been closely bunched with her many rivals, into the second round.
