Tonight, five states head to the polls: Maine, Nevada, North Dakota, South Carolina and, once again, Texas — or at least Texans in the 34th Congressional District, as there’s a special election there.
It’s a primary night where Trump’s influence will also once again be front and center. First in South Carolina, we’ll see whether Trump-backed challengers are able to unseat two incumbents in the House, and then in Nevada, perhaps the highest-stake state of the evening, we’ll see whether Trump’s candidates in the Senate and governor GOP primaries can prevail. But as Nathaniel will write later on the live blog, Trump’s endorsement track record — whether or not you include incumbents and candidates who were running opposed — is still pretty good despite some high-profile losses this primary season.
Many of these candidates also support the “Big Lie,” or the false idea that the 2020 election was fraudulent. Kaleigh will once again be tracking all of the different Republicans running tonight who support this, and notably, a lot of the action will be in Nevada, as leading Republicans in all three statewide primaries — the U.S. Senate, governor and secretary of state — support the Big Lie in some form.
Texas is also once again back in the spotlight with a special election in the 34th, which Alex will be covering in great detail, as it’s possible Republicans could flip this seat to only then lose it later this fall.
OK! That’s it from me. The primaries might not get as much attention as the general election, but this is where the parties wage some of their biggest fights, as most states and districts aren’t competitive come November. As always, thanks for following along, and if you have any questions, ping us @538politics and I’ll try to get your question answered on the live blog!