South Carolina, Nevada, North Dakota primaries and Ohio special election 2024: Nancy Mace, Sam Brown win
Democrats nearly won a safely Republican congressional seat.
June 11 was another packed primary day, as voters in South Carolina, Maine, North Dakota and Nevada weighed in on who will make the ballot this fall. We had our eyes on a slew of Republican primaries on Tuesday, including several competitive contests for U.S. House seats, as well as contests to pick Nevada's GOP Senate nominee and effectively pick the next governor of North Dakota.
In South Carolina, Rep. Nancy Mace's Trumpian pivot didn't cost her, as she handily fended off an establishment-aligned primary challenger. Fellow incumbent Rep. William Timmons, who was looking vulnerable after an infidelity scandal, also came out ahead in a closer race against his right-wing challenger. In North Dakota's At-Large Congressional District, Julie Fedorchak became the first non-incumbent woman this cycle to win a GOP primary for a safely red seat. In Nevada, Republican voters chose Sam Brown as their candidate to challenge incumbent Democratic Sen. Jacky Rosen this fall.
Finally, a special election is set to give House Republicans one more seat of breathing room, as voters in Ohio's 6th District filled the seat vacated by Rep. Bill Johnson's departure in January — though not without some unexpected suspense.
As usual, 538 reporters and contributors broke down the election results as they came in with live updates, analysis and commentary. Read our full live blog below.
Latest headlines:
We've got early results in the GOP race to replace Duncan in South Carolina's 3rd District
With 18 percent of expected vote counted, Air National Guard Lt. Col. Sheri Biggs has a narrow lead with 30 percent of the vote, ahead of pastor Mark Burns and state Rep. Stewart Jones, who are currently at 28 percent and almost 20 percent, respectively. This is not altogether unsurprising, given there was not a ton of daylight between these candidates as far as their political leanings. Burns does have Trump’s endorsement, but Jones has been representing part of the region in the state legislature since 2019, and Biggs has a fundraising advantage. It could very well go to a runoff, but we’ll see if Biggs can grow her lead, or if one of the others takes the lead.
—Kaleigh Rogers, 538
South Carolina GOP state senators who voted against abortion bans are in tough renomination fights
Three Republican state senators in South Carolina are facing tough primary challenges after they voted against abortion bans in the state. Katrina Shealy from the 23rd district, Penry Gustafson from the 27th, and Sandy Senn from the 41st all filibustered to block a total abortion ban in April, and all three drew primary challenges. While there's no votes in yet for Shealy's district, the votes reported so far in the other two districts suggest tough races. With 11 percent of the expected vote reported, Gustafson is currently losing to Lancaster County Councilman Allen Blackmon by a whopping 71 percentage points. In the 41st, with 17 percent of the expected vote reported, Senn is ahead of state Rep. Matt Leber by just 2 percentage points.
Statewide, however, the focus on abortion may not help Republicans in November. According to May polling from Winthrop University, South Carolina voters oppose a 6 week abortion ban by 17 percentage points, 31-48.
—Mary Radcliffe, 538
Polls are now closed in Maine and most of North Dakota
It's 8 p.m. Eastern, and polls are now closed in Maine and most counties in North Dakota. (Voting hours in the Peace Garden State vary by municipality, with polls largely closing at either 8 p.m. or 9 p.m. Eastern.) We'll be bringing you results from races in both these states shortly.
—Tia Yang, 538
Rulli on the ropes?
And remember, Nathaniel, Rulli was the more moderate of the two GOP candidates vying to replace former Rep. Bill Johnson in Congress. His opponent, state Rep. Reggie Stoltzfus, attacked him for his position on gay rights and made a big deal over his past as a "self proclaimed raging liberal" in the 1990s.
—Jacob Rubashkin, Inside Elections
GOP Rep. William Timmons tries to overcome scandal in South Carolina's 4th District
In the solidly red 4th District around Greenville, third-term Rep. William Timmons is another Republican incumbent dealing with a high-profile primary challenger. Though Timmons is a reliable conservative, state Rep. Adam Morgan could successfully run even further to Timmons's right, seeing as he chairs the state House's Freedom Caucus — modeled after the congressional caucus, whose membership encouraged Morgan's bid and whose campaign arm has endorsed him. Moreover, Timmons still seems to be plagued by a scandal that jeopardized his reelection bid two years ago: In 2022, amid allegations that Timmons was unfaithful to his wife, he only won renomination with 53 percent against weak primary opposition.
One sign that Timmons is feeling the heat is that he's done something unusual in a GOP primary: He's attacked his opponent for being too extreme on abortion rights, running an ad criticizing Morgan for voting "to jail rape and incest victims" who sought abortions — a vote Morgan has defended as "an attempt to close a loophole." Timmons's maneuver could be an attempt to draw Democratic and independent votes in South Carolina's open primary system, even though the incumbent supports a 15-week federal abortion ban.
Timmons still has some notable advantages working for him. He's outraised Morgan $1.9 million to $578,000, helped out by a $900,000 loan to his campaign (Morgan has self-funded nearly half his campaign, too). Outside groups, mainly the pro-cryptocurrency Defend American Jobs super PAC, have spent $1.9 million to boost Timmons, compared with just $327,000 in outside spending supporting Morgan. And here, too, Trump has endorsed the incumbent, which Timmons and his allies have played up in campaign ads. Still, Morgan has emphasized his Republican bona fides, pitching himself as a Christian and "conservative fighter" in his ads.
—Geoffrey Skelley, 538