Primary elections are taking place in six U.S. states on Tuesday — Alabama, Connecticut, Minnesota, South Carolina, Vermont and Wisconsin.
Sen. Darline Graham advanced to a runoff in South Carolina’s special Republican primary to replace her late brother Lindsey Graham in the U.S. Senate. The first-time candidate will face U.S. Rep. Ralph Norman, who also emerged from a 10-way field in Tuesday's primary. The winner of the Aug. 25 runoff is expected to claim the U.S. Senate seat over the Democratic nominee.
Minnesota voters will settle a moderate-vs.-progressive Democratic U.S. Senate primary between centrist U.S. Rep. Angie Craig and progressive Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan. In the race for governor, Mike Lindell, known as the MyPillow Guy, leads a crowded Republican primary with President Donald Trump’s endorsement, while Sen. Amy Klobuchar won the Democratic nomination with minimal opposition.
And the Democratic primary for Wisconsin governor is another high-profile clash between the party’s establishment and progressive wings, as democratic socialist Francesca Hong tries to rise above establishment candidate David Crowley. In a Republican primary for U.S. House, Trump-backed candidate Michael Alfonso, the 26-year-old son-in-law of U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, won the GOP nomination for Duffy’s old congressional seat.
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The former sports broadcaster is working against history after winning the GOP U.S. Senate nomination in a state that hasn’t elected a Republican statewide since 2006.
She indicated fraud will be at the center of her pitch as she tries to convince voters to give the GOP a chance. The Democratic-controlled state government has been embroiled in scandal after failing to detect and stop the widespread theft of tax money from public assistance programs.
“We will not reelect politicians who let criminals steal billions and treat accountability as optional,” Tafoya said in a statement Tuesday night. “We deserve better, and it’s time we demand better.”
Tafoya will face either U.S. Rep. Angie Craig or Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan, who have fought a tense campaign for the Democratic nomination.
Rebecca Cooke’s Democratic primary win in Wisconsin’s 3rd Congressional District sets up a key battleground in the fight for control of the U.S. House.
In a rematch of the 2024 election, Cooke will face incumbent U.S. Rep. Derrick Van Orden, who flipped the seat four years ago. Democrats hope to win back the district Democratic U.S. Rep. Ron Kind represented for 26 years before retiring.
The 3rd District is one of 31 on the 2026 U.S. House map that Trump won by less than 10 percentage points.
Speaking to supporters after defeating U.S. Rep. John Larson, Bronin, the former mayor of Hartford, Connecticut, said the Democratic Party needed to act with more urgency in its fight with President Donald Trump.
“If we are going to fix this mess that we are in, we need to build a Democratic party that is bringing a whole new energy to this fight,” Bronin said.
While Bronin praised Larson for his liberal politics and longtime service, he said the party needed to adapt, and if it is too slow to do so, “then the changes are going to come from the ground up. And that’s a message the party needs to hear.”
Fourteen-term Democratic Rep. John Larson is the 10th House incumbent to lose their primary this cycle and the sixth ousted by a younger challenger. Overall, 70 representatives will not return to their seats next year, the most at this point in the calendar in recent history.
The 3rd Congressional District is a top target for Democrats to flip this year. Cooke will battle two-term incumbent Republican Rep. Derrick Van Orden for the seat in November.
Van Orden is one of President Donald Trump’s biggest supporters. But he will face a tough reelection bid in a narrowly divided district in a year where Trump’s approval ratings are low in Wisconsin.
Cooke defeated former Eau Claire City Council President Emily Berge in the primary. Berge ran an underdog, insurgent campaign against Cooke who was more well known and better financed.
Cooke narrowly lost to Van Orden in 2024 and also ran in 2022 but lost in the Democratic primary that year.
Democratic socialist Francesca Hong and Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley are neck and neck.
The winner will advance to face Republican Tom Tiffany.
Hong was counting on support from her home city of Madison, the liberal state capital, to overcome Crowley, who has served as the top elected official in Milwaukee County for six years.
Crowley has the endorsement of two-term Gov. Tony Evers and has been running as the more moderate choice.
The 26-year-old son-in-law of U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy won a five-person Republican primary for Duffy’s old congressional seat in Wisconsin’s 7th Congressional District.
Alfonso rode President Donald Trump’s endorsement to victory in the race where his opponents and some longtime Republican leaders in the district argued he was too young and inexperienced.
Duffy returned to Wisconsin to help campaign for Alfonso, who was waging his first run for any office. Alfonso is married to Duffy’s daughter.
Alfonso defeated four other challengers including Kevin Hermening, a Republican with deep ties to the district who was also one of the American hostages held in Iran starting in 1979.
The Democratic nominee for Minnesota governor said she will bring tangible improvements for Minnesotans, including making life more affordable and tackling fraud.
“You expect leaders to deliver results, not excuses,” Klobuchar said.
She went on to preview the case she will make against her Republican rival. The GOP primary is too early to call between MyPillow founder Mike Lindell and state House speaker Lisa Demuth, but Klobuchar said both are more interested in serving the president than the state.
“When my opponents were asked to name one place where they disagreed with Donald Trump, they couldn’t do it,” Klobuchar said.
Larson still stressed to supporters that Democrats must “come together, heal and move forward.”
Larson, a longtime Democrat who has represented the state’s 1st Congressional District for nearly 30 years, was ousted by former Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin.
“Tonight, the people have spoken. And they’ve made that clear. They’ve made it clear what their decision is. And now is the time for all of us to come together,” Larson said, thanking his supporters, family and friends.
Larson added that he intended to “fulfill my responsibility to the last day.”
South Carolina’s most populous county of Greenville once again showed its independent streak in Tuesday’s special U.S. Senate primary by helping Rep. Ralph Norman secure a spot in the August 25 runoff.
At 9 p.m. ET when he locked a runoff berth, Norman had a plurality of the Greenville County vote and a sizable lead over U.S. Sen. Darline Graham.
Norman was also Greenville County’s top vote-getter in the June 9 primary for governor, outperforming Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette and state Attorney General Alan Wilson, who both advanced to the June 23 runoff over Norman.
A plurality of Greenville County voters also preferred businessman Mark Lynch over the late Sen. Lindsey Graham in the June 9 Senate primary. Greenville and Spartanburg counties were the only two counties Lindsey Graham lost on June 9.
She will face Democratic Rep. Terri Sewell in the November general election for the 7th Congressional District seat.
Akin served as assistant superintendent in a public school system, was interim superintendent of a private Christian school and founded a nonprofit.
Alabama is holding special primaries in four congressional districts after redrawing lines in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s redistricting decision. Alabama Republicans reshaped the 2nd Congressional District to make it more likely to elect a Republican, and altered the lines of three others, including the 7th District.
Sewell still remains the favorite to win in November.
A native of Selma, Sewell has served in Congress since 2011. She has sponsored legislation aimed at restoring and modernizing the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
“I’ve been accused of not being a politician,” she said at her election night speech. “Guilty as charged.”
Graham, who is now in the Republican U.S. Senate runoff in the race to replace her late brother, was tapped to serve his remaining months in office. She touted what she had done in the Senate so far and her work outside of politics, but leaned into the newcomer role.
“I will spend the next to weeks of this runoff meeting with voters and, unlike some politicians, listening to their concerns — yes, listening to their concerns,” she said. “This seat belongs to the people of South Carolina, and I will work hard to earn your vote.”
Bronin, the former mayor of Hartford, Connecticut, topped Larson in a race that evoked the battle over generational change in the Democratic party.
A Rhodes scholar, lawyer and U.S. Navy Reserve officer, Bronin, 46, was a sophomore at Yale when Larson, 78, was first elected to the 1st District seat in 1998.
Bronin’s campaign got a big bump earlier this year when the state party endorsed him at a May nominating convention.
Larson has had to fight concerns about his age and health, which intensified last year after he suffered a partial seizure during a speech on the House floor.
Former South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford’s run for U.S. Senate ended with a loss for a man who almost never used to lose in South Carolina.
Sanford jumped at the opportunity to run for U.S. Senate in the state’s two-week special Republican primary since he had plenty of money remaining in his campaign account and a burning need to tell everyone the U.S. is drowning in debt.
His concession speech Tuesday was another campaign speech. He talked about how the U.S. will spend more national debt interest than defense this year and Social Security and Medicare are less than a decade away from bankruptcy.
“We are on an unsustainable course, and no civilization across the pages of time has been able to outrun math,” Sanford said.
The former governor had a blast getting back on the campaign trial. He spent most of his election night talking to his sons and supporters and drinking a few beers.
“This is a very emotional night, because I’m usually standing here celebrating with Lindsey,” said the sister of the late Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham, after she secured a place in the Republican runoff to replace him.
Darline Graham was subdued for a victory party, as she thanked God, her family and President Donald Trump.
“His steadfast and his complete and total endorsement means so much to me,” she said of the president. “He knows that I will stand with him, and fight for his agenda, just like Lindsey did.”
Tafoya, a newcomer to politics, defeated Adam Schwarze, a Marine veteran and Navy SEAL who had the official backing of the state Republican committee, and Royce White, who had an existing profile as a prior candidate, conservative commentator and a brief professional basketball career.
Tafoya will face an uphill battle in Minnesota, where Democrats have a two-decade streak of winning top offices. But Republicans think Tafoya, who is known outside of politics and doesn’t have a controversial voting record, is well-positioned to pull off an upset victory.
President Donald Trump did not make an endorsement in the primary.
Democrat Dr. Annie Andrews spoke to WIS News 10 after both Darline Graham and U.S. Rep. Ralph Norman notched the top two spots in the Republican runoff for U.S. Senate in South Carolina.
Andrews, who was elected in her party’s June primary, batted away attacks from Norman’s election night speech before pitching her vision in an uphill race to win the red state.
“Unfortunately for Ralph, I guess, I am not a socialist, I am not a democratic socialist, I’m a mom and a pediatrician,” said Andrews. “I’m running, as I said, to address our affordability crisis and our broken healthcare system.”
Figures will face Republican nominee Rhett Marques in November. Republicans redrew the district to be more Republican-leaning after the U.S. Supreme Court’s redistricting decision. Both parties have promised an aggressive fight for the seat.
“The people of Alabama deserve a congressman who will work for them, not against them,” Figures said. The congressman said he has worked to support hospitals, infrastructure, law enforcement and Alabama families.
“The choice in this race is simple; I have worked for the people of Alabama because that is who we should be working for. My opponent would be just another rubber stamp on the same policies that are making life more expensive for the people right here in Alabama,” Figures said.
Figures noted Marques has been criticized for supporting a gas tax increase while serving in the Alabama Legislature. Marques has said the increase was to fund road construction and he has voted to cut other taxes such as the state grocery tax.
“The stakes in November could not be higher,” state Rep. Rhett Marques said after winning the GOP nomination in Alabama’s 2nd Congressional District. “If you want more money in your pockets, safe streets for your kids to play on, strong communities, and our Christian values to be preserved for our kids and their kids, I’d be proud to earn your vote. With your help, common sense will conquer craziness in November.”
Marques will face incumbent Democratic Rep. Shomari Figures. Republicans redrew the district to be more Republican-leaning.
Marques was endorsed by President Donald Trump and defeated five other Republicans in the special congressional primary.
Two counties to watch in Tuesday’s Democratic nomination for Wisconsin governor are the leading contenders’ home counties: Milwaukee and Dane.
Milwaukee County is the state’s most populous and has supported more moderate candidates in past Democratic presidential primaries. Bernie Sanders trounced Hillary Clinton statewide in 2016, and the only place where Clinton led Sanders, albeit narrowly with about 52% of the vote, was Milwaukee County. The county gave 58% of the vote to Joe Biden in 2020.
Milwaukee County is the home turf of Democratic candidate David Crowley, who has served six years as Milwaukee County Executive.
Dane County is Wisconsin’s second-most populous and is home to the heavily Democratic city Madison. It’s also home to Democratic state Rep. Francesca Hong. Dane delivered the most votes of any county to Sanders in both his Wisconsin presidential primary runs. In 2020, although he lost every county to Biden, he posted his highest vote share in Dane.
At Joint Base Andrews on Tuesday night, President Donald Trump told reporters that he would be “going to call her right now” after arriving from a trip to Ohio.
The interim South Carolina senator advanced on Tuesday to an Aug. 25 runoff.
Trump said “I think so” when asked if he would campaign for the sister of the late Lindsey Graham, among his top Senate allies.
Of the others in the special primary, Trump said he liked them, too: “I mean, they’re all Trumpers.”
The moderate Democrat who ran for president in 2020 defeated six lesser-known rivals for the nomination.
Klobuchar is looking to replace two-term Democratic Gov. Tim Walz, who ended his reelection campaign earlier this year amid public backlash to a fraud scandal that engulfed state government.
Klobuchar will have the upper hand in a state that hasn’t elected a Republican to a statewide office in 20 years. But Republicans hope voters will be disillusioned enough with Democrats to end the party’s unified control of the state’s top offices.
The GOP’s gubernatorial primary is a three-way race between MyPillow founder Mike Lindell, who was endorsed by Trump, state House Speaker Lisa Demuth, who is supported by many elected officials in the state, and businessman Kendall Qualls, who has the state party’s endorsement.
Tiffany overcame nominal opposition in his victory as he attempts to flip control of the governor’s office, with President Donald Trump’s backing.
Tiffany is a former state lawmaker who was elected to Congress in 2020. He is one of the most conservative members of Congress and a staunch Trump ally.
He defeated 27-year-old Andy Manske in the primary.
Tiffany will now face whomever emerges from the chaotic race for the Democratic nomination that has seen two prominent candidates drop out since mid-July amid the rise of insurgent democratic socialist Francesca Hong. The race will be closely watched in swing state Wisconsin as Democrats try to regain full control of the Legislature and retain the governor’s office.
Norman, who will face Lindsey Graham’s sister, Darline Graham, in a Republican runoff for U.S. Senate, thanked a lively bunch of supporters as he narrowly beat out his closest competition to secure the second slot.
“We’ve got to all coalesce, come together, because we have got some socialist Democrats we have got to defeat,” he said, before noting how sudden the campaign was after Sen. Lindsey Graham’s unexpected death.
“He’s a fixture. We thought he would be here,” he said.
He will face incumbent Democratic Rep. Shomari Figures in November.
The district is one of several across the South that leaned Democratic but were reshaped in the wake of a U.S. Supreme Court ruling upending redistricting law.
President Donald Trump endorsed Marques in the special congressional primary, as did U.S. Sen. Katie Britt.
Marques is the owner of a tire and automotive service who has served in the Alabama Legislature since 2018.
Figures, who was elected in 2024, maintains that the new district is winnable for him. Both parties have made the district a priority for the fall.
The new district is in the state’s southeastern corner and includes the city of Montgomery. Its Black voting-age population dropped from 48% to 40%, making it more challenging for Democrats.
Larry Nordone looks on as his wife, U.S. Sen. Darline Graham, R-S.C., speaks to reporters after she voted in a special Republican primary to replace her brother, U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., on November ballots on Tuesday, Aug. 11, 2026, in Florence, S.C. (AP Photo/Meg Kinnard)
Minnesota Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan, a Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate, greets supporters during a campaign event at the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe Twin Cities Office in Minneapolis, Saturday, Aug. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Ellen Schmidt)
U.S. Rep. Angie Craig, D-Minn., candidate for U.S Senate, greets Merci Wolff and her daughter during a canvassing event at SMART Sheet Metal Workers Local #10 headquarters, Monday, Aug. 10, 2026, in St. Paul, Minn. (AP Photo/Ellen Schmidt)
Campaign signs for Michael Alfonso, a candidate for U.S. House in Wisconsin's 7th congressional district, line the entrance to an event, Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2026, in New Richmond, Wis. (AP Photo/Ellen Schmidt)
David Crowley, right, Democratic candidate for Wisconsin governor talks with CJ Arthur, left, owner of WordHaven BookHouse during a campaign stop with Wisconsin Gov. Tony Ever, center, Friday, Aug. 7, 2026, in Sheboygan, Wis. (AP Photo/Kayla Wolf)
