Former President Trump’s last-minute endorsement in a key Republican Senate primary, the battle to succeed the Republican vice presidential nominee, a notable Republican House member running in a second consecutive primary, and a showdown with vulnerable House Democrats.
All of these showdowns are in focus Tuesday as voters in Nevada, North Dakota, South Carolina and Maine head to the polls to cast their ballots in the primary elections.
For the second consecutive time, Republican Rep. Nancy Mace is facing a renomination fight in South Carolina’s 1st Congressional District, a battleground district based in the Lowcountry.
Mace, who was first elected to the House of Representatives in 2020, survived a primary election two years ago against a Republican candidate backed by Trump. The former president targeted Mace after he criticized him for his role in the Jan. 6, 2021, storming of the U.S. Capitol by Trump supporters and attempting to overturn the congressional certification of President Biden’s 2020 election victory.
Mace faces off against Republicans who supported her opponent in the primary
Congressman Nancy Mace speaks at the 13th Annual South Carolina Prayer Breakfast on July 26, 2023 in Washington, DC. (U.S. Senator Tim Scott)
Two years later, Mace has endorsed former President Trump and now has Trump’s backing after campaigning for him in South Carolina’s key Republican presidential primary earlier this year.
But unlike two years ago, when then-House Speaker Kevin McCarthy endorsed her, the former speaker is targeting Mace, who was one of eight House Republicans who split Republican ranks last year and voted to remove McCarthy from office.
Nancy Mace feuds with Bill Maher, explains her stance on Trump
About $9 million has been spent on advertising in the primary, according to national ad-tracking firm AdImapct, with nearly half of the money coming from pro-McCarthy outside groups targeting Mace.
At the time, Republican Rep. Kevin McCarthy of California was removed from his position as Speaker of the House. (Nathan Howard/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
But Mace, who is also backed by Republican Gov. Henry McMaster, has raised about $3 million in outside funding for himself.
Mace’s main rival is Catherine Templeton, a former state Department of Health and Environment director who ran unsuccessfully for governor in 2018.
Templeton has the backing of former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and neighboring Rep. Joe Wilson of the 2nd Congressional District, while Mace has the backing of President Trump and current House Speaker Mike Johnson.
Mace has been mired in controversy following the resignations of several members of her congressional staff late last year and early this year, and her former chief of staff at one point announced a primary challenge to her former boss.
There will be a third candidate in the primary, and if no candidate receives a majority of the votes, a runoff election will be held two weeks later.
Businessman Michael B. Moore and military veteran Mack DeFord are vying for the Democratic nomination in the 1st Congressional District.
Two other Republican House primary races in South Carolina are also worth watching.
In the 3rd Congressional District, located in the northwestern part of the Palmetto State, seven Republicans are locked in a fierce battle to replace Rep. Geoff Duncan, who announced in January that he would not seek an eighth two-year term.
And in South Carolina’s Upstate 4th District, three-term Rep. William Timmons is facing a challenge from state Rep. Adam Morgan, who is running to his right.
Trump in Nevada Had made He made a last-minute endorsement in the battleground state Republican Senate nomination race.
On the left is Dr. Jeffrey Gunter, a dermatologist and former U.S. ambassador to Iceland, on the right is former President Trump, and on the left is former Army Captain Sam Brown. (State Department | Getty Images | Rep. Sam Brown, R-Nevada)
“Sam Brown is a fearless American patriot,” the former president wrote in a social media post Sunday night, hours before Tuesday’s primary elections in western battleground states. “As your next senator, Sam will work tirelessly to secure our border, end immigrant crime, stop inflation, grow our economy, and provide strong support for our great military and veterans.”
Brown’s endorsement of Trump came just hours after headlining a rally in Las Vegas, solidifying her as the front-runner in a crowded Republican primary to face off against Democratic Sen. Jacky Rosen in a November election that could determine whether Republicans can retake the Senate majority.
Trump endorsements in key battleground states, another win for Senate GOP campaign chairman
Brown is a former Army captain who was left permanently scarred in 2008 when his car ran over an explosive device during the Afghanistan war.
Mr. Trump’s endorsement would be a boon for Mr. Brown, who is running for his second consecutive Senate seat and seeking to fend off a field of rivals that includes Jeff Gunter, a wealthy dermatologist who was the president’s former ambassador to Iceland.
Rosen, a first-term senator who Republicans see as weak, is facing two long-shot challengers in the primary.
Republicans need to pick up one or two seats in November to retake control of the Senate.
Republican primaries will also be held Tuesday in the Democratic-dominated but potentially hotly contested 1st, 3rd and 4th Congressional Districts, all of which include parts of the Las Vegas metropolitan area.
Republicans are hoping to expand their current slim majority in the House of Representatives in the November elections.
North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum holds a press conference with fellow Republican governors at an oil refinery in Chalmette, Louisiana, on June 3, 2024. (Fox News/Paul Steinhauser)
In North Dakota, Trump’s running mate and two-term governor, Doug Burgum, is not seeking a third term to lead the heavily Republican state.
Burgum ran unsuccessfully for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination last year and endorsed Trump earlier this year, but is backing Lt. Gov. Tammy Miller in the race to succeed him.
Click here to get the FOX News app
Miller will face three-term Rep. Kelly Armstrong, who is running for governor rather than for reelection to Congress and received the state Republican Party’s endorsement earlier this year.
In Maine, Republicans are again targeting Democratic Rep. Jared Golden, a Marine Corps veteran and moderate who is running for a fourth term in a mostly rural district that Trump won in both the 2016 and 2020 elections.
State Rep. Austin Theriault, a former NASCAR driver, and state Rep. Mike Soboleski are facing off against Golden in the general election in Tuesday’s Republican primary.
Get the latest 2024 campaign updates, exclusive interviews and more on Fox News Digital’s Election Hub.
