Primary season continues in 4 states

Donald Trump on Tuesday will have his first real shot at taking revenge on one of the House Republicans known as the “impeachment 10.”

While some of the members who voted to impeach the then-President in January 2021 have chosen to retire or have primaries later in the summer, Republican Rep. Tom Rice of South Carolina will face a competitive GOP primary with a Trump-endorsed challenger. (In a district next door, another Republican House member who has crossed Trump, Rep. Nancy Mace, has her own Trump-backed opponent.)

Trump has been committed to ousting Rice and even held one of his campaign-style rallies here in Florence in March to help state Rep. Russell Fry, the 37-year-old Republican he’s chosen to boost in the crowded field.

While both campaigns admit it’s possible no candidate gets 50% of the vote and the top two will go to a runoff in two weeks, the results will indicate the strength of Trump’s influence in the deep-red 7th District.

On Monday, during a final campaign event here, the second-largest population center in the district, Fry served fried rice to supporters as a play on the leading candidates’ names.

“Who’s ready to fry some rice tomorrow?” Fry punned to cheers.

Rice’s vote to impeach Trump — which came after the January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol by Trump supporters — has remained a central issue in the primary, and Fry has worked to remind Republican voters of what many view as a betrayal of Trump. Calling himself a “committed, America First conservative,” Fry said Rice has lost touch with his voters.

“He has forgotten who sent him to Washington and where he came from,” Fry said.

But Rice has not run away from his vote.

“Obviously I do stand by my impeachment vote,” Rice told CNN. “I don’t think it was a brave decision. I thought it was the right decision. It’s never the wrong time to do the right thing.”

Asked whether he feared it would cost him his election in the primary on Tuesday, he replied: “I don’t think it will cost me my election, but if doing the right thing costs me my election, then I’ll wear it like a badge.”

At a campaign stop Monday near Pawley’s Island, just south of his hometown Myrtle Beach, the 64-year-old congressman held forth about gas prices, inflation and the elephant in the room: impeachment.

One man thanked him for what he called a brave vote.

Keep reading here.

There is perhaps no state that will tell us the story of the 2022 general elections more than Nevada. It’s a state that President Biden only won by 2 points in 2020, and one where there is a marquee Senate race on the ballot.

If Republicans are able to knock off Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto in November, they will likely win a majority of seats in the US Senate. 

The question is who will be the Republican to take on Cortez Masto. For the longest time, it looked like former state Attorney General Adam Laxalt. But combat veteran Sam Brown has ridden a late surge, including being the only Senate candidate to be endorsed at the state Republican convention. 

Laxalt, for his part, is endorsed by a slew of politicians, including former President Trump. Even a close race here would have been inconceivable a few months ago. Teamed with Trump-backed Ryan Zinke barely winning in Montana last week, it would be a sign that Trump’s endorsement may not be as valuable as many think. 

Regardless of who wins the primary, Nevada will be busy in the fall. Beyond the Senate election, there will be competitive races for governor and in three of the four congressional districts.  

On a breezy morning in northwest Las Vegas, voters are filing in and out of the Centennial Center Election Day polling location. There is a line of constituents outside the tent, located in a Home Depot parking lot. Some parents have taken their children to vote with them, others are stopping by before heading to work for the day. 

Colette B., a mom of two boys from Las Vegas, told CNN the number one issue driving her to the polls Tuesday was “having my voice heard.” 

She said local issues such as education and “more freedom in what they teach instead of it being so strict” are important to her, as her 5-year-old son will be starting kindergarten in the fall.

Lucinda Norman, a 60-year-old who works at a Casino on the Las Vegas strip, told CNN that “corruption,” “immigration,” and the “economy” are the issues she cares about most.

Norman, who voted for former President Donald Trump in 2020 and 2016, said economic issues only recently started to affect her life. She said the coffee she buys regularly used to be $2.94, and now it costs $5.

“It’s out of control,” Norman said.

Norman said she voted for candidate Joey Gilbert for the GOP gubernatorial nomination and candidate Sam Brown for GOP nomination for US Senate. 

South Texas is returning to the polls on Tuesday for a special election to replace a Democratic House member who resigned earlier this year, setting up a surprisingly expensive race to fill out the remaining months of his term.

Former Democratic Rep. Filemon Vela’s decision to leave office at the end of March to take a job at a lobbying firm created a scramble for control of the current 34th Congressional District. The seat, which ranges from east of San Antonio down to Brownsville, largely along the Gulf Coast before reaching the US-Mexico border, has been vacant for more than two months and will effectively disappear in the fall, when a redrawn district more friendly to the Democratic nominee, Rep. Vicente Gonzalez, who currently represents the 15th Congressional District, comes up for grabs again.

Gonzalez will not be on the ballot this time around. Instead, Democrat Dan Sanchez, the former Cameron County commissioner, is vying for a brief stay on Capitol Hill. His competition — and Gonzalez’s in November — is Republican Mayra Flores. Despite the seemingly low stakes, Republicans have spent big on the race in a bid to cut into the Democratic majority, make a show of strength in the region and provide Flores with some momentum heading into the general election.

Further complicating matters, Flores and Sanchez are not the only two running in the special election. Democrat Rene Coronado and Republican Juana Cantu-Cabrera are also on the ballot, meaning the contest could go to a runoff if none of the candidates win a majority of the votes.

President Biden won the district as it is currently drawn by less than 5 percentage points. After redistricting goes into effect, though, Democrats will face a more advantageous electorate. Given that, national Democrats have mostly steered clear of the special election. Flores has overwhelmingly outraised Sanchez and had, according to a finance report from the end of May, outspent him by a more than 20-to-1 margin.

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, the party’s House election arm, only dipped into the race earlier this month, when it spent $100,000 on digital ads in the region.

Though the party remains confident of its position in the fall, Gonzalez has expressed some concern over Tuesday’s contest, telling Politico earlier this month that it would “be a tragedy” if the seat — in the increasingly competitive border region — turns red. Gonzalez did not return a request for comment from CNN.

Despite the flood of cash backing Flores, Sanchez campaign manager Collin Steele, who previously held the same position for Gonzalez, says Sanchez’s history in the district will ultimately be more valuable than GOP spending on the race.

Read the full report here.

Voters in Nevada, South Carolina, Maine and North Dakota pick their general election nominees Tuesday, including in several races that could be key to determining control of the US House this fall. And a special election for a US House seat in South Texas could offer an early test of Republican momentum heading into the November midterm elections.

While Nevada is hosting high-profile races for US Senate, governor and other statewide offices, key House primaries are worth watching in the Silver State on Tuesday. Democrats currently hold three of the state’s four House seats, but with midterm winds blowing in their favor, Republicans have a shot at winning all four districts in November.

In South Carolina, attention has centered on two House primaries where Donald Trump has endorsed challengers to GOP incumbents who have drawn the former President’s wrath — Rep. Tom Rice, who was one of 10 House Republicans to vote for Trump’s impeachment last year, and Rep. Nancy Mace, who has criticized Trump over his role in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol. The other House incumbents are either running unopposed or expected to win their primaries.

In Maine, sophomore Democratic Rep. Jared Golden once again faces a competitive fall election in the 2nd Congressional District, likely against his predecessor, former GOP Rep. Bruce Poliquin. Democratic Rep. Chellie Pingree is unopposed in her primary and not expected to have much trouble winning an eighth term in the deep blue 1st District.

In North Dakota, GOP Rep. Kelly Armstrong is uncontested in his primary for the at-large seat and is a favorite for a third term in the red state.

And in Texas’ 34th Congressional District, four candidates are running in the special election for the seat former Democratic Rep. Filemon Vela vacated in March to join a law and lobbying firm in Washington, DC. Republicans are hoping to build on recent gains in South Texas and flip this seat.

While North Dakota continues to have one at-large district, the elections in Nevada, South Carolina and Maine are being held under new congressional maps following redistricting after the 2020 census. Democrats controlled the redistricting process in Nevada, while Republicans drew the map in South Carolina. Maine’s new map was courtesy of the state’s redistricting advisory commission and enacted with bipartisan support. The special election in Texas is taking place under the lines used over the past decade, with the winner serving until January.

Here are the key House elections to watch Tuesday:

The Democratically controlled Nevada legislature drew the state’s new congressional map that Democratic Gov. Steve Sisolak signed into law in November 2021.

The new map unpacks the Democratic stronghold of the Las Vegas-based 1st District to make the other two southern districts — which have been highly competitive in recent years — more favorable to Democrats. However, the move also increases the chances that Democrats could potentially lose all three districts, including the 1st District, in a strong year for Republicans. The northern 2nd District continues to lean Republican.

How the new map shifts voting power by demographic: Nevada will continue to have four House seats. Under its new map, there will now be one district where White voters are the majority, rather than two. No group has a majority in the other three districts.

Read more here.

CNN’s Melissa DePalo and Eleanor Stubbs contributed to this post.

North Dakota primaries this year include contests for secretary of state and US Senate.

GOP Rep. Kelly Armstrong and Democrat Mark Haugen are uncontested in their primaries for the state’s at-large House seat. 

Poll times: North Dakota is split between Central and Mountain Time. Polls will start closing in some parts of the state at 8 p.m. ET and close across the state at 9 p.m. ET.

Voter eligibility: North Dakota does not have party registration and voters can cast ballots by mail or early in person.

All voters in the state can vote by mail or early in person. There are no specific deadlines related to when early ballots must be received by, but all early ballots must be either delivered in person or postmarked on June 13. Early ballots could be requested through June 13.

North Dakota voters must show valid ID to vote in person or by mail. Valid forms of ID include a North Dakota driver’s license, a North Dakota nondriver’s identification card, a tribal government-issued ID or a long-term care ID certificate.

How ballots are counted: Election officials can begin processing mail-in ballots three business days before Election Day. Order of vote reports (early votes or Election Day votes) will vary.

The four-lane divided highway from Florence to the beaches of South Carolina’s Grand Strand is flanked by signs and billboards advertising all sorts of upcoming tourist attractions: water parks, aquariums, and a pirate-themed dinner theater in Myrtle Beach featuring the face of a cinematic buccaneer so familiar it’s a wonder Disney or Johnny Depp haven’t raised a complaint.

But this is also the heart of the 7th Congressional District, and the leading Republican candidates have their own campaign signs planted all along the median. Incumbent Rep. Tom Rice’s sign, with a blue field and his name in yellow lettering, also features the ubiquitous palmetto.

His most prominent challenger, Russell Fry, has opted for a starker white field with red lettering – reminiscent of the campaign signs of Fry’s most prominent supporter, former President Donald Trump. Indeed, the first words on Fry’s sign says it all: “Trump Endorsed.”

Rice’s ads are simpler, but one billboard in Marion is a little more attention grabbing. It has a photograph of the smiling five-term congressman along with this slogan: “Focused on what really matters.”

It’s a nod to his vote last year to impeach Trump following the Jan. 6 riot at the US Capitol, a decision Rice has defended as the right thing to do despite the political risks. But the slogan also speaks to Rice’s effort to tout his record in office, which has otherwise tracked closely with the GOP agenda. His message intends to remind voters not to focus on the intraparty drama brought about by Trump’s revenge tour.

Whether Republican voters in his district will see it that way will be determined today.

Maine’s new congressional map isn’t dramatically different from the state’s old district lines, but it does move the state capital of Augusta to the 2nd District. That district also became slightly less Republican, which could help Democratic Rep. Jared Golden hold on to the seat in November.

The map was drawn by the state’s redistricting advisory commission, approved by bipartisan supermajorities of the state legislature and signed by Democratic Gov. Janet Mills.

View more here.

CNN’s Melissa DePalo and Eleanor Stubbs contributed to this post.