Posted June 15, 2022 | by KimS | in 2022 Election Calendar, DemDaily, Elections, Gubernatorial, House, Senate, Special Elections

DemDaily: Election Results: ME, NV, ND, SC, TX, AK

June 15, 2022

Six states held elections in the last week. Four primaries took place yesterday in Maine, Nevada, North Dakota, and South Carolina, along with the special general election for Texas' 34th Congressional District.

Alaska also held its At-Large Congressional District special primary election last Saturday, June 11th.

MAINE
At the gubernatorial level, Democratic Governor Janet Mills and Republican nominee and former two-term Governor Paul LePage will go head-to-head in November in a closely watched contest between the two long-time rivals. Both were uncontested in their primaries.

In Maine's Second Congressional District, Democratic Congressman Jared Golden is being challenged by former Congressman Bruce Poliquin (R), whom Golden unseated by 3,000 votes in 2018. Poliquin won the GOP primary with 60% to “America First” candidate Elizabeth Caruso's 40%.

NEVADA
Senate: Incumbent Senator Catherine Cortez Masto, among the most vulnerable Democratic incumbents in 2022, will face former state Attorney General Adam Laxalt, who won the GOP primary with 56%.

Laxalt, who succeeded Cortez Masto as Attorney General in 2016, was the 2018 GOP nominee for governor, losing to current Governor Steve Sisolak (D) by 4%.

Governor: Incumbent Governor Steve Sisolak will face Trump-endorsed Joe Lombardo in November. Lombardo, who is the Clark County Sheriff, won the 15-candidate GOP primary with 38.4%, followed by attorney Joey Gilbert with 27.6%, and former US Senator Dean Heller at 13.5%.

Secretary of State: In the open seat to succeed term-limited Republican Barbara Cegavske, Trump-endorsed Jim Marchant won the GOP primary.

In the seven-candidate contest, Marchant secured 38% to next-closest rival Jesse Haw's 20.1%. He will face attorney and former state Athletic Commissioner Francisco Aguilar, who was uncontested in the Democratic primary. The winner will serve as the chief election officer overseeing the 2024 presidential in the battleground state.

CD 1: Congresswoman Dina Titus (D), who has represented the First District for the last decade, fended off a primary challenge from former Bernie Sanders’ state campaign chair Amy Vilela (D), 82.4% to 17.6%. In a competitive general election, Titus will be challenged by Army veteran Mark Robertson, who won the GOP primary with 30.3%.

CD 3: Two-term Democratic Congresswoman Susie Lee will be challenged by Las Vegas attorney April Becker in the toss-up race in November.

CD 4: Air Force veteran Sam Peters (48%) defeated State Assemblywoman Annie Black (41.1%) in the GOP primary to take on Democratic Congressman Steven Horsford in the Democratic-leaning seat.

SOUTH CAROLINA
South Carolina is a runoff state, requiring a candidate to secure over 50% in the primary to avoid a runoff.

US Senator Tim Scott will have to wait to find out who will be challenging him in the general election, as author and preservationist Catherine Bruce (34.7%,) and State Representative Krystie Matthews (33.2%) are advancing to a June 28 primary runoff.

Incumbent Republican Governor Henry McMaster will face former Congressman Joe Cunningham (D), who won the Democratic primary with 56.5%. Former State Senator Mia McLeod came in second with 31%, followed by three other contenders, who came in under 6%.

Two incumbent members of Congress were the direct target of Trump's ire, with mixed results.

In the First Congressional District, freshman Congresswoman Nancy Mace survived a serious primary challenge from 2018 GOP congressional nominee and Trump-endorsed Katie Arrington, 51.1% to 45.2%.

Although an early Trump supporter, Mace incurred the wrath of the former president after she was outspoken in blaming him for the insurrection, In February, a day after Trump condemned Mace for being "disloyal," the Congresswoman famously stood in front of the Trump Towers in New York City and, on video, begged Trump supporters for forgiveness. She will face Democrat Annie Andrews in November.

In the Seventh Congressional District, five-term Congressman Tom Rice, one of 10 House Republicans who voted to impeach former President Trump, was handily defeated by Trump-endorsed State Representative Russell Fry, 24.5% to 51.1% respectively.

Throughout the primary, Rice refused to back down on his vote to impeach Trump, calling it "a badge of honor" and arguing that Trump’s unwillingness to stop the violence on January 6 amounted to a "violation of the US Constitution." Fry will face Democrat and veteran Daryl Scott.

NORTH DAKOTA
Two-term Republican US Senator John Hoeven will face engineer and professor, Katrina Christiansen, who won the Democratic primary with 76.8% of the vote.

In the open Secretary of State's race, State Representative Michael Howe (R) will compete against educator and university administrator Jeffrey Powell (D).

In North Dakota's At-Large Congressional seat, two-term Republican Kelly Armstrong (R) is being challenged by University student advisor Mark Haugen (D).

TEXAS Special General Election
In the 34th Congressional District to fill the remaining term of longtime Democratic Congressman Filemon Vela, who resigned March 31, the GOP has flipped the seat with the victory of Republican Mayra Flores.

In the current 34th district, which is more than 80% Hispanic, and which voted for Biden by 4% in 2020 and Hillary Clinton by 22% in 2016, Flores secured 51% to Democrat Dan Sanchez' 43.3%.

The win is likely a short one, however, as the newly redistricted 34th CD pits Flores against Congressman Vincente Gonzalez in November.

ALASKA Special Primary Election
A total of 48 candidates ran in the June 11 special election primary for Alaska's At-Large Congressional District, which was vacated in March after the passing of Congressman Don Young.

As of today, with roughly 70% of the all-mail-in vote counted, former Governor and 2008 Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin (R) has secured nearly 30% of the vote, followed by software company entrepreneur Nick Begich (R) at 19.8%, surgeon and 2020 US Senate candidate Al Gross (Ind) at 12.5% and former State Representative Mary Peltola (D) at 7.5%.

Under Alaska's new all-party open primary system, the top four candidates advance to the general election. The winner of the August 16 special general election will serve for the remainder of the 117th Congress through January of 2023. A separate election will be held for the new 118th congressional term.

DemList will keep you informed.