DemDaily: Tuesday’s Election Results! NY, MD, SC, UT
June 25, 2026
The voters of New York, Maryland, South Carolina, and Utah went to the polls Tuesday to determine their political parties' nominees in the 2026 midterm elections -- now just 131 days away!
In some of the blue states like New York and Maryland, the key contests are the primaries, which are also closely watched for the direction of the Democratic Party's future, and whether voters align with the establishment wing or its progressive leaders.
In GOP contests, the strength of Trump’s endorsement (despite his 36% approval rating) continues to be a test of loyalty among primary voters who have, for the most part, backed the president's conservative, MAGA candidates. While the results continue to fuel Trump's ego, it endangers the outcome for the GOP and individual elections where their candidate is too far to the right of general election voters.
| 35 of the 100 US Senate seats are up for election in 2026, with Democrats defending 13 seats and Republicans defending 22 seats. Democrats will need to flip a net four seats to overcome the GOP's 53-47 majority. There are 435 seats in the US House of Representatives. Republicans hold a 220-215 majority, including vacancies in three Democratic and one Republican-held seat. Democrats need a net gain of three districts to win back the lower chamber. |
NEW YORK
There's no question about the preference of New York City's voters, as candidates backed by Democratic Socialist and popular NYC Zohran Mamdani swept the primaries -- including toppling two incumbents.
CD-7: In the race to succeed retiring Democrat Nydia Velázquez, Assemblywoman Claire Valdez, a Democratic Socialist endorsed by Mamdani, won the nomination with 56.1%, defeating Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso (35.8%) and three other candidates who came in under 6.4%. She will face community activist Melvin Rivera, who was uncontested in the GOP Primary.
CD-10: Former City Comptroller and Mamdani ally Brad Lander defeated incumbent Democratic Congressman Dan Goldman by an astounding 65.8%-34%. Goldman was elected in 2022, unseating incumbent Democrat Mondaire Jones in the primary. Lander will face GOP nominee Jennifer Moore.
CD-12: In the Manhattan-based district where longtime Democratic Congressman Jerrold Nadler is retiring, State Assemblyman Micah Lasher (39.1%) defeated State Assemblyman Alex Bores (35%); and attorney and JFK grandson Jack Schlossberg (10.8%), with the remaining five candidates coming in under 7.3%. Lasher faces Caroline Shinkle in the general.
CD-13: In another major upset, Mamdani-endorsed Democratic Socialist and community organizer Darializa Avila Chevalier defeated five-term Congressman and Congressional Black Caucus Chair Adriano Espaillat 49.4%-45.9%. Her general election opponent is Republican Jomo Williams.
CD-17: In one of the country's most competitive congressional seats, two-term incumbent Republican Mike Lawler will be challenged by former Army combat veteran Cait Conley, who defeated four other candidates to win the Democratic nomination with 49.5%. Conley served on the National Security Council and at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency under President Joe Biden.
CD-21: Congresswoman Elise Stefanik’s retirement left open the right-leaning 21st CD, where Trump endorsed sticker mogul Anthony Constantino defeated Assemblyman Robert Smullen 59.2%-40.2 % in the GOP Primary. He will face dairy farmer Blake Gendebien, who won the Democratic nod with 64.6%.
| We have to be careful, "that people don't go so far to the left for purposes of scoring ideological points within the party and make themselves really vulnerable in a general election where you have to convince Independence and maybe even Republicans to vote across party lines for you as a Democrat." - former New York Congressman Montaire Jones, MSNow 6/22/26 |
MARYLAND
Governor: democratic incumbent Wes Moore easily won renomination with 87.8% of the vote over physician Eric Felber with 12.2%. In a rematch of their 2022 race, he is being challenged by former state legislator Dan Cox, a Trump loyalist who lost to Moore by 28 points in the 2022 gubernatorial contest.
US House
CD-5: In the high-profile Democratic primary to succeed Congressman Steny Hoyer, who has represented the southern Maryland district for over four decades, State Delegate Adrian Boafo, who had the senior leader's endorsement, prevailed over 23 fellow contenders with 32% of the vote. Former Prince George’s County Executive Quincy Bareebe came in second with 13.1%, followed by former Capitol Hill Police Officer Harry Dunn with 13.5%. The remaining candidates came in under 10.8%
In the deeply blue District, Boafo will face small businessman, farmer, and frequent candidate Chris Chaffee, who secured the Republican nomination with 52.5%.
CD-6: Freshman Congresswoman April McClain Delaney successfully fought off seven challengers led by her predecessor in Congress, David Trone, to win the contentious and expensive Democratic primary with 43.7% of the vote. Trone, who invested a majority of the $23 million spent on TV in the race, secured 37.3%, with the remaining candidates coming in under 9.8%.
Delaney, who invested $7.4 million of her own funds, had the endorsements of the Governor, both US Senators and US House leadership. She is highly favored in the general election against former State Delegate, attorney, and perennial candidate Robin Flicker.
SOUTH CAROLINA
Governor: In the GOP primary runoff to succeed Governor Henry McMaster (R), state Attorney General Alan Wilson defeated Lt. Governor Pamela Evette, 68.6%-31.4%. Although Trump initially backed Evette early in the primary, he made it a double endorsement, inoculating himself against an impending loss by throwing his support behind Wilson days before the primary.
Wilson faces State Representative Jermaine Johnson, who won the Democratic primary with 59.7%, in the general election
Attorney General: In the Republican primary runoff to succeed Wilson, Eighth Circuit Solicitor (District Attorney) David Stumbo (55.8%) defeated State Senator Stephen Goldfinch (44.2%) to face Democratic nominee and attorney Richard Hricik (D) in the general election.
US House CD-1: In the Charleston-based First CD being vacated by Republican Nancy Mace, retired Navy Vice Admiral Nancy Lacore defeated attorney Mac Deford 52%-48% in the primary runoff for the Democratic nomination.
Lacore now goes head-to-head against Charleston County Councilwoman Jenny Costa Honeycutt, who won the GOP Primary runoff 54%-46% over State Representative Mark Smith.
| There are 24 Democratic Governors and 26 Republican governors in the United States, 36 of whom are up this year, with each party defending 18. Among the Territories, Guam and the US Virgin Islands' Democratic governors are term-limited and Northern Mariana Islands' Independent (GOP) governor is seeking reelection. |
UTAH
Utah's 2026 elections are operating under a new February court-ordered map that reshuffled Utah's four GOP-held congressional districts to include a new, predominantly Democratic First District.
US House
CD-1: In the newly redrawn Salt Lake City-area district, which has a Cook partisan voting index (PVI) of D+12, moderate former Congressman Ben McAdams prevailed over three progressive contenders with 56.2%.
McAdams will go up against Navy Reserve intelligence officer and former Trump White House policy analyst Riley Owen, who was uncontested for the GOP nomination.
CD-3: Under the new boundaries, incumbent Mike Kennedy (R) was shifted into District 4, and two-term Second District Congresswoman Celeste Malloy to the Third CD. Maloy easily dispatched with primary challenger and former Congressman Phil Lyman 67.3%-32.7%, to secure the GOP nomination. She faces Democratic nominee Kent Udell, a retired mechanical engineer, in the general election.
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