Election live updates: Polls close in 4 states as Darline Graham advances to runoff in GOP race for Lindsey Graham’s Senate seat
Polls will soon close in Minnesota and Wisconsin, where a closely watched Democratic contest for the party’s nomination in the governor’s race features a democratic socialist.
What to know today<!–>
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- PRIMARY DAY: Voters cast ballots today for primaries in six states, including Alabama, Minnesota and Wisconsin. In South Carolina, Darline Graham advanced to a runoff for the GOP nomination in the race for her late brother’s seat.
- KORNACKI CAM: Steve is at the Big Board tonight analyzing results as they roll in. Read what races Kornacki is watching in his new subscriber-exclusive newsletter, The Data Dive.
- CLANDESTINE FLIGHT: President Donald Trump was whisked out of Turkey last month on a military aircraft in an elaborate plot to keep his location secret amid security fears from the war with neighboring Iran, a U.S. official with knowledge of the plan told NBC News.
Incumbent Ned Lamont wins the Democratic primary for Connecticut governor, NBC News projects<!–>
Gov. Ned Lamont has won the Democratic primary for Connecticut governor, NBC News projects, fending off a challenge from progressive state Rep. Josh Elliot.
Appointed Sen. Darline Graham advances to GOP Senate primary runoff in South Carolina<!–>
Appointed Sen. Darline Graham will compete in a Republican primary runoff for the party nomination for a full term, NBC News projects, though it’s not yet clear which opponent she’ll face in the one-on-one race.
The runoff raises the prospect that GOP voters could again reject a candidate endorsed by Trump.
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Gov. Henry McMaster appointed Graham to fill the rest of the term of her late brother, Lindsey Graham, in July, and she is looking to also take his place on the November ballot and win a full six years in the Senate. Trump encouraged her to run and then endorsed her in a special primary that featured 10 GOP candidates, including Reps. Russell Fry and Ralph Norman and former Gov. Mark Sanford.
With about a quarter of the expected vote in, Graham had about 31%, while Fry and Norman were fighting for second place with about 23% each.
Polls close in Alabama and Connecticut<!–>
Alabama and Connecticut’s polls closed at 8 p.m. ET.
Will Darline Graham inherit her brother’s weak spot in the Upstate region? <!–>
As Sen. Darline Graham looks to secure the GOP nomination in the Senate race to succeed her late brother, Lindsey Graham, there is a key region to look at: the Upstate region of South Carolina.
This was always Lindsey Graham’s worst area in Republican primaries — and it might be relevant for how his sister does tonight in certain places across the state.
In the primary in June, Lindsey Graham won the Republican nomination for his re-election campaign, earning 57% of the vote. That’s not a great number for such a longtime incumbent. Looking closer at that primary, Graham received only 44% of the Upstate vote. Everywhere else, he got 63%.
So I think that is one of the things we’re looking for when you look at Darline Graham and how she is going to do tonight. Is she going to struggle up there, too? Because her main connection in this race is that she is the sister of Lindsey Graham, and he always had trouble up there. So I think that from Darline Graham’s standpoint, there’s not really a natural geographic base for her anywhere. Not many folks had much familiarity with her until the last couple of weeks, but she does have the endorsement from Trump on her side.
Polls close in South Carolina and Vermont<!–>
Polls closed at 7 p.m. ET in today’s primary elections in South Carolina and Vermont.
‘No magic formula’: Francesca Hong recalibrates her democratic socialist message<!–>
In recent years, Wisconsin state Rep. Francesca Hong, an unabashed democratic socialist, called to defund and abolish the police. Just three months ago, she said, “My perfect world would be a world without prisons.” And in 2021, she wrote that she wanted to “abolish the Senate.”
GOP Sen. Bill Cassidy says ‘parents are losing faith’ in the Trump administration over new vaccine guidance<!–>
Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., condemned Trump’s executive order that seeks to cut the number of vaccines that children receive, writing today on social media that the order reflects “why parents are losing faith in this Administration.”
Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La.<!–> t=3o–>Tom Williams / Getty Images<!–>
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“A single vaccination can prevent multiple diseases. It means fewer shots, fewer trips to the doctor, fewer opportunities for side effects, fewer missed work days for the mother, all while protecting children against more diseases,” Cassidy, a doctor who’s also chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, wrote on X.
“If we’re going to Make America Healthy Again, take into account what is more likely to prevent diseases and what is convenient for the mother and the family,” he added.
Cassidy called Trump’s executive order on vaccines “wrong” when Trump signed it yesterday in the Oval Office alongside Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a longtime vaccine skeptic.
Cassidy was a key vote in confirming Kennedy after he made several promises to address Cassidy’s concerns about his views on vaccines.
Trump administration to end Medicaid funding for minors’ gender-affirming care<!–>
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services announced today that it is prohibiting all Medicaid funds from going toward gender affirming care treatment for minors.
It said the funding “will be available for a tapering-off period of up to six months from the effective date of the final rule for children currently on hormone therapy.” The rule is scheduled to take effect Oct. 13.
The rule does not affect coverage of mental health services, CMS said.
Trump wrote on Truth Social that he directed CMS Administrator Mehmet Oz to finalize the decision.
“We are not going to pay for our innocent children to undergo these barbaric surgeries and practices, which result in unthinkable and irreversible harm to their young bodies,” he wrote.
Trump wants the MMR vaccine divided into three shots. Is that even possible?<!–>
The measles-mumps-rubella vaccine has been given for decades in the U.S. as a single shot.<!–> t=52–>Joe Raedle / Getty Images file<!–>
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Dividing the combination measles-mumps-rubella vaccine into three separate shots would be likely to cost millions of dollars and take years to accomplish, vaccine experts say, making it impossible to follow Trump’s latest directive to break up the immunizations and give them at three doctor’s office visits.
The measles-mumps-rubella, or MMR, vaccine has been safely given for decades in the U.S. as a single shot. To reformulate individual vaccines, drugmakers would need to run new clinical trials to study the safety and efficacy of each one.
Major tests for progressives and Trump are on tap in today’s primaries<!–>
The Democratic Party’s ideological and generational divides are on full display in today’s primaries in several states, while Trump’s endorsement will once again be on the ballot in a key Republican contest.
Voters head to the polls for regular primaries in Wisconsin, Minnesota, Vermont and Connecticut. In addition, South Carolina Republicans are voting for a new Senate nominee after Sen. Lindsey Graham’s death last month. And voters in a handful of Alabama House districts will pick their nominees months after the rest of the state, since May primaries were postponed in some places because of a new congressional map.
Most major contests will be on the Democratic side, however, led by a major test for a democratic socialist in the Wisconsin governor’s race. The party’s ideological divide is also playing out in the Minnesota Senate primary. And another longtime Democratic House member in Connecticut faces a spirited challenge from a younger candidate amid broader-than-usual upheaval in the House.
Schumer demands briefing on Trump’s clandestine flight out of Turkey<!–>
Air Force One at Ankara International Airport, Turkey.<!–> t=62–>Alex Brandon / AP<!–>
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Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., today demanded a briefing on the Iranian threats that led Trump to take a clandestine flight out of Turkey in July, leaving administration staff members and journalists as decoys on Air Force One.
“The Senate should be immediately briefed on the Iranian threats against the President, the extraordinary measures taken to get him out of Turkey, any risks posed to U.S. personnel, and any threat to the homeland,” Schumer said in a statement.
He added that it was “unacceptable that Congress was kept in the dark” and learned about the mission through news reports.
“Trump has put America’s sons and daughters in harm’s way by getting into an unnecessary and reckless war, and this administration has repeatedly refused to provide Congress and the public with the transparency they deserve,” Schumer said, adding that Congress had to “reassert its constitutional authority” and bring the war to an end.
“Republicans cannot keep prioritizing Trump’s luxury and vanity over America’s security,” he concluded.
Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., called for a briefing last night following the reports.
Josh Turek talks Paralympics in his first Iowa Senate general election ad<!–>
Democrat Josh Turek is kicking off the Iowa Senate race with a bipartisan pitch, touting his Paralympic experience in the first TV ad of his race against GOP Rep. Ashley Hinson.
The 30-second spot, shared first with NBC News, features Turek on a basketball court in a “USA” shirt, noting that he competed in four Paralympics and won two gold medals in basketball.
Wisconsin voters weigh whether Francesca Hong has what it takes to win in November <!–>
Ballot booths in Madison, Wis.<!–> t=7d–>Joe Timmerman/ / Wisconsin Watch via Getty Images file<!–>
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Voters casting their ballots today in the Democratic primary for governor of Wisconsin are making their choices based in part on which candidate they think can win against a Republican in the general election.
Shawn Bass and Alli Plummer, a couple living in Madison, told NBC News today that they voted differently: Bass for state Rep. Francesca Hong and Plummer for Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley.
“The Democratic Party has been playing it a little too safe,” Bass said, explaining his vote for democratic socialist Hong. “I think younger or more progressive-thinking voters who might be excited by a candidate who is pushing for some real change.”
But Plummer, who said she supports many of Hong’s positions, is worried that she wouldn’t be able to win a general election.
“I voted for Crowley because I am a risk-averse person, and I really was reading a lot about like who has the chances to beat Tom Tiffany in the larger election,” Plummer said, referring to Rep. Tom Tiffany, a Republican primary candidate.
Another Madison resident, Laura Rochon, said she backed Crowley for similar reasons.
“I agree with him on most issues, and I think he could be a winning candidate,” Rochon said.
But Blu Ginko of Madison, who voted for Hong today, rejected the notion that she lacks broader appeal.
“A lot of people think she’s like too radical or not electable, but I think that she actually just knows what she wants to do, and she doesn’t really play by what donors think she should do,” Ginko said. “I think that she actually has her mission; she actually wants to serve the people, and I really respect that.”
Cornyn asks DHS to rethink border wall construction in Texas park<!–>
Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, sent a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin expressing local residents’ concerns about plans to construct physical border barriers in Big Bend National Park and Big Bend Ranch State Park.
In an letter dated Friday that was made public today, Cornyn urged Mullin to meet with stakeholders in Texas before moving forward.
“Many residents that live and work around the parks are also concerned that a physical wall, which would be accompanied by lighting systems, access roads, and maintenance corridors, would (1) ruin the beauty, landscape, and wildlife of the park, (2) threaten culturally significant Native American sites, (3) disrupt wildlife migration, (4) limit access to the Rio Grande River, and (5) significantly harm the local economy as tourism is a major economic driver for the region,” the letter says.
It also questions whether a wall is needed in the area given the already rough terrain.
“My constituents believe that the 1,000-foot riverbank cliffs and remote Big Bend terrain offers its own source of deterrence for any illegal migrants crossing into the United States. The dangerous terrain includes steep mountains, deep canyons, and expansive deserts which they believe act a natural barrier that limits large-scale movements,” the letter says.
NBC News has reached out to the Department of Homeland Security for comment.
Judge finds Kennedy Center owes musician $250,000 in legal fees<!–>
Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.<!–> t=93–>Mandel Ngan / AFP via Getty Images file<!–>
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A Washington, D.C., judge ordered the Kennedy Center to pay $250,000 in legal fees to musician Chuck Redd, whom the arts center sued for canceling a Christmas Eve concert after Trump’s name was added to the building’s facade.
Superior Court Judge Tanya Jones Bosier dismissed the case in June, finding conditions of unlawful retaliation against Redd.
U.S. assesses Iran’s priority shifted from nuclear weapons to Strait of Hormuz<!–>
A U.S. military intelligence assessment says Iran’s strategic priority has shifted from its nuclear program to the Strait of Hormuz, according to two U.S. officials familiar with the assessment.
Military officials have also told Trump that the U.S. could try to take the strait by force but that it would be long, deadly and very costly, with no certainty that the U.S. would win, the officials said.
Rep. Ralph Norman predicts a runoff, says he ‘always wanted’ Trump’s endorsement in his Senate primary race<!–>
Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C., said today that he believes the Senate special primary election in his state will go to a runoff, echoing what polling has indicated in the days leading up to the election.
“I think getting a majority with 10 people in the race is going to be hard, but we’ve enjoyed it,” he said after he cast his vote. “I met great people, and we’re looking forward to continuing for the next two weeks.”
Norman faces several GOP challengers, including Sen. Darline Graham, R-S.C., whom Trump endorsed.
Asked by NBC affiliate WCNC of Charlotte, North Carolina, whether he would seek Trump’s endorsement if the race goes to a runoff, Norman said: “I’ve always wanted President Trump’s endorsement. I called him to get his endorsement here.”
He also criticized the Senate for leaving Washington for a five-week recess, saying lawmakers should have addressed the election overhaul bill known as the SAVE Act, which Trump supports.
Norman said voters should consider his conservative voting record in deciding whom to support.
“I will fight, and my record is my résumé,” he said.
Sen. Darline Graham says she realizes ‘I have to earn voters’ in Senate GOP primary race<!–>
After she voted today in her Senate Republican special primary election in South Carolina, Sen. Darline Graham said she thinks she has the experience to serve a full six-year term in the Senate.
“I’ve worked for 30 years for the state of South Carolina. I ran a state agency. I turned it from a struggling agency into a national model,” Graham said in Lexington, referring to her service as head of the South Carolina Commission for the Blind. “I think that’s great experience to bring to the table: critical thinking skills, ability to lead and make good decisions. So I think I have excellent experience.”
She added that in her few weeks in the Senate, she pushed for the recently passed Russia sanctions bill, which was led by her brother, the late Sen. Lindsey Graham, and voted in favor of controversial nominee Todd Blanche for attorney general. “So I think I’ve accomplished a whole lot in three weeks,” she said.
Pressed by NBC News about whether she’s qualified for a full term, Graham said: “I’m not being handed the seat. I realize that I have to earn voters, so I’m working really hard to do that.”
Graham said she expects the GOP primary to advance to a runoff.
“Over the next two weeks during the runoff, my intent is to get out and work really hard to earn those votes,” she said, adding that affordability is a top issue for her.
She added that she’s thinking about her brother every day on the campaign trail.
Graham is finishing out her brother’s term, which ends in January.
Former Marine held in Russia for more than 4 years has been released<!–>
A former U.S. Marine who spent more than four years in a Russian prison on disputed charges and is believed to be seriously ill has been released and is on his way back to the U.S., Trump said today.
“I am proud to announce that American Citizen Robert Gilman, a former United States Marine, is coming HOME!” Trump said on Truth Social, adding that he has discussed the release with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Trump took a secret flight out of Turkey in an elaborate plot to hide his location amid Iran war<!–>
Trump was whisked out of Turkey last month on a military aircraft in an elaborate plot to keep his location secret amid security fears from the war with neighboring Iran, according to a U.S. official with knowledge of the plan.
The Washington Post was first to report the details of the clandestine operation, which included using a catering truck to get the president on the C-32 that flew from Ankara to the Mildenhall air force base in the U.K.
The U.S. official confirmed the accuracy of these details. Trump deplaned the C-32, again secretly, and reboarded the older Air Force One jet to emerge in public view of cameras to eventually walk across the tarmac to the newer Qatari-donated jet, which lacks certain security measures and will soon be further retrofitted.
Sen. Mark Kelly to endorse Rep. Max Miller rival Brian Poindexter in Ohio<!–>
Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., will endorse Brian Poindexter, the Democrat running against embattled Rep. Max Miller in Ohio’s 7th Congressional District, a person familiar with Kelly’s plans told NBC News.
Kelly, seen as a potential 2028 presidential prospect, met briefly with Poindexter last week while campaigning in Ohio with former Sen. Sherrod Brown, who is in the midst of a comeback Senate campaign against Republican incumbent Jon Husted.
The endorsement continues a string of momentum for Poindexter, who earlier today was added to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee’s “Red to Blue” program for competitive seats the party is working to flip this fall. Poindexter, a union ironworker and city council member in the Cleveland suburb of Brook Park, also boasts endorsements from Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and many labor organizations.
Miller has been accused of domestic abuse by his ex-wife, Emily Moreno, who alleges he held a gun to her head, threw her against a wall and tossed hot water on her, according to court documents released by her lawyer. He has not faced criminal charges related to the allegations, which he has repeatedly denied. He also filed a defamation suit against his ex-wife after the Daily Mail reported on the alleged abuse, which her lawyers moved to dismiss.
Miller has resisted calls from fellow Republicans — including his former father-in-law, Sen. Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio — to resign and abandon his re-election campaign.
Yesterday was the deadline for Miller to drop out and be replaced on the ballot.
Darline Graham has Donald Trump in her corner. Will it be enough to win her brother’s Senate seat?<!–>
WASHINGTON — Just days after Sen. Lindsey Graham’s sudden death, Trump threw his support behind the powerful Republican’s sister, Darline Graham, to run for a full six-year Senate term.
That coveted endorsement, however, is unlikely to give her a big enough boost to put her over the 50% mark in today’s special GOP primary.
Some South Carolina voters express concerns over Sen. Darline Graham’s lack of political experience<!–>
As South Carolina Republicans head to the polls, some voters are expressing concerns about Sen. Darline Graham’s level of experience. Graham had been tapped to finish her brother’s term, and Trump endorsed her to serve a full term.
Ronald Pace, a Republican voter who supports Trump, said he “can’t vote for someone who has never run a race.”
“You don’t want someone unknown, because the thing is, you don’t know where their beliefs are,” he said.
Rick McKenrick, another Trump supporter, said he thinks Graham was “a great pick to finish out Lindsey’s term,” but added, “with the lack of experience in government, I don’t think she’s a — she’s certainly not my pick for the to fill Lindsey’s seat.”
“She says she’s going to support Trump at every turn, which I’m a Trump supporter, but I don’t need a senator that blindly supports a party,” he said.
McKenrick is backing former South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford. If Graham wins the Republican nomination, McKenrick said he will stay home for the general election.
“I wouldn’t vote,” he told NBC.
Republican voter Bob Howell told NBC News that he did not vote for Darline Graham because he doesn’t know “what her past voting history is or what her issues are.”
“I understand that she’s lost a brother and lost someone very special to her, and I sympathize with that, but at the same time, I don’t think that it’s necessary just to give it to her,” he said.
Asked about Trump endorsing Graham, Howell said, “I like President Trump, but I don’t think that that’s necessarily what sways my vote.”
Instead, Howell said that he voted for Rep. Ralph Norman because he “represents the people here well.”
DOJ to monitor certain polling locations in Minnesota<!–>
The Justice Department announced that it would monitor polling sites today in two counties in Minnesota, saying in a statement that the move was “to ensure transparency, ballot security, and compliance with federal law.”
The department said it will monitor polling sites in Hennepin and Ramsey counties. Those neighboring counties are the state’s most populous, home to the metropolitan area of Minneapolis and St. Paul.
“Minnesota is DOJ’s next stop on its nationwide effort to ensure free and fair elections,” DOJ official Harmeet Dhillon said in a statement. “The DOJ is committed to nondiscriminatory monitoring throughout the primary and general election seasons.”
A spokesperson for Minnesota’s secretary of state did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the announcement, but the Hennepin County attorney’s office said in a press release that the county had denied the DOJ’s request for its staff to “access and monitor polling places.”
The county’s release said that DOJ poll monitors would not be allowed inside polling places, adding that they would stay at least 100 feet away from polling locations to comply with the state’s law.
“DOJ monitors are expected to be DOJ staff in plainclothes and may attempt to interview voters as they leave the polling place,” the release said. “Participation in these interviews is entirely voluntary.”
Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon addressed the DOJ decision in a briefing to news media yesterday, saying that while local jurisdictions had denied the requests, anyone can stand outside of the 100-foot boundary of a polling place.
“Whether they’re from the DOJ or the neighborhood block club, anyone can stand outside the 100-foot barrier outside of a polling place. And these federal employees have already been in other states this election cycle. They were in Michigan last week, and to our knowledge, they were there without any incident,” Simon said.
“Out of abundance of caution, we are working with the Minnesota Attorney General’s Office to observe the observers,” Simon added.
The secretary of state also said that though local jurisdictions have the right to deny DOJ observers, previous administrations have sent them during past elections.
“Minnesotans may well have voted at a polling place with a federal observer there and not even noticed a thing. So the stated reason for these observers, and again, not a new thing, is to make sure that jurisdictions are complying with certain provisions of the Voting Rights Act related to voter resources in languages other than English,” Simon said.
Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs chooses former Republican as running mate in re-election bid<!–>
Arizona’s Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs has chosen a former Republican as her running mate for her re-election bid this November.
On Tuesday, Hobbs named John Giles, who served as a GOP mayor of Mesa, Arizona, from 2014 to 2025, as her pick for lieutenant governor.
Lauren Boebert’s 21-year-old son is arrested on child sexual exploitation charges<!–>
The son of Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., was arrested on charges of sexual exploitation of a child, authorities said yesterday.
Tyler Boebert, 21, was taken into custody Sunday and later released on $10,000 bond, the Garfield County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement.
Tyler Boebert did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
“I love my son,” Lauren Boebert said in a statement yesterday. “We take allegations very seriously and pray for everyone affected during this challenging time.”
It was not immediately clear whether Tyler Boebert has a lawyer to speak on his behalf. An attorney who previously represented him in a separate case did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The charges are linked to a 2024 video Tyler Boebert allegedly recorded with a 17-year-old, according to an affidavit in support of an arrest warrant. He was 18 at the time.
Recount puts Trump-backed challenger in the lead in Indiana state Senate primary<!–>
A recount in a contested Indiana state Senate primary in May has put Republican Paula Copenhaver, who was backed by Trump, ahead of incumbent Spencer Deery.
Deery was one of seven GOP members of the state Senate who faced primary challengers this spring after having voted down a redrawn congressional map that Trump pushed last year. Five lost, while Deery clung to a three-vote lead, which Copenhaver challenged.
Yesterday, the Indiana Recount Commission threw out 10 votes — eight for Deery and two for Copenhaver — the Indiana Capital Chronicle reported, giving Copenhaver a three-vote edge.
North Carolina GOP committee picks Jennifer Balkcom to replace Rep. Chuck Edwards on November ballot<!–>
A panel of Republican officials in North Carolina selected a state lawmaker yesterday as the GOP nominee in a House race after embattled Rep. Chuck Edwards dropped his re-election bid following sexual harassment allegations, which he has denied.
Jennifer Balkcom, who represents a state legislative district in Henderson County, will face Jamie Ager, who won the Democratic primary in March.
What to watch in Wisconsin’s clash of Democratic ideologies<!–>
National Democrats will be watching Wisconsin with apprehension tonight.
Democratic socialist state Rep. Francesca Hong is ascendant in the Democratic gubernatorial primary. But her party’s establishment has dire predictions for November if she wins. They fear her ideology and her history of inflammatory pronouncements make her a weaker general election candidate, and a poor showing could hand the governor’s mansion to Republicans in a crucial presidential battleground.
Voters head to the polls in Wisconsin, Minnesota, Vermont, Connecticut and Alabama, <!–>
The Democratic Party’s ideological and generational divides are on full display in today’s primaries in several states, while Trump’s endorsement will once again be on the ballot in a key Republican contest.
Original source: https://www.nbcnews.com/
