US primaries 2026 live: Graham Platner vies to overcome scandals in Maine as four states hold elections

By Guardian staff • June 10, 2026 • US news

Polls open in Maine, North Dakota, Nevada, and South Carolina; voters appear to stand by Democratic challenger Graham Platner despite string of controversies

Outside of Maine, three other states are holding primary elections today: South Carolina, North Dakota and Nevada. Polls close in South Carolina at 7pm ET. A political confidant and regular golfing partner of Donald Trump, senator Lindsey Graham has fought off primary challengers over the years. And some of this year’s contenders — including Project 2025 chief architect Paul Dans and former liuentant governor André Bauer — dropped out months ago, the Associated Press reported. But Mark Lynch, a Greenville businessman, is still running. On social media, Trump has said Lynch “would be a DISASTER for the Republican Party” if elected. In the governor’s race, Trump backed lieutenant governor Pamela Evette over several opponents, including Maga congresswoman Nancy Mace. The primary will determine whether the endorsement can help Evette win outright or if there will be a runoff on June 23. Polls finish closing in North Dakota at 9pm ET. North Dakota’s lone US House member, Julie Fedorchak, faces a partial rematch of her 2024 nomination race in a state primary Tuesday, the AP reported. Also on the ballot is a proposed amendment to the state constitution, while residents of Fargo will elect a new mayor. Polls close in Nevada at 10pm ET. No Democrat has held the congressional seat that represents Reno and rural northern Nevada, but Democrats aren’t ruling it out this year after longtime Republican representative Mark Amodei announced his retirement, the AP reported. Democrats are banking on Trump’s growing unpopularity and the district’s large number of nonpartisan voters. In the Republican primary, they’re hoping that Trump-backed candidate David Flippo will defeat James Settelmeyer, a former lawmaker with the backing of governor Joe Lombardo, believing it would be easier to draw a contrast. Maine voters are going to the polls for primary elections that include a crucial Senate race involving the scandal-haunted Graham Platner. The oysterman and Marine veteran’s string of controversies, ranging from alleged “toxic” behavior toward women to a tattoo recognized as a Nazi symbol, have plunged Democrats into debates about double standards, purity tests and not letting the perfect be the enemy of the good. There was a final twist came Monday, when Genevieve McDonald, a former political director of Platner’s campaign, published a column denouncing Platner as unfit for office. “Graham Platner is not someone who would be good for Maine or for the country,” McDonald wrote in the Washington Post. “He exhibits a pattern of dishonest behavior that is impossible to ignore. “Despite being exposed by a series of scandals beginning last October, he kept assuring voters and the Democratic Party that there were no more skeletons in his closet. Then more emerged – the latest, in recent days, have involved former girlfriends’ serious accusations of physical mistreatment.” Even so, all the signs on the ground are that most Democratic voters are sticking with Platner. At a campaign event on Sunday, a supporter presented him with a hand-drawn card that included the message “we’ve got your back”. Polls close in Maine at 8pm ET.

Source: The Guardian