The left notches big wins in New York City; Maryland, South Carolina and Utah results set stage for midterm races

Maryland state Senate President Bill Ferguson won his Democratic primary, The Associated Press projected, defeating his first primary challenger in 12 years despite some backlash over his position on redistricting.

Ferguson won amid an anti-establishment wave in Democratic politics this year. His challenger, Army veteran and community activist Bobby LaPin, sought to paint him as an incumbent who had forgotten about the needs of his district since he became the top legislative leader in Maryland.

But Ferguson, who represents the state’s 46th Senate District, campaigned on his record, touting the improvements he helped fund for south Baltimore schools and the first-in-the-nation digital ad tax he sponsored in Maryland.

In an interview this month, Ferguson called the primary challenge “a blessing in disguise” and an opportunity “to think through about how best to communicate with voters about the things that I’ve been able to deliver over the years.”

Read the full story here.

Rep. April McClain Delaney, D-Md., won a hotly contested primary in Maryland’s 6th Congressional District, defeating former Rep. David Trone in an expensive race between two wealthy Democrats who bombarded constituents with TV ads.

Trone, 70, previously held the seat. He was first elected in the district in 2018 after an unsuccessful run in another district two years earlier, but he gave up his seat in the House in 2024 to run for the Senate.

Trone lost the Democratic Senate primary to Angela Alsobrooks, who handily won the general election.

In his stead, Delaney, 62, ran and won for the open seat, only to run into Trone two years later, looking to win back the deep-blue suburban Washington district.

Through early June, Trone had given his campaign more than $25 million to finance a nonstop ad campaign, according to campaign finance reports. Delaney gave her campaign more than $10 million of her own money as she fought back.

Delaney is now a heavy general election favorite in the blue district.

See the latest results here.

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Rep. Blake Moore defeated state Rep. Karianne Lisonbee in the Republican primary in Utah's 2nd Congressional District, NBC News projects.

Lisonbee was nominated at the Utah GOP convention this year, but Moore secured enough signatures to appear on the primary ballot. With 90% of the expected vote in, Moore was taking 58% of the vote to Lisonbee's 42%.

Moore, who was first elected in 2020, is the vice chair of the House Republican Conference.

See the latest results here.

See the latest results here.

Former Rep. Ben McAdams has won the Democratic nomination in the redrawn 1st District in Utah, NBC News projects.

McAdams emerged from a primary field that included state Sen. Nate Blouin, who was backed by Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt.

A court-ordered map placed most of Salt Lake City, Utah's lone Democratic bastion, in the 1st District, making McAdams a heavy favorite to win the seat this fall.

See the latest results here.

See the latest results here.

Polls closed statewide in Utah at 10 p.m. ET, with Democrats battling over the open 1st Congressional District and two GOP incumbents — Blake Moore and Celeste Maloy — wielding Trump endorsements against primary challengers in their districts.

In the Democratic-leaning district, the top fundraiser, former Rep. Ben McAdams, is up against state Sen. Nate Blouin, who hopes to consolidate the progressive vote and is backed by Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt.

See the latest results here.

Cait Conley wins the Democratic primary for New York's 17th Congressional District, NBC News projects.

She's a former National Security Council official and Army veteran who will move on to run against Republican Rep. Mike Lawler in one of the premiere battleground races on the map.

Lawler is one of just a handful of Republicans representing districts that then-Vice President Kamala Harris won in 2024 — by less than 1 point.

See the latest results here.

Adrian Boafo wins the Democratic primary for Maryland's 5th Congressional District, NBC News projects.

Boafo was retiring Democratic Rep. Steny Hoyer's pick to succeed him in Congress. Boafo, a former Hoyer aide, currently serves as a state delegate.

See the latest results here.

Claire Valdez wins the Democratic primary for New York's 7th Congressional District, NBC News projects.

Valdez was endorsed by New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani, while retiring Rep. Nydia Velazquez endorsed another candidate, Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso.

See the latest results here.

See the latest results here.

Polls closed at 9 p.m. ET in New York, where voters are deciding a series of closely watched congressional primaries that could shape both the direction of the Democratic Party and House races in the general election.

Democratic Reps. Dan Goldman, Adriano Espaillat and Richie Torres face primary challengers, big money has poured into an open seat anchored in Manhattan, and Republican Rep. Mike Lawler will find out which Democrat he's running against this fall.

Rep. April McClain Delaney and former Rep. David Trone, who gave up his seat in Congress last cycle for an unsuccessful bid for the Senate, are so far locked in a tight race for the Democratic nomination in Maryland's 6th District.

Trone, the owner of Total Wine & More, has lent his campaign $25 million, while Delaney — who is also personally wealthy, but not to the same level as Trone — lent her campaign about $10 million.

Steve Kornacki explains what to watch in primaries across New York, Utah

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NBC News' Steve Kornacki looks at what to watch ahead of polls closing in key primary elections across four states.

Incumbent Wes Moore wins the Democratic primary for Maryland governor, NBC News projects.

See the latest results here.

Polls closed at 8 p.m. ET in Maryland, where voters are choosing nominees for governor and in several House races.

Democratic Gov. Wes Moore is running for re-election, while in the 6th Congressional District, Rep. April McClain Delaney and former Rep. David Trone are battling in a Democratic primary.

And in the 5th District, Rep. Steny Hoyer's retirement prompted a crowded, open race for the blue seat.

A new home under construction in Vacaville, Calif., last year.  David Paul Morris / Bloomberg via Getty Images file

The House passed a major housing affordability bill tonight aimed at boosting the supply of homes and cracking down on large investors' buying up houses.

The bill passed 358-32 one day after it cleared the Senate by a vote of 85-5. It now goes to Trump, who is supportive and is expected to sign it into law.

It is a rare bipartisan achievement for a largely gridlocked Congress in Trump’s second term, giving Republicans, who control both chambers, a desperately needed victory on the politically potent issue of lowering costs just months ahead of the midterm elections.

The 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act includes grant funding and pilot programs to build new homes. It would also ease some regulations and empower local governments to expedite reviews to construct housing. And a key section titled “Homes Are For People, Not Corporations” would limit any “large institutional investor” from buying single-family homes.

Read the full story here.

Alan Wilson projected winner in South Carolina Republican governor primary

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Alan Wilson wins the Republican primary runoff for South Carolina governor, NBC News projects.

See the latest results here.

Polls closed at 7 p.m. ET in South Carolina, where voters are choosing the Republican nominee for governor after a dual endorsement from Trump for both GOP candidates.

Trump initially backed Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette before he posted a second endorsement on Truth Social for Attorney General Alan Wilson weeks later.

“These were the two that I was hoping would get into a Runoff, and they did. I can’t hurt one of them by only endorsing the other, so, therefore, I am going to endorse, for Governor of South Carolina, both Pam Evette and Alan Wilson! It’s a Wealth of Riches — With either one, you can’t go wrong,” Trump wrote.

Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., said today that the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee issued a subpoena for Anthony Fauci to testify before the panel about the Covid pandemic.

Paul said Fauci had notified the committee that he would not voluntarily testify, despite purportedly having agreed to do so before.

“Therefore, today we have issued a subpoena for him to publicly testify,” Paul wrote.

Fauci could not be reached for comment this evening.

Fauci was director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases from 1984 to 2022, when he retired from the government. He was also part of Trump’s coronavirus task force and then a member of President Joe Biden’s Covid response team.

Speaking in a key Pennsylvania swing district today, Trump sought to reassure voters that costs are coming down and that they are better off than they were two years ago.

After the war with Iran helped drive up energy prices, and with them the cost of household goods and groceries, Trump touted the price of oil's dropping to a recent low as markets surged. U.S. crude closed at $73.21 today, just $6.19 higher than the day before the U.S. struck Iran.

“That oil is going to come charging down. And with oil comes everything else,” Trump said.

Trump delivered his remarks, billed as a speech focused on American workers and the cost of living, at a massive Mack Trucks manufacturing facility here in Pennsylvania’s Lehigh Valley, an area critical to Republican hopes of maintaining control of Congress in November’s midterm elections.

Read the full story here.

A study on Covid vaccines that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s acting director blocked from publication came out today in a different journal.

A woman gets a Covid shot at a vaccine clinic at Trinity Evangelic Lutheran Church in Lansdale, Pa., on April 5, 2022. Hannah Beier / Bloomberg via Getty Images file

The findings show that Covid vaccines reduced the likelihood of severe illness by about half among adults last fall and winter. The study was originally scheduled to be released in March in the CDC’s flagship scientific publication, the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR). Instead, it was published in JAMA Network Open, a highly regarded, peer-reviewed journal from the American Medical Association.

Read the full story here.

Large stacks of chain-link fencing were delivered to the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool on the National Mall today and are being installed near the World War II Memorial in advance of the Fourth of July.

Some of the 850,000 fireworks will be staged along the Reflecting Pool, causing the area to be closed to the public for the next few weeks.

The Reflecting Pool, which is noticeably bluer this afternoon, is being protected by law enforcement patrolling the area, who include members of the Oklahoma City Police, the U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task Force and the National Guard.

An Interior Department spokesperson said in a statement that the fencing was going up earlier than planned for the fireworks, citing alleged vandalism to the pool.

"The Reflecting Pool was always set to be fenced off ahead of the 4th of July. As in years prior, one of the launch pads for the fireworks is around the pool so fencing is put up to ensure public safety," the spokesperson said.

The Reflecting Pool on the National Mall was supposed to get a face-lift to celebrate America’s 250th birthday. Instead, it has become a political talking point as delays, persistent green algae and added costs have hindered the project.

Here's a timeline of the renovations and subsequent fallout.

Read the full story here.

Rep. Dan Goldman, D-N.Y., is well aware that progressive dissatisfaction with his stances on Israel will play a major factor in his re-election bid.

“There's no question Israel has been a big issue in this race,” Goldman told NBC News as a challenge from progressive-backed Brad Lander in today's primary threatens to end his time in Congress.

Goldman, who defended his record on the issue while a Lander supporter interrupted him multiple times as he spoke with NBC News, said he was disappointed by voters’ perception that he and Lander are markedly different on the matter.

“Brad Lander is someone that I have worked with over the years to respond in the aftermath of the Oct. 7 attacks to unify the Jewish community, and we are both supported by J Street, and have very similar views about the future of Israel,” he said. “Both Zionists, both want a two-state solution.”

The Senate this afternoon approved a war powers resolution previously passed by the House that rebukes Trump by calling for an end to the U.S. war against Iran.

The resolution passed 50-48, with four Senate Republicans joining almost all Democrats in support of the measure. Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., opposed the resolution, and two Republicans did not vote.

The nonbinding measure is Capitol Hill’s sharpest symbolic pushback on the war yet.

The House voted this month to pass the same Democratic-led measure to end Trump’s war with Iran, offering a rare reprimand of Trump.

Read the full story here.

The president's event in Pennsylvania has concluded, with Trump ending his sprawling remarks with another push for Congress to pass the SAVE America Act.

He spoke for about 90 minutes.

After referring to him without naming him at least twice during his remarks, Trump urged rallygoers to vote for Rep. Ryan Mackenzie, R-Pa., who is running for re-election in a key swing district.

"We gotta get Ryan Mackenzie elected," Trump said.

"I'm here for him," Trump added, before urging him to speak — but do so briefly.

"Nobody wants to hear you, Ryan," Trump said, telling him to "get up here, fast."

Mackenzie thanked Trump for coming and exclaimed, "You are the president that is fighting for all Americans! Thank you for being here, sir!"

"Great job," Trump said, smiling. "That was great."

During his speech, Trump touted gains in the stock market and 401(k)s and said that oil costs that were driven up by the Iran war are going to drop.

"The stock market hit a new high today again, and oil, for the first time in months, hit — think of it, $70 a barrel. So, we got a 70. That equates to a very low price. That oil is going to come charging down, and with oil comes everything else," Trump said.

The price of oil continued its gradual decline today, with U.S. crude falling almost 1% to close at $73.21. That's now just $6.19 away from the price it closed at the day before the war started, which was $67.02 on Feb. 27.

The president went on to rail against Democrats, repeating his nickname for them: "the Dumbocrats."

"The Democrats voted against the border wall. ... They voted against voter ID," Trump said. "You know why they voted against voter ID? Because they want to cheat."

Speaking at an event in Rep. Ryan Mackenzie's competitive district in Pennsylvania, Trump urged voters to re-elect him — but didn't actually mention his name.

"We've got to get a certain very talented congressman re-elected. You know that. We have to get him — where are you, where are you, Mr. Congressman? We got to get you back in," Trump said.

Trump has started his remarks at a Mack Trucks facility in Macungie, Pennsylvania.

The Trump administration attempted to compel testimony from four journalists before a federal grand jury, an official familiar with the matter told NBC News, but backed off the matter after the news organizations pushed back.

The Washington Post headquarters in Washington, D.C. Kent Nishimura / Bloomberg via Getty Images

The Justice Department eventually dropped the grand jury subpoenas for three reporters from The Wall Street Journal and one from The Washington Post.

The subpoenas stood out because they not only demanded the disclosure of information, as have subpoenas targeting news organizations and journalists in the past, but would have required journalists to actively testify before a federal grand jury investigating national security leaks, under the threat of contempt of court.

The Washington Post disclosed the subpoenas in the Eastern District of Virginia in a story this morning. The Wall Street Journal had previously reported on the subpoenas, but never disclosed that they would have required testimony from reporters.

Maryland Senate President Bill Ferguson. Karl Merton Ferron / Baltimore Sun via Getty Images file

Maryland state Senate President Bill Ferguson, who is running for re-election, said he feels “great” about where things stand today.

“These are really frustrating and hard times for all Americans, but especially for Baltimoreans, because we know our city has been under attack by the Trump administration,” Ferguson said outside a polling place for today's primary. “And I’ve been able to talk about the things that we’ve done to protect Marylanders from the chaos.”

NBC News asked Ferguson about how his views on redistricting may have changed since the Supreme Court ruling on the Voting Rights Act in April. Ferguson said Marylanders can’t sit out of the redistricting conversation, but that right now his focus is on working to put a constitutional amendment related to redistricting on Maryland’s ballot in November.

“It’s just about the constitutional amendment; it is not a map itself,” Ferguson said. “We want to see how things play out, give Marylanders a say, and then we’ll reapproach it next session to see what is the best place for Maryland to do to respond to the chaos that’s been unleashed by the Trump administration and by the Supreme Court.”

Candidates for U.S. citizenship at a naturalization ceremony in New York City in 2025. Robert Nickelsberg / Getty Images file

The cost of applying for American citizenship could nearly double under a new Trump administration proposal to hike fees as much as 80% and to stop discounting or waiving fees for the very poor.

The administration proposed the increase today in the Federal Register.

The announcement of the plan, which also includes raising by 80% costs for reconsideration of a denied application, comes about two weeks before the U.S. celebrates its 250th birthday.

Read the full story here.

When Rep. Haley Stevens, D-Mich., launched her Senate campaign last year, she repeatedly villainized Elon Musk, the tech mogul whose cost-cutting government efficiency project was at the time an unpopular priority of President Donald Trump’s administration.

The “Trump-Musk chaos agenda,” Stevens told The Washington Post in April 2025, “is wreaking havoc on people’s lives.”

But Musk’s political agenda has also benefited Stevens’ political career.

The PAC tied to Musk’s SpaceX rocket company contributed a total of $50,000 to Stevens’ House campaign fund and her leadership PAC between 2019 and 2024, Federal Election Commission records show.

The SpaceX PAC has not donated to Stevens’ Senate campaign, but Stevens last year transferred a large chunk of her House campaign funds — more than $1 million — to her new Senate account. And while Democrats in other races have passed their SpaceX contributions on to charity, Stevens has no plans to follow their lead, a campaign spokesperson told NBC News.

Read the full story here.

A New York coffee shop said in an Instagram post that Rep. Dan Goldman, D-N.Y., should never return to the establishment because of his pro-Israel views.

Rep. Dan Goldman, D-N.Y. Tom Williams / CQ-Roll Call via Getty Images

The post came just ahead of today’s primary elections in New York, where Goldman faces a challenge from former city Comptroller Brad Lander in one of the most notable primary races in the state.

Both candidates are Jewish, and Goldman has been endorsed by pro-Israel lobbying groups J Street and the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, or AIPAC, while Lander is being backed by progressives like New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt.

In the harshly worded post, Poetica Coffee alluded to Goldman’s stance in support of Israel, which has been strongly criticized by progressives like Lander and human rights groups over the conflicts in the Gaza Strip and Lebanon, and mentioned genocide and AIPAC.

Read the full story here.

Iran has “fully and completely agreed” to nuclear inspections long into the future, Trump said Tuesday after Tehran denied making the concession as part of talks on a permanent end to the war between the two countries.

The discrepancy over what had been agreed emerged after Vice President JD Vance echoed the positive assessment of mediators following the first round of high-level negotiations in Switzerland. Washington and Tehran had “laid a very good foundation for a successful final deal,” Vance said yesterday.

Trump defends Iran concessions as Vance touts negotiations

01:58

The Supreme Court today ruled against a devout Rastafarian who sought damages after Louisiana prison officials cut his dreadlocks despite his claim that it violated his religious rights.

The court ruled 6-3 that Damon Landor cannot seek damages under a law called the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act.

Read the full story here.

A man with the same name and party affiliation as Alaska Republican U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan yesterday challenged a decision by a top state elections official to disqualify his candidacy and remove him from the August primary ballot.

A court filing, on behalf of the challenger Sullivan by his attorneys, said the decision by Division of Elections Director Carol Beecher disqualifying him violates state and federal law. It asks that he be placed on the ballot. Sullivan, a retired teacher from the small fishing community of Petersburg, has maintained that he’s a qualified candidate for U.S. Senate and that election officials lacked a legal basis to boot him from the ballot.

Read the full story here.

New photos of the Kennedy Center show Trump’s name has been taken down from the building’s facade after a monthslong court battle and the recent addition of a tarp blocking public viewing of the removed signage.

A tarp covers the newly removed name of President Donald Trump from the facade of the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., on June 13.  Aaron Schwartz / Bloomberg via Getty Images

Scaffolding and a tarp erected June 13, a day after a federal judge’s deadline to remove Trump’s name from the iconic performing arts center, have hidden the removal from the public.

Read the full story here.

Tucker Carlson. Al Drago / Getty Images file

Longtime conservative commentator Tucker Carlson said on a podcast that “there’s no chance I would support the Republican Party” ahead of the November midterm elections, dismissing the political affiliation he’s defended as a pundit for decades, including as one of Fox News channel's most popular hosts.

“Not gonna support the Democratic Party,” Carlson was quick to add, speaking late last week on the show “Can’t Be Censored.” “I don’t know what I’m going to do.”

Read the full story here.

Trump’s new acting director of national intelligence, Bill Pulte, began purging staff members at the office yesterday, a source familiar with the matter confirmed to NBC News.

“The deep state firings have begun,” the source said.

CNN was first to report that the dismissals were underway.

The Office of the Director of National Intelligence did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Trump named Pulte the acting director this month and said on Truth Social that he had “asked him to execute the immediate and needed downsizing of the office, reverting staff to their home agencies.” Pulte, who has no background in national security matters, has been serving as head of the Federal Housing Finance Agency.

Read the full story here.

The Senate voted overwhelmingly yesterday to pass a sweeping housing affordability bill aimed at lowering costs, putting Congress on the brink of a rare bipartisan victory in Trump's second term.

The vote was 85-5. Several senators missed the vote due to severe thunderstorms in the Washington area that led to a ground stop at Ronald Reagan National Airport.

The legislation, which would make it easier to build homes and slap limits on Wall Street investors’ buying up houses, now goes to the House, which hopes to vote on it in the next few days. Then, it would go to Trump’s desk to be signed into law.

Read the full story here.

Democratic Rep. Chris Pappas is launching his first TV ad in the New Hampshire Senate race, focusing on lowering costs and combating corruption.

The 30-second spot, shared first with NBC News, begins by featuring the Puritan, Pappas’ family restaurant in Manchester, as Pappas says, “Here, there’s no VIP section. And the only special interests? The people who walk through the doors."

“Most politicians in Washington play by their own rules. But while they’re cashing in, I’m fighting to ban stock trading,” says Pappas, adding that he is “working to make sure no family has to choose between buying groceries and paying for a prescription.”

The Trump administration has been struggling to demonstrate evidence of widespread voter fraud, with just months to go before midterms and as the president insists that the nation’s elections are “rigged,” according to a review of cases by NBC News.

Staff from the Justice Department, Homeland Security and intelligence agencies are focused on the president’s election grievances, hunting for instances where noncitizens voted, and digging into his false claim that he won the 2020 election, even though most suspected criminal conduct from 2020 would be outside the standard five-year statute of limitations for most federal crimes.

As part of the effort, the Justice Department sought voter registration data from all 50 states, as well as the District of Columbia, data they’ve hoped to use to identify noncitizens on voter rolls. While many states have complied with the requests, the department has filed lawsuits against 30 states and Washington, D.C., for refusing.

Read the full story here.

The American Civil Liberties Union will spend more than $50 million on the 2026 midterm election, with half going toward efforts to ensure smooth administration of elections as Trump seeks to exert more control over the process.

In plans shared first with NBC News, ACLU officials said they will train and deploy more than 100 paid staff members and more than 3,000 volunteer leaders to encourage people to vote and to ensure voter access while monitoring ballot counting and certification.

Those people will coordinate thousands of other volunteers. The ACLU said it has already trained 5,000 people on election work and plans to train 5,000 more.

Read the full story here.

Just days after the ticker-tape parade celebrating the New York Knicks’ NBA championship, New Yorkers are gearing up for another major contest: today’s primaries, featuring several intense battles between Democratic members of Congress and upstart challengers.

Those races, as well as a handful of Democratic House primaries in Maryland and one in Utah, are the latest proving ground in the battle between the different wings in the Democratic Party this year. Progressives are seeking to increase their foothold in Washington, including in a series of races that will test New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s sway among Democrats. And some of the most powerful and well-financed interest groups in politics are spending big in primaries at an inflection point for their issues in Washington.

Republicans will have some key races, too — most notably in South Carolina, where the Republican nomination in the open race for governor has gone to a runoff. And both parties are setting up battleground races with primaries across New York, too.

Here’s what to watch in today’s primaries.

Read the full story here.