Elections live updates: South Carolina Republican race for Lindsey Graham’s former seat among primaries today
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Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs, a Democrat, has chosen John Giles, the Republican former mayor of Mesa, as her running mate for her re-election bid this fall.
Ballot booths soak up the morning sunshine during the spring election at Warner Park Community Recreation Center on April 7, in Madison, Wis. Joe Timmerman/ / Wisconsin Watch via Getty Images file
What to know today
- PRIMARY DAY: Voters head to the polls today for primaries in Wisconsin, Minnesota, Vermont and Connecticut. In South Carolina, Republicans will vote for a new Senate nominee after Sen. Lindsey Graham’s death last month. And a handful of Alabama House districts are holding primaries after they were postponed because of a new congressional map.
- DATA DIVE: Democratic socialist state Rep. Francesca Hong is ascendant in the Wisconsin Democratic gubernatorial primary. But her party’s establishment has dire predictions for November if she wins.
- BIPARTISAN TICKET: Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs, a Democrat, has chosen John Giles, a former Republican mayor of Mesa, as her running mate for her re-election bid this November.
South Carolina GOP voter says Darline Graham is too much of an unknown
South Carolina Republican voter Bob Howell said he did not vote for Sen. Darline Graham in the primary 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 told NBC News while leaving a polling place in Lexington.
Asked about Trump endorsing Graham, Howell said, “I like President Trump, but I don’t think that that’s necessarily what sways my vote.”
Howell told NBC News 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 will monitor polling sites in Hennepin and Ramsey counties, the department said. 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 DOJ 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."
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.
