Live updates: GOP incumbent Dan Sullivan and Democrat Mary Peltola to face off in Alaska Senate race
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In Florida, Republican Rep. Byron Donalds, who is endorsed by President Donald Trump, and ex-congressman David Jolly will square off in the race to succeed GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis.
What to know today
- ALASKA SENATE: GOP Sen. Dan Sullivan and Democrat Mary Peltola will face off in November for Alaska’s Senate seat, with NBC News projecting that both candidates will advance to the general election. It’s not yet clear whether another Dan Sullivan, a former teacher running as a Republican, will also be on the November ballot.
- FLORIDA GOVERNOR: The November matchup in the race to succeed term-limited GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis is all set. Rep. Byron Donalds, who is endorsed by President Donald Trump, will face David Jolly, a former Republican congressman and prominent Trump critic who left the GOP in 2018, NBC News projects.
- AN UPSET AND AN OUSTING: Democratic socialist Angie Nixon scored a major upset over former National Security Council aide Alex Vindman in the Florida Democratic Senate primary, NBC News projects. Republican Rep. Cory Mills, who had Trump’s backing, has lost his primary in Florida, NBC News projects, amid a flurry of probes and negative publicity.
- SOUTH KOREA DRILLS: Joint military exercises underway between the United States and South Korea are being cut short, both countries said, after Trump, citing his “very good” relationship with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, ordered that they be reduced.
Trump pauses 50% tariffs on Canada for 3 days
The president late last night slammed the brakes on a wave of tariffs that were set to hit Canada at midnight.
On social media, Trump wrote: “I have paused the 50% Tariffs against Canada, that were scheduled to kick in tomorrow morning for a three day period, based on the fact that Canada and the U.S.A., subject to the finalization of documents, have a DEAL!”
Trump did not provide further details, except to refer to the Keystone XL pipeline, which he said “may be awoken from the grave!”
“The deal will include comprehensive market access for all American goods, economic security commitments, digital trade alignment, and many important provisions that will continue to protect our market and American workers, along with our Canadian partners,” the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative said in a separate social media post.
Natalie Harp's brother details her 'obsession,' says she has written to other presidents
The brother of Trump aide Natalie Harp said in a CNN interview that Harp has long had an "obsession" that drove her to write letters to other presidents as a teenager.
"Since she was, like, 16, she’s had an obsession with — gosh, how do I explain this?" said her brother Preston Harp. "She’s written letters to other presidents, let me put it that way."
"Her dream came true, finally," he said.
He said his sister wrote to then-President George W. Bush during the Iraq War, although he did not know its contents.
Separately in the interview, Harp said that his sister was Trump's "biggest fan."
The New York Times has previously reported that Harp, who is Trump's executive assistant, has written letters to the president, including one that she reportedly signed off by writing, "with all my heart." In another letter, she wrote to Trump that he is "all that matters to me," the Times reported.
Harp is also one of the few Trump aides with access to his social media accounts, with the president allegedly approving content from printed draft that she then posts for him, according to a recent lawsuit over decision to sell faster access to posts on on Truth Social.
Other outlets reported that Harp was one of the few people who joined Trump on a secret flight departing Turkey after the NATO summit last month, which the president said was spurred by a security threat amid the war with Iran. Other administration officials, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, stayed on Air Force One with the traveling press.
Harp was thrust into the spotlight after Sen. Jon Ossoff, D-Ga., who is running for re-election, made a reference to her during a recent campaign rally, bringing up her travel with Trump in a criticism of the president's priorities.
Darline Graham defends her résumé in South Carolina debate after saying ‘national security is not my thing'
Sen. Darline Graham and Rep. Ralph Norman traded criticism over experience, ambition, campaign finance and policy positions in a Senate primary debate last night in South Carolina, one week before Republican primary voters choose a nominee to replace Graham’s brother, the late Sen. Lindsey Graham, on the ballot this fall.
While Graham, a political newcomer, went on the attack against Norman, her thin résumé took center stage in the historic Newberry Opera House on several occasions throughout the debate, including when a question about Taiwan, the South China Sea and American security interests came up.
“I’m just going to be honest here — I’m not on national security,” Graham said. “I’m not that informed on national security, but I do support the military.”
She followed her short answer by saying, “National security is not my thing.”
Trump-backed Rep. Harriet Hageman wins Republican Senate primary in Wyoming
Rep. Harriet Hageman has won the Republican primary for Wyoming’s open Senate seat, NBC News projects, advancing to the general election in the deep-red state.
Hageman had the support of Trump as she ran against four Republican opponents. Trump weighed in to offer his “complete and total endorsement” on Truth Social shortly after she announced her candidacy in December.
Two Trump-backed candidates lose, Debbie Wasserman Schultz wins in Tuesday’s House primaries in Florida
Democratic Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz has won her party’s nomination for re-election, NBC News projects, while two Republican House candidates backed by Trump lost their primary bids in Florida yesterday.
Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis and other party leaders redrew Wasserman Schultz’s current district and three other Democratic seats into four new GOP-leaning districts the party hopes to flip in November.
The move prompted Wasserman Schultz, a former chair of the Democratic National Committee, to run in the 20th District, which has long been represented by Black Democrats and is vacant because Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick resigned after being indicted and accused of stealing millions in Covid relief. She has denied wrongdoing.
U.S.-South Korea joint military drills are cut short after surprise Trump order
Joint military exercises underway between the U.S. and South Korea are being cut short, both countries said, after Trump, citing his “very good” relationship with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, ordered that they be reduced.
The annual U.S.-South Korea drills, known as Ulchi Freedom Shield, will end Aug. 21 rather than Aug. 27 as originally scheduled, a Defense Department official said.
“Associated live-training events have been reduced, with certain events canceled or converted to simulations,” the official said, adding that the adjustments “preserve essential readiness” and that “there will be no degradation to U.S. training objectives.”
The surprise comments by Trump, which he made on social media hours before the exercises began Monday, have unsettled South Korea, which relies heavily on the U.S. for its security, as well as other U.S. allies in the region facing a growing threat from nuclear-armed North Korea.
GOP Rep. Cory Mills loses his Florida primary amid investigations
Republican Rep. Cory Mills has lost his primary in Florida, NBC News projects, amid a swirl of investigations and negative publicity and despite running with the backing of Trump.
Former television journalist Ryan Elijah captured the Republican nomination over Mills in Florida’s 7th District, a seat Trump carried by 12 percentage points in 2024. Democrats have hoped to make it competitive this fall, especially if Mills were on the ballot.
Democratic socialist Angie Nixon scores upset in Florida’s Democratic Senate primary
Progressive state Rep. Angie Nixon scored a major upset over former National Security Council aide Alex Vindman in the Florida Democratic Senate primary, NBC News projects, setting up a general election race against Republican Sen. Ashley Moody.
Vindman, a retired lieutenant colonel and Iraq War veteran who rose to prominence as a witness during President Donald Trump’s 2019 impeachment hearings, was viewed as a heavy favorite against Nixon, a member of the Democratic Socialists of America, heading into yesterday’s contest.
GOP Sen. Dan Sullivan and Democrat Mary Peltola advance to battleground Senate election in Alaska
GOP Sen. Dan Sullivan and Democrat Mary Peltola will face off in November for Alaska’s Senate seat, with NBC News projecting that both candidates will advance to the general election. But it’s not yet clear whether another Dan Sullivan will also be on the November ballot.
Democrats view this race as a key part of their strategy to take the Senate majority as the party tries to net four seats to take control of the chamber. And the presence of a candidate with the same name as the incumbent could add a new degree of uncertainty in November.
DGA-backed group goes to bat for Amy Acton with ads in Ohio governor’s race
A group backed by the Democratic Governors Association has launched a pair of 30-second ads in Ohio — one promoting Amy Acton and the other attacking her Republican rival, Vivek Ramaswamy.
One spot focuses on Acton’s turbulent childhood in Youngstown, “not always knowing where her next meal would come from, or if she’d have a roof over her head.”
“But life isn’t about getting knocked down,” a narrator says, “It’s about getting back up.”
The other spot attempts to brand the Trump-endorsed Ramaswamy as a “conman” and “swindler,” focusing on his business record. Ramaswamy, a biotech entrepreneur, led what at the time was the largest initial public offering in industry history. That company’s Alzheimer’s disease treatment failed, but not before making him wealthy — an outcome the ad emphasizes.
“Yes, Vivek Ramaswamy has been called a lot of things, but governor should not be one of them,” a narrator says.
The ads, paid for by the DGA-aligned Ohioans for Lower Costs and shared first with NBC News, follow a barrage of spending by Ramaswamy and an aligned super PAC focused on attacking Acton. The Democratic ads will air statewide on streaming and internet-connected TV, as well as on digital platforms.
Acton, a physician, served under term-limited Republican Gov. Mike DeWine as Ohio’s health director in the early days of the Covid pandemic.
A recent Fox News poll found Ramaswamy and Acton in a dead heat, suggesting a close race in a state Trump carried easily three times.
