MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass has her November opponent, progressive City Council member Nithya Raman. In a few minutes, we'll look into the University of Virginia's Crystal Ball for more on the LA mayor's race and new primaries today in Maine, Nevada, North Dakota and South Carolina. But we will start with details on those primaries.
LEILA FADEL, HOST:
In Maine, Democrats are gearing up for a competitive Senate race. Nevada and South Carolina voters are picking their nominees for governor.
MARTIN: NPR's Saige Miller is following those races, and she's with us now. Good morning.
SAIGE MILLER, BYLINE: Good morning.
MARTIN: So let's start with that Maine Senate race. How important is this seat for Democrats?
MILLER: Yeah. This is really important. It's quite a big deal. If Democrats have any chance at winning the Senate majority in November, picking up Maine is all but necessary. That requires flipping the seat away from Republican Senator Susan Collins. She's held the position for 30 years, largely because of her more moderate stance on the Hill. She isn't a Trump loyalist, but she is still a Republican, which means the president's unpopularity nationally and in the state could hurt her. But she's been here before. She's won many competitive elections. And like I said, Democrats want this seat. They need this seat. So they are trying to pick a candidate that can win it.
MARTIN: And it looks like that candidate will be Graham Platner. Is he still expected to win, even with all these controversies around his personal behavior that have emerged in the past few weeks?
MILLER: It would be very surprising if he didn't win. That's because no other Democrat is really going against him. Platner is a combat-veteran-turned-oyster-farmer. He's a political newcomer, and he's had to answer a lot about his past since launching his campaign less than a year ago. Most recently, The New York Times published a story where Platner's previous romantic partners described him as toxic and as a person who does not respect women. Platner spoke to our colleagues at Maine Public, saying he believes these stories serve as a distraction away from the political movement he is building. He also told Maine Public he doesn't think his past will haunt him at the primary ballot box because voters know he's not the same man.
MARTIN: OK. So let's move to South Carolina now. Republicans are picking their nominee for governor. Is there a front-runner?
MILLER: There isn't. And there are five Republican candidates on the ballot, but there is only one Trump-endorsed candidate. The president is backing Lieutenant Governor Pamela Evette. She's a longtime Trump supporter. And on the other hand, Congresswoman Nancy Mace is also vying for the nomination. She's a member of the Freedom Caucus in Washington, which just translates to she is also very conservative. But Mace gained the ire of Trump after she pushed to release the Epstein files. And this is another test of how much weight the president's endorsement carries. And there is also a chance voters won't know who the nominee is by the end of the night. The race will head to a runoff if no candidate can secure 50% plus one of the vote.
MARTIN: OK. Now to Nevada, where Democrats are going to pick their nominee to challenge the Republican governor.
MILLER: Voters will be picking between a more establishment candidate, Attorney General Aaron Ford, or a more left-leaning progressive candidate, County Commissioner Alexis Hill. And here is why that is important. Nevada is a case study of where Democrats in swing states are. That signals to the national party what kind of Democratic leadership can win in these tough, high-stake races and places. Democrats believe they have a shot at winning the office. That's because Trump is pretty unpopular in Nevada at the moment. Tourism is down in a state that really relies on it. Gas is expensive. The war in Iran is unpopular. His immigration and tariff policies aren't boding well. And all of that is making it harder for Republican Nevada Governor Joe Lombardo to keep his job in November.
MARTIN: That's NPR's Saige Miller. Saige, thank you.
MILLER: Thank you. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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