10 Elections To Watch In Nevada, South Carolina And Texas

This week’s primaries are a gamble — and not just because many of them are in Nevada. Former President Donald Trump is backing challengers to not one but two incumbent members of Congress, which will once again put the power of his endorsement to the test. Meanwhile, both parties face decisions about how far right or left of center a nominee can be in a swing seat and still stand a chance of winning in November.

All told, four states are holding primaries on Tuesday: Maine, Nevada, North Dakota and South Carolina. We aren’t expecting any races in Maine or North Dakota to be competitive, but to make up for it, there’s a special election in Texas that either party could plausibly win. So grab your lucky dice and let’s roll through the important elections this week.

Plenty of Republicans — like South Carolina’s own senators, Lindsey Graham and Tim Scott — have walked the line between criticizing and praising Trump and have managed to stay on his good side, but Rep. Nancy Mace, of South Carolina’s 1st Congressional District, has not. Despite working for his 2016 presidential campaign early in the primary season, Mace ripped Trump a new one after the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, saying that the insurrection had “wiped out” “[e]very accomplishment that Republicans have made over the last four years.” However, she quickly tried to mend those fences with votes against a bipartisan Jan. 6 commission and for ousting anti-Trump Rep. Liz Cheney from House Republican leadership.