Midwest primaries test Trump appeal; Vermont picks transgender candidate

MADISON, Wis. — A fiery Donald Trump loyalist and a one-time Trump skeptic seized Republican nominations for governor in two states Tuesday, while Vermont Democrats picked the nation’s first transgender nominee for governor to represent them in November.

The results came as voters across four states cast ballots and the 2018 midterm season lurched toward its finale.

Trump renewed his grip on the modernday GOP as his pick for Kansas governor, Secretary of State Kris Kobach, scored a delayed victory against Gov. Jeff Colyer, who became the first incumbent governor to be defeated this season. Elsewhere in the Midwest, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker won the right to seek a third term, and former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty was fighting to resurrect his political career and prove he fits in Trump’s GOP.

Vermont, Connecticut, Minnesota and Wisconsin all held primaries Tuesday. Kansas’ gubernatorial primary, which was held last week, was finalized when Colyer conceded defeat.

All but 10 states will have picked their candidates for November’s general election by the time the day’s votes are counted. Though the full political battlefield isn’t quite set, the stakes are clear: Democrats are working to topple Republican control of Congress and governors’ offices across the nation.

In Vermont, Democrat Christine Hallquist won the Democratic nomination in her quest to become the nation’s first transgender governor. The former chief executive of Vermont Electric Cooperative bested a field of four Democrats.

Vermont Democrats also nominated Sen. Bernie Sanders, who hasn’t ruled out a second presidential run in 2020, for a third term in the Senate. The 76-yearold Democratic socialist won the Democratic nomination, but he is expected to turn it down and run as an independent.

Two women won Democratic Senate nominations: Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota and Sen. Tina Smith, who had been appointed to replace disgraced Democratic Sen. Al Franken in Minnesota.

Meanwhile, a new scandal threatened to roil Minnesota politics.

Rep. Keith Ellison, the Democratic National Committee’s deputy chairman, captured his party’s nomination in the race to become the state’s attorney general. That’s after Ellison’s candidacy was rocked by allegations over the weekend of domestic violence. Ellison has denied the former girlfriend’s allegations.