US transgender governor nominee
Democrats select first transgender nominee for governor of Vermont –
DEMOCRATS have embraced diversity in US primaries as Republicans in Minnesota rejected a familiar old guard face in favour of a newcomer aligned with President Donald Trump.
In Vermont, Democrats rallied behind the nation’s first transgender nominee for governor. Minnesota Democrats backed a woman who would be the first Somali-American member of Congress, and in Connecticut, the party nominated a candidate who could become the first black woman from the state to serve in Congress.
On the other side, Mr Trump tightened his grip on the modern-day Republican Party as the turbulent 2018 primary season lurched towards its finale. A one-time Trump critic, former two-term Minnesota governor Tim Pawlenty lost a comeback attempt he was expected to win.
Republican county commissioner Jeff Johnson defeated Mr Pawlenty, who once called Mr Trump “unhinged and unfit” and was hoping to regain his old post. In Wisconsin, Governor Scott Walker, endorsed just this week by Mr Trump, won the right to seek a third term.
Mr Johnson will face Democratic Representative Tim Walz, who won a three-way race for his party’s nomination.
Mr Walker’s anti-union policies made him a villain to Democrats in Wisconsin long before Mr Trump’s rise. State schools chief Tony Evers won the Democratic nomination and will take on Mr Walker in the autumn.
All but 10 states picked their candidates for November’s general election by the time the day’s final votes were counted.
Democrats are working to topple Republican control of Congress and governors’ offices across the nation.
The president’s pick for Kansas governor, Secretary of State Kris Kobach, scored a delayed victory against Jeff Colyer, who became the first incumbent governor to fall this season.
In Vermont, Democrat Christine Hallquist won the party nomination in her quest to become the nation’s first transgender governor.
While she made history, Ms Hallquist faces a difficult path to the governor’s mansion. Republican incumbent Phil Scott remains more popular with Democrats than members of his own party.
Vermont Democrats also nominated Senator Bernie Sanders, who hasn’t ruled out a second presidential run in 2020, for a third term in the Senate.
The 76-year-old democratic socialist won the Democratic nomination, but he is expected to turn it down and run as an independent.
Jahana Hayes could be Connecticut’s first black woman Democrat in Congress.
Mr Trump won Wisconsin by less than a percentage point in 2016, becoming the first Republican presidential candidate to carry the state since 1984.
It was much the same in Minnesota, where Mr Trump lost by less than three percentage points in a state that hasn’t backed a Republican presidential contender since 1972.
Nearly twice as many Minnesota Democrats as Republicans cast ballots in their parties’ respective gubernatorial primaries.
Three Minnesota women won Senate nominations, including incumbent Democrats Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith.
Nationwide, a record number of women are running this year for governor and Congress.
Meanwhile, a new scandal threatened to dampen Democratic enthusiasm.
Representative Keith Ellison, the Democratic National Committee’s deputy chairman, captured his party’s nomination in the race to become the state’s attorney general. It comes after Mr Ellison’s candidacy was rocked by allegations over the weekend of domestic violence amid a broader national outcry against sexual misconduct by powerful men in business, entertainment and politics.
Mr Ellison has denied a former girlfriend’s allegations that he dragged her off a bed while screaming obscenities during a 2016 relationship she said was plagued by “narcissistic abuse”.