GOP’S RICE LOSES SEAT IN U.S. HOUSE
Lawmaker who voted to impeach Trump ousted by Fry
CHARLESTON, S.C.
Rep. Tom Rice of South Carolina has been ousted from Congress in his Republican primary after voting to impeach Donald Trump over the Jan. 6 insurrection. He is the first of the 10 House Republicans who voted to impeach Trump to lose a reelection bid.
Rice, a five-term congressman, was defeated Tuesday by state Rep. Russell Fry, who was endorsed by Trump. Rice was a strong supporter of Trump’s policies in Washington but said he was left no choice but to impeach Trump over his failure to calm the mob that violently sought to stop the certification of Joe Biden’s victory.
Trump had vowed revenge against the 10 House Republicans who crossed party lines to impeach him. Four of the 10 decided against seeking re-election. A fifth, Rep. David Valadao of Hanford, is still waiting to hear the results of his primary election from last week; he is fighting for the second spot in a race where the top two finishers advance to the general election in November.
Trump had campaigned with Fry earlier this year and described Rice as “respected by no one.”
Trump had less luck in his quest to oust Republican Rep. Nancy Mace, who managed to hold off a primary challenge Tuesday from former state Rep. Katie Arrington in South Carolina’s 1st
Congressional District, which includes Charleston. Despite his anger toward Mace for criticizing him over his role in the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection, he congratulated her Tuesday and predicted she would win in November.
In Nevada, Adam Laxalt won the Republican nomination Tuesday for a pivotal Nevada Senate seat, fending off a challenge from a political newcomer and setting up a fierce November contest to topple incumbent Democrat
Catherine Cortez Masto in a race that could swing power in the U.S. Senate.
Laxalt is a former Nevada attorney general who had the backing of former President Donald Trump and the GOP establishment. But challenger Sam Brown harnessed support with the party’s grassroots and forced Laxalt to spend heavily and bring in Trumpworld figures for 11th-hour barnstorming to lock up the primary.
He now sets his sights on a November race against Cortez Masto in what’s expected to be one of the Republican Party’s best chances to flip a seat in the 50-50 Senate this fall.
Long lines kept some polling places open more than an hour late in Clark County, Nev., where about three-quarters of the state’s population lives, after polls were officially slated to close.
Republicans in Nevada were also choosing a nominee to challenge Democratic
Gov. Steve Sisolak. Elsewhere, two longtime rivals in Maine were poised to advance to what will likely be one of the most competitive governor’s races in the U.S. this fall.
Democrats broadly are facing headwinds this year, burdened by an unpopular president and rising costs. In Nevada, high prices for gas are acutely felt by residents of Las Vegas’ sprawling suburbs or those commuting from far-flung rural areas.
Those same factors could imperil the reelection of Sisolak, whose Republican challenger will emerge from Tuesday’s primary.
In the Nevada governor’s race, Clark County Sheriff Joe Lombardo is considered the favorite in a crowded field and has earned the coveted endorsement from Trump.
In Maine, Bruce Poliquin represented Maine’s 2nd Congressional District from 2015 to 2019 until losing to Democratic Rep. Jared Golden. Golden’s victory over Poliquin was the first congressional election decided by ranked-choice voting in U.S. history.
This year, Poliquin is hoping to win a rematch over Golden in one of the most closely watched races of the 2022 midterms. To get there, he must stave off a primary challenge from Liz Caruso, the first selectwoman of the tiny town of Caratunk.
In other races Tuesday, Democratic Rep. Dina Titus in Nevada, the dean of Nevada’s congressional delegation, handily defeated her progressive challenger, Amy Vilela in the state’s most liberal district; while Rep. Mark Amodei is facing a primary challenge from Danny Tarkanian, son of legendary University of Nevada Las Vegas basketball coach Jerry Tarkanian, who is trying to knock off the six-term incumbent in the sprawling, rural northern district that no Democrat has won in its 40 years. In Texas, Republican Mayra Flores narrowed Nancy Pelosi’s Democratic majority in the House by winning a special primary election to serve the remaining months of former Democratic Rep. Filemon Vela’s term.