By Henry J. Gomez and Allan Smith -
NBC News
The candidates of the Republican Party who have the support of former President Donald Trump reaped mixed results on Tuesday in the primaries that were held in four states for the legislative elections next November.
Congressman Tom Rice, targeted by the former president for voting to impeach him following unrest on Capitol Hill, was defeated by a Trump-backed challenger in South Carolina.
Congresswoman Nancy Mace, who also drew Trump's ire for criticizing him on Jan. 6, prevailed, NBC News projects.
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Rice's loss in the state's 7th congressional district primary to state Rep. Russell Fry marks the first time this election cycle that an impeachment Republican has lost at the polls.
Rice's loss also gave Trump his first win against an incumbent this year.
Trump-endorsed candidates had lost five straight races against incumbents entering Tuesday.
(Trump managed to unseat Rep. David McKinley in West Virginia, but McKinley was up against another incumbent, Rep. Alex Mooney. They were put in the same district as part of redistricting this year.)
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But in South Carolina's 1st congressional district, the story was different.
Mace's victory over former state Rep. Katie Arrington meant another loss for Trump as he seeks revenge on Republicans he views as disloyal.
Trump reacted to both projected results on his Truth Social platform.
He called Arrington “a long shot” who “ran a great race and far outperformed her,” adding, “Congratulations to Nancy Mace, who should be able to easily beat her Democratic opponent! ”.
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Turning his attention to Fry and Rice, he wrote: “The biggest news of the night so far is that Russell Fry beat impeachment master Tom Rice by a vote of over 51%, thus winning outright without needing of a second round”.
Rice surprised many by joining nine other Republicans who voted to
impeach
Trump after the former president's supporters stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. The congressman knew his impeachment vote could cost him his life. re-election, but expressed no regrets in an interview with our sister network NBC News last week.
"Win, lose or tie, I did the right thing, and I know I did the right thing," he said, adding of Trump's conduct amid the unrest: "I can't think of any president who has done worse in terms of government." .
U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace, from South Carolina, speaks to supporters at her election night event after defeating former state Rep. Katie Arrington in the 1st District primary Tuesday, June 14, 2022, in Mount Pleasant, Carolina. of the South. Meg Kinnard / AP
At his election night party, Fry took the stage to cheers of "fry that rice" [referring to his and his opponent's last names;
Fry (fry) and Rice (rice)].
“The voters have spoken.
Tom Rice returns home.
And we've done it, which everyone said couldn't be done,” he declared of avoiding a runoff, adding, “Today, the conservatives in the Republican Party have won.
Donald Trump won today.
And today, voters in the 7th Congressional District won."
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Mace did not support
impeachment
but, like Rice, has questioned the role Trump should play in the future of the GOP.
He also voted to hold Steve Bannon -- Trump's former adviser and one of the leading voices in perpetuating lies about the 2020 election -- in contempt of Congress after he defied a House committee subpoena. investigating the attack.
But he has not been as consistent as Rice in his opposition to Trump.
Asked by NBC News Tuesday night what her message was to Trump, Mace said, "My message is the same to him as it is to anyone else on either side of the aisle."
“I am willing to work with anyone who is willing to work with me.
Full stop,” she stated.
"I'm not unused to being called into the director's office, and sometimes it's the deputy director's office," she added when asked about her role in the party's future given her past criticism of Trump.
“But I work very hard to represent the values of my district.
I bring that voice to Washington and that is why you have seen us get elected and have a great victory tonight," she stated.
As he weighs another White House bid in 2024, Trump's influence was also on the line Tuesday in Nevada.
There, his Senate candidate, former State Attorney General Adam Laxalt, and his gubernatorial candidate, Clark County Sheriff Joe Lombardo, won the GOP primary, NBC News reports.
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Trump and his allies had been especially nervous about signs of a boost to Laxalt's main rival, Sam Brown, of late.
While Trump's influence has been a major story in every race, a lot of attention has been focused on gas prices in the final weeks of the South Carolina primary, with each candidate trying to accuse their rival of being responsible. of rising costs.
State Rep. Russell Fry addresses a crowd waiting for former President Donald Trump, on March 12, 2022, in Florence, South Carolina.Meg Kinnard/AP
Both Mace and Rice singled out Arrington and Fry for voting in 2017 to raise the state gas tax when they were members of the state Legislature.
In his teleconference with South Carolina voters last week, Trump himself brought up gas prices, suggesting that Fry and Arrington would be best positioned to address the issue.
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“It's nice to look at what other people are doing, but we're very much our own state, with our own mindset,” Barbara Nielsen, a Beaufort County GOP activist who supports Arrington, told NBC News last week.
“I know, all the media has always tried to look at where Trump is, who he has supported, and try to make it into that.
I think that will probably be a factor.
But in the long run, it all comes down to who the candidate is and if they can close the deal,” he noted.
The races featured national turnout from major non-Trump Republicans.
Mace has the support of former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley, who served under Trump and is much admired in the state, as well as former acting chief of staff Mick Mulvaney.
Former House Speaker Paul Ryan, meanwhile, made a campaign stop in support of Rice, who also garnered the endorsement of former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie.
Until Tuesday, Trump's more explicit efforts to punish those who have crossed him had not paid off in 2022.
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In Georgia, for example, last month Governor Brian Kemp, Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger and Attorney General Chris Carr - all of whom refused to rig the results of the 2020 state election in favor of Trump - won their primaries. of the Republican Party against candidates that the former president had endorsed.
The night of the elections Trump refused the calm that Ivanka herself asked for (and listened to a "drunk" Giuliani)
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And in last month's Alabama Senate primary, Rep. Mo Brooks advanced to a runoff election even after Trump rescinded his endorsement, citing Brooks' desire to move on to the 2020 election. Over the weekend, Trump endorsed Brooks' Republican runoff rival, Katie Britt.
Trump has had better luck with his endorsements in more open races that lack the revenge narrative, including the Ohio and Pennsylvania Senate primaries.
In addition, he has broadened his endorsement record by endorsing many candidates who were on track to win before he got involved.
In Nevada, Trump's endorsement of the Senate was more about loyalty.
Laxalt, as Trump's 2020 campaign co-chair, was behind several unsuccessful legal challenges to election results in a state narrowly won by Joe Biden.
Laxalt, like Trump, raised unfounded doubts about the integrity of the election, but official investigations found no widespread fraud.
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However, Laxalt faced a tough fight from Brown, a retired Army captain whose unofficial poll victories and ability to collect small donations have marked momentum with grassroots voters.
Laxalt had the support of much of the national GOP power group, but some polls showed the race was narrowing.
Last week, Trump held a phone rally for Laxalt and his son Donald Trump Jr. traveled to Nevada for an in-person campaign rally.
Laxalt will face Democratic incumbent Catherine Cortez Masto, who was handily renamed Tuesday, NBC News projects.
That race is expected to be one of the most competitive that could determine control of the House of Representatives this fall.
Trump Jr. also campaigned last week for Lombardo.
Polls showed the sheriff as the favorite in a field that included former Sen. Dean Heller and retired professional boxer Joey Gilbert, who was backed by the state party.
Lombardo will face Democratic Gov. Steve Sisolak -- who also won the renomination on Tuesday, according to NBC News -- in the general election.
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The race for the Nevada Secretary of State will also be one to watch in November.
Election denier Jim Marchant, a former state lawmaker who has said he would not have certified 2020 results in the state Joe Biden won, won the GOP primary, NBC News projects.
Trump had not endorsed in the race.
Marchant will face Democratic candidate Cisco Aguilar.
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Other primaries on Tuesday's ballot included the South Carolina gubernatorial race.
Republican incumbent Henry McMaster was renominated after facing a challenge from political newcomer Harrison Musselwhite, a trucker who campaigns as Trucker Bob, NBC News projects.
McMaster will face former congressman Joe Cunningham, the winner of the Democratic primary, NBC News projects.
Also in South Carolina, the Democratic Senate primary is headed for a runoff, according to NBC News, with author Catherine Fleming Bruce advancing and the race for second place too close between the chair of the Spartanburg County Democratic Party, Angela Geter, and State Rep. Krystle Matthews.
The final winner will face Senator Tim Scott this fall.
Scott, who is unopposed in the Republican primary, is seen as a potential presidential candidate in 2024.
Maine voters will also vote in Tuesday's primary.
In the competitive 2nd Congressional District, which covers the northern three-quarters of the state, moderate Democratic Rep. Jared Golden is considered one of the most vulnerable incumbents in the country come fall.
He will face a rematch against former representative Bruce Poliquin, whom he defeated in 2018, NBC News projects.
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Meanwhile, Maine's race this fall is already set.
Democratic Gov. Janet Mills and Republican Paul LePage -- a two-term former governor who left office with very high unpopularity rates -- are running unopposed for their party's nominations.