{"id":220244,"date":"2026-08-11T18:58:49","date_gmt":"2026-08-11T18:58:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/elections-live-updates-gop-race-for-lindsey-grahams-south-carolina-senate-seat-among-primaries-to-watch-today-nbc-news\/"},"modified":"2026-08-11T18:58:49","modified_gmt":"2026-08-11T18:58:49","slug":"elections-live-updates-gop-race-for-lindsey-grahams-south-carolina-senate-seat-among-primaries-to-watch-today-nbc-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/elections-live-updates-gop-race-for-lindsey-grahams-south-carolina-senate-seat-among-primaries-to-watch-today-nbc-news\/","title":{"rendered":"Elections live updates: GOP race for Lindsey Graham\u2019s South Carolina Senate seat among primaries to watch today – NBC News"},"content":{"rendered":"

Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs, a Democrat, has chosen John Giles, the Republican former mayor of Mesa, as her running mate for her re-election bid this fall.
Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, sent a letter<\/a> to Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin expressing local residents’ concerns <\/a>about plans to construct physical border barriers in Big Bend National Park and Big Bend Ranch State Park.
In an Aug. 7 letter<\/a> made public today, Cornyn urged Mullin to meet with stakeholders in Texas before moving forward.
\u201cMany residents that live and work around the parks are also concerned that a physical wall, which would be accompanied by lighting systems, access roads, and maintenance corridors, would (1) ruin the beauty, landscape, and wildlife of the park, (2) threaten culturally significant Native American sites, (3) disrupt wildlife migration, (4) limit access to the Rio Grande River, and (5) significantly harm the local economy as tourism is a major economic driver for the region,\u201d <\/strong>the letter says.
It also questions whether a wall is needed in the area given the already rough terrain.
“My constituents believe that the 1,000-foot riverbank cliffs and remote Big Bend terrain offers its own source of deterrence for any illegal migrants crossing into the United States. The dangerous terrain includes steep mountains, deep canyons, and expansive deserts which they believe act a natural barrier that limits large-scale movements,\u201d the letter said.
NBC News has reached out to DHS for comment.
A federal judge in Washington, D.C. ordered the Kennedy Center to pay $250,000 in legal fees to musician Chuck Redd<\/a>, whom the arts center sued for cancelling a Christmas Eve concert after President Donald Trump\u2019s name was added to the building\u2019s facade.
D.C. Superior Court Judge Tanya Jones Bosier dismissed the case in June, finding conditions of unlawful retaliation against Redd.
Read the full story. <\/strong><\/em><\/a>
A U.S. military intelligence assessment says Iran\u2019s strategic priority has shifted from its nuclear program to the Strait of Hormuz, according to two U.S. officials familiar with the assessment.
Military officials have also told President Donald Trump that the U.S. could try to take the strait by force but that it would be long, deadly and very costly, with no certainty that the U.S. would win, the officials said.
Read the full story here.<\/strong><\/em><\/a>
Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C., said today that he believes the Senate special primary election in his state will go to a runoff, echoing what polling has indicated in the days leading up to the election.
\u201cI think getting a majority with 10 people in the race is going to be hard, but we\u2019ve enjoyed it,\u201d he said after casting his vote in the race. \u201cI met great people, and we\u2019re looking forward to continuing for the next two weeks.”
Norman faces several GOP challengers in the race, including Sen. Darline Graham, R-S.C., whom Trump endorsed.
Asked by NBC affiliate WCNC if he would seek the president\u2019s endorsement if the race goes to a runoff, Norman said, \u201cI\u2019ve always wanted President Trump\u2019s endorsement. I called him to get his endorsement here.\u201d
He also criticized the Senate for leaving Washington for a five-week recess, saying that lawmakers should have addressed the election overhaul bill known as the SAVE Act, which Trump supports.
Norman said said voters should consider his conservative voting record in their decision on whom to support.
“I will fight, and my record is my resume,” he said.
After casting her vote today in her Senate Republican special primary election in South Carolina, Sen. Darline Graham said she thinks she has the experience needed to serve for a full six-year term in the Senate.
“I\u2019ve worked for 30 years for the state of South Carolina. I ran a state agency. I turned it from a struggling agency into a national model,” Graham said in Lexington, South Carolina, referring to her service as head of the South Carolina Commission for the Blind. “I think that\u2019s great experience to bring to the table: critical thinking skills, ability to lead and make good decisions. So, I think I have excellent experience.”
She added that in her few weeks in the Senate since her appointment, she pushed for the recently passed Russia sanctions bill, which was spearheaded by her brother, the late Sen. Lindsey Graham, and voted in favor of controversial nominee Todd Blanche for attorney general. “So I think I\u2019ve accomplished a whole lot in three weeks,” she said.
Pressed by NBC News about whether she\u2019s qualified for a full term, Graham said, \u201cI\u2019m not being handed the seat. I realize that I have to earn voters, so I\u2019m working really hard to do that.\u201d
Graham said she expects the GOP primary race to advance to a runoff after this evening.
\u201cOver the next two weeks during the runoff, my intent is to get out and work really hard to earn those votes,” Graham said, noting that affordability was a top issue for her.
She added that she’s thinking about her brother every day on the campaign trail.
Graham is finishing out her brother’s term, which ends in January.
A former U.S. Marine who spent more than four years in a Russian prison on disputed charges and is believed to be seriously ill has been released and is on his way back to the United States, Trump said today.
\u201cI am proud to announce that American Citizen Robert Gilman, a former United States Marine, is coming HOME!\u201d Trump said in a Truth Social post, adding that he has discussed the release with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Read the full story here. <\/strong><\/em><\/a>
Trump was whisked out of Turkey last month on a military aircraft in an elaborate plot to keep his location secret amid security fears from the war with neighboring Iran, according to a U.S. official with knowledge of the plan.
The Washington Post<\/a> was first to report the details of the clandestine operation, which included using a catering truck to get the president on the C-32 that flew from Ankara to the Mildenhall air force base in the U.K.
The U.S. official confirmed the accuracy of these details. Trump deplaned the C-32, again secretly, and reboarded the older Air Force One jet to emerge in public view of cameras to eventually walk across the tarmac to the newer Qatari-donated jet, which lacks certain security measures and will soon be further retrofitted.
Read the full story here.<\/strong><\/em><\/a>
Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., will endorse Brian Poindexter, the Democrat running against embattled Rep. Max Miller in Ohio\u2019s 7th Congressional District, a person familiar with Kelly\u2019s plans told NBC News.
Kelly, seen as a potential 2028 presidential prospect, met briefly with Poindexter last week while campaigning in Ohio with former Sen. Sherrod Brown, who is in the midst of a comeback Senate campaign against Republican incumbent Jon Husted.
The endorsement continues a string of momentum for Poindexter, who earlier today was added to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee\u2019s \u201cRed to Blue\u201d program for competitive seats the party is working to flip this fall. Poindexter, a union ironworker and city council member in the Cleveland suburb of Brook Park, also boasts endorsements from Sen. Bernie Sanders<\/a>, I-Vt., and many labor organizations.
Miller has been accused of domestic abuse by his ex-wife, Emily Moreno, who alleges he held a gun to her head, threw her against a wall and tossed hot water on her, according to court documents released by her lawyer<\/a>. He has not faced criminal charges related to the allegations, which he has repeatedly denied. He also filed a defamation suit against his ex-wife after the Daily Mail reported on the alleged abuse, which her lawyers moved to dismiss.
Miller has resisted calls from fellow Republicans \u2014 including his former father-in-law, Sen. Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio \u2014 to resign and abandon his re-election campaign.
Yesterday was the deadline for Miller to drop out and be replaced on the ballot.
WASHINGTON \u2014 Just days after Sen. Lindsey Graham\u2019s sudden death, Trump threw his support behind the powerful Republican\u2019s sister, Darline Graham, to run for a full six-year Senate term.
That coveted endorsement, however, is unlikely to give her a big enough boost to put her over the 50% mark in today\u2019s special GOP primary.
Read the full story here.<\/strong><\/em><\/a>
As South Carolina Republicans head to the polls, some voters are expressing concerns about Sen. Darline Graham’s level of experience. Graham had been tapped to finish her brother’s term, and Trump endorsed her to serve a full term.
Ronald Pace, a Republican voter who supports Trump, said he “can\u2019t vote for someone who has never run a race.”
“You don\u2019t want someone unknown, because the thing is, you don\u2019t know where their beliefs are,” he said.
Rick McKenrick, another Trump supporter, said he thinks Graham was \u201ca great pick to finish out Lindsey\u2019s term,\u201d but added, \u201cwith the lack of experience in government, I don\u2019t think she\u2019s a \u2014 she\u2019s certainly not my pick for the to fill Lindsey\u2019s seat.\u201d
\u201cShe says she\u2019s going to support Trump at every turn, which I\u2019m a Trump supporter, but I don\u2019t need a senator that blindly supports a party,\u201d he said.
McKenrick is backing former South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford. If Graham wins the Republican nomination, McKenrick said he will stay home for the general election.
\u201cI wouldn\u2019t vote,\u201d he told NBC.
Republican voter Bob Howell told NBC News that he did not vote for Darline Graham because he doesn\u2019t know \u201cwhat her past voting history is or what her issues are.\u201d
\u201cI understand that she\u2019s lost a brother and lost someone very special to her, and I sympathize with that, but at the same time, I don\u2019t think that it\u2019s necessary just to give it to her,\u201d he said.
Asked about Trump endorsing Graham, Howell said, \u201cI like President Trump, but I don\u2019t think that that\u2019s necessarily what sways my vote.\u201d
Instead, Howell said that he voted for Rep. Ralph Norman because he \u201crepresents the people here well.\u201d
The Justice Department announced that it would monitor polling sites today in two counties in Minnesota, saying in a statement<\/a> that the move was “to ensure transparency, ballot security, and compliance with federal law.”
The department said it will monitor polling sites in Hennepin and Ramsey counties. Those neighboring counties are the state’s most populous, home to the metropolitan area of Minneapolis and St. Paul.
\u201cMinnesota is DOJ\u2019s next stop on its nationwide effort to ensure free and fair elections,\u201d DOJ official Harmeet Dhillon said in a statement. “The DOJ is committed to nondiscriminatory monitoring throughout the primary and general election seasons.”
A spokesperson for Minnesota’s secretary of state did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the announcement, but the Hennepin County attorney’s office said in a press release <\/a>that the county had denied the DOJ’s request for its staff to “access and monitor polling places.”
The county’s release said that DOJ poll monitors would not be allowed inside polling places, adding that they would stay at least 100 feet away from polling locations to comply with the state’s law.
“DOJ monitors are expected to be DOJ staff in plainclothes and may attempt to interview voters as they leave the polling place,” the release said. “Participation in these interviews is entirely voluntary.”
Arizona\u2019s Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs has chosen a former Republican as her running mate for her re-election bid this November.
On Tuesday, Hobbs named John Giles<\/a>, who served as a GOP mayor of Mesa, Arizona, from 2014 to 2025, as her pick for lieutenant governor.
Read the full story here.<\/strong><\/em><\/a>
The son of Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., was arrested on charges of sexual exploitation of a child, authorities said yesterday.
Tyler Boebert, 21, was taken into custody Sunday and later released on $10,000 bond, the Garfield County Sheriff\u2019s Office said in a statement.
Tyler Boebert did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
\u201cI love my son,\u201d Lauren Boebert said in a statement yesterday. \u201cWe take allegations very seriously and pray for everyone affected during this challenging time.\u201d
It was not immediately clear whether Tyler Boebert has a lawyer to speak on his behalf. An attorney who previously represented him in a separate case did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The charges are linked to a 2024 video Tyler Boebert allegedly recorded with a 17-year-old, according to an affidavit in support of an arrest warrant. He was 18 at the time.
Read the full story here.<\/strong><\/em><\/a>
A recount in a contested Indiana state Senate primary in May has put Republican Paula Copenhaver, who was backed by Trump, ahead of incumbent Spencer Deery.
Deery was one of seven GOP members<\/a> of the state Senate who faced primary challengers this spring after having voted down a redrawn congressional map<\/a> that Trump pushed last year. Five lost, while Deery clung to a three-vote lead, which Copenhaver challenged.
Yesterday, the Indiana Recount Commission threw out 10 votes \u2014 eight for Deery and two for Copenhaver \u2014 the Indiana Capital Chronicle<\/a> reported, giving Copenhaver a three-vote edge.
Read the full story here.<\/strong><\/em><\/a>
A panel of Republican officials in North Carolina selected a state lawmaker yesterday as the GOP nominee in a House race after embattled Rep. Chuck Edwards<\/a> dropped his re-election bid following sexual harassment allegations<\/a>, which he has denied.
Jennifer Balkcom, who represents a state legislative district in Henderson County, will face Jamie Ager, who won the Democratic primary in March.
Read the full story here.<\/strong><\/em><\/a>
National Democrats will be watching Wisconsin with apprehension tonight.
Democratic socialist state Rep. Francesca Hong is ascendant in the Democratic gubernatorial primary. But her party\u2019s establishment has dire predictions for November if she wins. They fear her ideology and her history of inflammatory pronouncements make her a weaker general election candidate, and a poor showing could hand the governor\u2019s mansion to Republicans in a crucial presidential battleground.
Read the full newsletter here.<\/strong><\/em><\/a>
The Democratic Party\u2019s ideological and generational divides are on full display in today\u2019s primaries in several states, while Trump\u2019s endorsement will once again be on the ballot in a key Republican contest.
Read the full story here.<\/strong><\/em><\/a>
NBC News<\/p>\n

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