Weekly Score Newsletter

Lindsey Graham's stunning and unexpected death on Sunday has left Republicans scrambling to replace the South Carolina senator. His death immediately kicks off a monthlong primary to fill his full six-year term, and a number of prominent Palmetto State Republicans are reportedly considering bids, including Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette, Reps. Nancy Mace and Ralph Norman, and former Graham primary challenger Mark Lynch, as our Alec Hernández reports Not in the running for an appointment? Rep.

Senate Leadership Fund — the super PAC aligned with Senate Majority Leader John Thune — is on pace to be the top spender in this year's midterms, with just under $215 million already reserved or spent on advertising. Its affiliated nonprofit, One Nation, is already in for another $53.5 million. It's big money — and it shows how seriously Republicans are taking the fight for Senate control, even with a favorable map this cycle.

One of Democrats' messiest House primaries comes to a head tomorrow, when voters in the exurban and heavily Latino CO-08 will choose their nominee to challenge vulnerable freshman GOP Rep. Gabe Evans. And it's looking like it will be the latest victory for progressives in Democrats' ideological tug-of-war. Former state Rep. Shannon Bird racked up early endorsements from some of the Democratic Party's biggest establishment players, from the centrist Blue Dogs to The Bench to to EMILYs List.

Maine oysterman Graham Platner cruised on Tuesday night, scandals be damned, and Democrats in Washington were quick to pledge their support. Even if they weren’t thrilled about it. Rather than explicitly praise Platner, national Democrats broadly focused more on slamming Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine).

Maine oysterman Graham Platner is all but sure to win his Democratic primary on Tuesday and face Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine). But his latest round of scandals has some Washington Democrats fantasizing about some highly unlikely scenarios that would let them avoid being stuck with him as their nominee in their top-target Senate race. Their first and most straightforward, if unlikely, dream would be that Gov.

Democrats didn't take many chances in critical November battlegrounds on Tuesday. Voters played it safe in picking establishment-backed Josh Turek to take on GOP Rep. Ashley Hinson for an open Senate seat in Iowa and putting up mainstream military veteran Rebecca Bennett against Republican Rep. Tom Kean Jr. in one of the most competitive House districts in the country. The results were more mixed in bluer territory.

If state Rep. Josh Turek wins the Democratic Senate nomination in Iowa tomorrow over state Sen. Zach Wahls, he owes VoteVets in a big way. The group has poured $9.9 million into advertising on the race, more than 3.5 times the combined total of Turek’s and Wahls’ campaigns, according to the tracking service AdImpact. The group has also dropped cash on mailers for Turek, according to Federal Election Commission filings.

Sure, President Donald Trump’s endorsement dampened the excitement of Texas’ Senate GOP runoff on Tuesday when he endorsed Ken Paxton last week. But there was plenty of intrigue across the Lone Star state, which featured messy runoffs up and down the ballot and across both sides of the aisle. Here are three takeaways from Tuesday’s elections. Republicans embrace Paxton, sort of Paxton officially ousted Sen.

Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas) isn’t on the ballot today, after she lost her March Senate primary to state Rep. James Talarico. But her influence in the Lone Star state — especially in heavily-Black deep-blue areas — is as clear as ever. Crockett has become a key surrogate for Rep. Christian Menefee in a primary runoff contest against fellow Democratic Rep. Al Green, as well as for former Rep. Colin Allred against Rep. Julie Johnson.

On and off the ballot, President Donald Trump’s MAGA base won big on Tuesday. MAGA-aligned candidates across the country romped in primaries, and the base was handed an unexpected gift by the president on Tuesday when Trump endorsed firebrand Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton over Sen. John Cornyn ahead of next week’s GOP runoff. It’s becoming a familiar pattern for Trump, who keeps stacking primary wins and tightening his grip on the Republican Party. First, it was Rep.