2018 primaries: Crowley upset in N.Y., South Carolina's McMaster wins after boost from Trump, Grimm loses

Herb Jackson | USA TODAY

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New York Rep. Joe Crowley, who had been seen as the potential leader of the House Democrats if they won the majority in November, was upset Tuesday in his party's primary by a 28-year-old Bernie Sanders supporter, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

In South Carolina, Gov. Henry McMaster won the Republican nomination to seek another term after a late push by President Trump, who said a loss would be fodder for "fake news" to attack him.

Maryland voters chose former NAACP President Ben Jealous to challenge Gov. Larry Hogan. Utah voters gave former Massachusetts governor and presidential candidate Mitt Romney the GOP nomination for U.S. Senate. And New York Rep. Dan Donovan — also endorsed by Trump — was nominated after defeating former Rep. Michael Grimm, who was trying to regain his seat after serving time in prison for tax fraud.

Here's what else we know:

Colorado

Five-term Democratic Rep. Jared Polis will face state Treasurer Walker Stapleton, a Republican, in the race to succeed Democratic Gov. John Hickenlooper in November.

Both Polis and Stapleton won four-person primaries, which are unusual in the Mile High State. This year's primary was also notable because for voters who were not in either party were also eligible to vote.

Other key races included:

The Democratic primary in the 2nd District, where University of Colorado regent Joe Neguse defeated Air Force veteran Mark Williams for the nomination to seek the seat Polis gave up to run for governor;

The Republican primary in the 5th District, where six-term Rep. Doug Lamborn defeated four challengers after almost being knocked off the ballot. He won a federal judge's ruling allowing him to run after initially being disqualified by a state judge for having out-of-state residents gather some signatures for his petitions.

defeated four challengers after almost being knocked off the ballot. He won a federal judge's ruling allowing him to run after initially being disqualified by a state judge for having out-of-state residents gather some signatures for his petitions. The Democratic primary in the 6th District, where former Energy Department adviser Levi Tillemann lost to attorney and Iraq veteran Jason Crow. Tillemann was backed by several progressive groups and released a secret recording of a top Washington Democrat trying to clear the field for Crow, who has had fundraising support from the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.

Maryland

State election officials said as many as 80,000 people may have had to cast provisional ballots on primary day because of a computer problem. Local elections officials will begin examining those ballots on July 5.

The Democratic battle for the nomination for governor was marked by a split among influential members of the party, and Democrats seemed to pick the favorite of the party's left wing to face Hogan, who did not have a primary. In a nine-person field, Prince George's County Executive Rushern Baker lost despite the support of U.S. Sen. Chris Van Hollen and former Gov. Paris Glendening. Jealous had the backing of Sens. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, Cory Booker of New Jersey and Kamala Harris of California.

Other key battles included:

The Democratic primary for U.S. Senate, where two-term incumbent Ben Cardin defeated seven challengers, including Chelsea Manning, the former U.S. Army private who was convicted of leaking more than 700,000 classified documents. There's also an 11-person battle for the Republican nomination.

defeated seven challengers, including Chelsea Manning, the former U.S. Army private who was convicted of leaking more than 700,000 classified documents. There's also an 11-person battle for the Republican nomination. The Democratic and Republican primaries in the open seat in the 6th District. Democrats nominated millionaire wine store owner David Trone, who spent $13 million in a losing bid for a different House seat two years ago and spent at least $9.5 million this year. He will face former Pentagon official Amie Hober.

nominated millionaire wine store owner David Trone, who spent $13 million in a losing bid for a different House seat two years ago and spent at least $9.5 million this year. He will face former Pentagon official Amie Hober. Army veteran Jesse Colvin, won the Democratic nod to face Republican Rep. Andy Harris on the state's Eastern Shore.

Mississippi

The challenger to Sen. Roger Wicker will be state House Minority Leader David Baria, who defeated venture capitalist Howard Sherman in a runoff. Actors Robert De Niro and Alec Baldwin, two Trump antagonists, had hosted a fundraiser for Sherman, who is married to actress Sela Ward.

And in Mississippi's 3rd District, district attorney Michael Guest defeated business consultant Whit Hughes for the nomination to face Democratic state Rep. Michael Ted Evans in November. Republican Rep. Gregg Harper announced in January he would step down after 10 years in Congress because he never planned on it being a career.

New York

Crowley's upset is likely to shock Democrats nationwide. Along with being the first Democratic congressional incumbent to lose a primary this year, he was serving as chairman of the party's caucus, and was seen as a possible successor to Nancy Pelosi.

An outspoken critic of the president, Crowley's loss quickly made it to Trump's Twitter feed.

"Perhaps he should have been nicer, and more respectful, to his President" Trump wrote.

Wow! Big Trump Hater Congressman Joe Crowley, who many expected was going to take Nancy Pelosi’s place, just LOST his primary election. In other words, he’s out! That is a big one that nobody saw happening. Perhaps he should have been nicer, and more respectful, to his President! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 27, 2018

Ocasio-Cortez raised more than $300,000 for her campaign and had the backing of some influential groups, including MoveOn.org. She made it all count against Crowley, who raised more than $3 million.

Born in the Bronx, Ocasio-Cortez said she decided to challenge Crowley to push a more progressive stance on economic and other issues, The Associated Press reported.

“We meet a machine with a movement, and that is what we have done today,” said Ocasio-Cortez, who has never held elected office.

.@Ocasio2018 out in the district talking to constituents throughout the day! If you haven’t voted yet polls are open till 9pm! #Ocasio2018 #Ocasio4Congress pic.twitter.com/p1umTuXPLA — Corey Torpie (@coreyTphoto) June 27, 2018

Crowley was gracious in a speech to supporters.

“I want nothing but the best for Ms. Ocasio-Cortez," he said. "I want her to be victorious.”

The race between Donovan, a former district attorney, and Grimm, who resigned in 2015 when he was under investigation, was a nasty one. Trump weighed in with a Tweet supporting Donovan, but he also made things awkward by saying Donovan had voted for the sweeping tax overhaul in December that Donovan actually opposed.

Democrats chose Army veteran and healthcare executive Max Rose to take on Donovan.

And there were a half-dozen other competitive primaries, including those to pick challengers to several Republican House members whose re-elections could determine which party holds the majority next year, including Reps. Lee Zeldin, John Faso and John Katko.

Zeldin will face businessman Perry Gershon, while Faso will face lawyer Antonio Delgado.

Katko, whose district was won by Hillary Clinton in 2016, will face Syracuse professor Dana Balter, who had the backing of several progressive groups but battled Juanita Perez Williams, who had the been picked by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee's "red to blue" program that provides fundraising assistance.

Oklahoma

Voters approved legalizing marijuana for medicinal purposes after an activist-led signature drive got the question on the ballot. The proposed law outlines no qualifying conditions, leaving it to physicians to authorize use of the drug for a range of ailments, according to The Associated Press.

There will be an Aug. 28 runoff for the Republican nomination for governor, but it will not include Lt. Gov. Todd Lamb, whose candidacy was dragged down by the unpopularity of Gov. Mary Fallin. Oklahoma City Mayor Mick Cornett had clinched a spot in the runoff before Lamb conceded he was going to finish third behind Tulsa businessman Kevin Stitt.

Tulsa County District Attorney Tim Harris also advanced to a runoff in the five-candidate field to pick a Republican nominee for the 1st District seat left vacant when Rep. Jim Bridenstine became director of NASA.

But two other candidates were part of a pitched battle between factions of the national GOP.

Iraq veteran Andy Coleman had the support of the Club for Growth Action, a group advocating for low taxes and small government that spent $345,000 opposing McDonald's franchiser Kevin Hern. The Congressional Leadership Alliance said Friday it was putting $100,000 into the race against Coleman.

South Carolina

McMaster faced a tougher-than-expected race for a full term as governor against Warren, who made allegations of political corruption a major theme of his campaign. Warren even borrowed a Trumpian theme, promising to "drain the swamp" of South Carolina politics.

McMaster, who moved up from lieutenant governor last year when Trump picked Gov. Nikki Haley to be ambassador to the United Nations, was one of the first state officials to endorse Trump for president.

After his plane arrived nearly an hour late because of bad weather, Trump praised McMaster at a rally Monday night, saying that while the economy was surging because of federal policies, McMaster played a hand too.

State Sen. William Timmons beat former state Sen. Lee Bright for the GOP nomination in the 4th District, where Republican Rep. Trey Gowdy is retiring.

During a Republican debate earlier this month, Timmons said he would "try to shake things up in a positive, disruptive way" in Congress.

At a candidate forum hosted by The Greenville News, part of the USA TODAY NETWORK, Timmons also warned that if Bright were elected he would "be on the front page of papers all over this planet."

“He is going to say things that y’all do not agree with," Timmons said. "He is going to say things that embarrass you, and it is going to cause problems for the Upstate.”

Utah

After coming in a close second at a crowded state party convention earlier this year, 2012 presidential nominee Mitt Romney defeated the man who bested him, state legislator Mike Kennedy, in the primary for the GOP nomination for U.S. Senate.

Romney won praise in Utah for helping to rescue what had been a troubled effort to stage the Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City in 2002. The seat he is seeking has been held by Orrin Hatch, who decided to retire in January after nearly 42 years in the Senate.

Rep. John Curtis also easily defeated businessman Christopher Herrod for the Republican nomination for another term. It's the second time the two have battled. Last year, after Rep. Jason Chaffetz resigned, Curtis beat Herrod and another opponent in a special primary.

Contributing: Kirk Brown and Nikie Mayo, The Greenville News

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