On Tuesday, voters in Maryland, New York, and Utah narrowed the field of candidates for November’s general election while voters returned to the polls in South Carolina to select Republican nominees for governor and attorney general.
Maryland
Governor
In the Democratic primary for governor, Incumbent Governor Wes Moore faced one primary challenger, physician Eric Felber, but easily secured the party’s nomination with 87.8% of the vote. Moore is predicted to easily secure a second term in November and is also rumored to be a potential presidential contender in 2028.
First elected in 2022, Moore’s campaign builds upon his accomplishments in office where he has increased investments in public education, reduced violent crime, and cut taxes for veterans and middle-class families. Moore’s campaign centers an affordability agenda that seeks to lower utility costs, increase housing supply, expand access to homeownership, and lower the costs of healthcare and prescription drugs. Before his time in office, Moore launched and led BridgeEdU, a coaching service that assists students in the transition to college and served as CEO of the Robin Hood Foundation. He also served as a paratrooper with the 82nd Airborne Division.
The Republican primary for governor featured a crowded field of nine candidates, all vying to challenge Moore in November and flip the governor’s office in Republicans’ favor. The two frontrunners ahead of election day were former state representative and the Republican party nominee for governor in 2022, Dan Cox, and businessman Ed Hale. Cox, who touts himself as a lifelong conservative, has been critical of Hale who switched from the Democratic Pary last summer to better Republicans chances of ousting Moore. Cox claims that this does not make Hale a true Republican.
Cox will once again face Moore in the general election after securing 45.2% of the vote. Cox served in the Maryland House from 2019 to 2023. In 2024, he ran in the Republican primary for Maryland’s 6th Congressional District, coming in second to former state delegate Neil Parrot. During his 2022 bid for governor, Cox was endorsed by President Trump who called him “MAGA all the way.” While Trump has not formally endorsed Cox this time around, Cox has campaigned on the basis that he is a true conservative. His platform centers affordability and he will work to reduce property taxes, eliminate taxes on retirees, assist first-time homebuyers, and address rising energy costs. Cox also vows to accelerate construction on the Key Bridge rebuild which he feels has been delayed under Moore’s leadership.
Cox will face Moore in a general election race that both the Cook Political Report and Sabato’s Crystal Ball have labeled Safe Democrat.
Attorney General
Incumbent Attorney General Anthony G. Brown ran unopposed in the Democratic primary. Brown was first elected in 2022. From 2017 to 2023, he represented Maryland’s 4th Congressional District. He also served as Lt. Governor from 2007 to 2015 and was a member of the Maryland House from 1999 to 2007, where he served as Majority Whip. Brown is a retired Colonel in the Army Reserve where he served as an aviator for three decades and a Judge Advocate General. His campaign builds upon his accomplishments in office where he established the Office of Equity, Policy, and Engagement and has advocated to repeal the death penalty, decriminalize cannabis, and ban large-capacity magazines and certain assault rifles. During his time in Congress, Brown was the lead sponsor on the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act.
Attorney James “Jim” Rutledge ran unopposed in the Republican primary for attorney general. Rutledge most recently served as a Commissioner on the Bel Air Town Board of Commissioners from 2023 to 2025. If elected, Rutledge has pledged to fully support local prosecutors and law enforcement officers, crack down on gangs, fentanyl distribution, and organized crime networks, and protect small businesses from theft and violence. He hopes to focus on increasing online safety protocols by targeting cybercriminal networks and "holding big tech and financial platforms accountable." Rutledge also vows to protect the state’s natural resources by holding polluters accountable, strengthening clean water standards across state lines, and protecting watermen and local industries.
Comptroller
Incumbent Comptroller Brooke Lierman ran unopposed in the Democratic primary for comptroller. Lierman was first elected in 2022 and is seeking a second term in office. She practiced as a civil rights and disability rights attorney for several years and served in the Maryland House for eight years. During her time in the state House, she sat on both the Appropriations and Environment and Transportation Committees and was the House Chair of the Joint Committee on Pensions. She also founded the Maryland Transit Caucus. Throughout her time in office, she has prioritized modernizing the comptroller office to ensure that residents are utilizing the office to its full potential. She has also worked to promote climate, sustainability, and resiliency efforts when it comes to state spending by ensuring that state agencies are in line with the Climate Solutions Now Act of 2022.
Businesswoman Sonya Dunn ran unopposed in the Republican primary for comptroller. She is the CEO and founder of JEMH Enterprises LLC where she provides technology, management, and telecommunication services. Dunn’s campaign criticizes Maryland’s financial stability, pointing out downgraded state credit rating and mismanagement of taxpayer funds. She has expressed that her experience as a business leader and C-suite executive will assist her in managing state funds and ensuring transparency in financial systems.
Legislature
All 47 state senate seats and all 141 state house seats are up for election. Five senate incumbents did not file for reelection including Senator Joanne Benson (D), who has served more than three decades in office, Chair of the Finance Committee Pamela Beidle (D), and Senator Arthur Ellis (D) who ran in a crowded Democratic primary field for Maryland’s 5th Congressional District. For the first time in 12 years, Senate President Bill Ferguson (D) faced a primary challenger, small business owner Bobby LaPin, but ultimately came out victorious with 56.6% of the vote.
Nineteen house incumbents did not file for reelection. A number of delegates are vying for senate seats including Delegates CT Wilson (D), Tiffany Alston (D), Mark Chang (D), Malcolm Ruff (D), and Nicholaus Kipke (R). All advanced to November’s general election. In February, former Speaker of the House Adrienne Jones (D) announced that she would not seek reelection. Other delegates not running for reelection include Chair of the Rules and Executive Nominations Committee Anne Healey and Vice Chair of the Health and Government Operations Committee Bonnie Cullison.
New York
Governor
New York’s gubernatorial primary was canceled because no races were contested. In November, incumbent Governor Kathy Hochul (D) will face Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman (R).
Born and raised in Buffalo, Governor Hochul built her career around public service, rising from local government and county clerk to Congress, lieutenant governor, and ultimately becoming New York’s first female governor. During her tenure she has focused on economic recovery, affordability, public safety, small-business growth, reproductive healthcare, and climate action. She took office in 2021 after former Governor Andrew Cuomo (D) resigned, later securing a full term in the 2022 general election.
Blakeman draws on his experience as a county executive and former Port Authority of New York and New Jersey Commissioner as qualifications for the Governor’s office. He presents himself as a conservative problem-solver who built his political career around public safety, tax relief, and local governance. In his role as County Executive, he argues he reduced taxes, expanded law enforcement, and made public safety a top priority while winning reelection in a county that often supports Democrats.
The Cook Political Report rates the governor’s race as Solid Democratic, and Larry Sabato’s Crystal Ball rates it as Safe Democratic.
Attorney General
The primary for attorney general was canceled as no races were contested. Incumbent Attorney General Letitia James (D) will face former prosecutor Saritha Komatireddy (R) in the general.
Before entering statewide office, Attorney General James worked as a public defender, served on the New York City Council, and was elected New York City Public Advocate. In 2018, she was elected Attorney General, becoming the first woman and first African American to hold the office, where she has built a national profile through investigations and consumer protection efforts. James portrays herself as an advocate for working families, emphasizing her efforts to recover billions of dollars from corporations, combat the opioid crisis, strengthen consumer protections, address gun violence, and challenge federal actions she alleges threaten New Yorkers’ rights. She has also championed consumer protection legislation in Albany, including The FAIR Business Practices Act aimed to strictly regulate consumer lenders, debt collectors, and mortgage providers.
Saritha Komatireddy is a former federal prosecutor, national security expert, and public servant who has built her career around combating terrorism, organized crime, cybercrime, and public corruption. She spent more than a decade in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York, leading cases against Al Qaeda and ISIS operatives, drug cartels, fraudsters, and money launderers. She also served as Chief of Staff of the Drug Enforcement Administration and has received multiple Attorney General’s Awards for her work in law enforcement. A graduate of Harvard, Komatireddy clerked for Brett Kavanaugh, worked on the commission investigating the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and now teaches at Columbia Law School while practicing law in the private sector. She is running on a platform centered on public safety, crime reduction, and restoring a prosecutorial focus to the office.
Comptroller
The Democratic primary for New York Comptroller saw incumbent Thomas P. DiNapoli face former Kansas State Representative Raj Goyle and nonprofit executive Drew Warshaw. DiNapoli, who has held the office since February 2007, easily secured the nomination for the general election. Raised on Long Island in a union family, he began his political career at age 18 as a school board trustee before serving two decades in the New York State Assembly, where he focused on environmental, education, and fiscal issues. His campaign highlights a record of restoring trust to the Comptroller's office after a corruption scandal, uncovering waste and misuse of taxpayer funds through audits, strengthening the public pension fund, and advocating for environmental sustainability and government accountability.
DiNapoli will face Joseph Hernandez (R) in November. Hernandez earned graduate degrees from Yale University and the University of Florida. His career experience includes working as an entrepreneur, founder, and senior managing partner.
Legislature
All 150 assembly seats and all 63 senate seats are up for reelection this year. Twenty-six Assembly incumbents are retiring this year, including current Majority Leader Crystal Peoples-Stokes (D). Five senate incumbents did not file for reelection. Two Senators, Jeremy Zellner (D) and Jessica Ramos (D), lost their primaries. In the assembly, at least four incumbents lost their seats: Jenifer Rajkumar (D), Erik Dilan (D), Stefani Zinerman (D), and Eddie Gibbs (D).
South Carolina Runoff
Governor
Lt. Governor Pamela Evette and Attorney General Alan Wilson went head-to-head in the Republican primary runoff for governor. Ahead of the runoff, Trump revoked his exclusive endorsement of Evette, backing both Evette and Wilson with a post on Truth Social. Congresswoman Nancy Mace, who placed fifth in the Republican primary, endorsed Wilson on Tuesday morning.
Wilson will advance to the general election after securing 68.6% of the vote. He has served as Attorney General of South Carolina since 2010 where he has worked to crack down on violent crime in the state, launching the Violent Crimes Case Reduction Unit and hiring additional prosecutors and victim advocates to fill the state’s backlog. Wilson is also strong supporter of President Trump, defending Trump’s executive orders against legal challenges. In May 2021, he was elected as Chairman of the Republican Attorneys General Association. Prior to his time as attorney general, Wilson served as an Assistant Solicitor and Assistant Attorney General. Wilson’s platform centers conservative values and will prioritize strengthening public safety, making the state affordable again, defending constitutional freedoms, reducing wasteful spending and fraud within the state government, and aligning with the president and an America First Agenda.
Wilson will face Democratic nominee Jemaine Johnson in November’s general election. The Cook Political Report and Sabato’s Crystal Ball label this race as Safe Republican.
Attorney General
South Carolina Senator Stephen Goldfinch Jr. and solicitor David Stumbo competed in the Republican runoff for attorney general.
Stumbo will advance to the general election after securing 55.7% of the vote. Stumbo is currently serving his fourth term as Solicitor for the Eighth Judicial Circuit of South Carolina. Prior to being elected, he served as supervising prosecutor for the Statewide Grand Jury and Criminal Prosecution Divisions in the Attorney General’s Office. His campaign centers strengthening community safety, supporting law enforcement, defending constitutional rights, and protecting religious freedom.
Stumbo will face Democratic nominee Richard Hricik in the November general election.
Utah
Legislature
Senate President J. Stuart Adams (R) lost his primary yesterday despite significantly outspending his opponent, Stephanie Hollist. Adams has served in the legislature for two decades and as Senate President since 2019 and rarely drew a serious primary opponent prior to this year. Community disapproval of Adams deepened due to his role in approving a data center project in Box Elder County. Backlash over the potential impacts of the data center on the community was likely a significant driver in ousting the long-time leader from his seat.