Voters head to polls in 6 states for key primaries as governors' races, open Senate seat draw focus

The Department of Justice (DOJ) announced it is monitoring polling sites in two Minnesota counties during Tuesday’s primary election as part of an effort to "ensure transparency, ballot security, and compliance with federal law."

About 20 staff members from the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division and the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Minnesota are monitoring polls in Hennepin and Ramsey counties, according to a DOJ news release.

“Minnesota is DOJ’s next stop on its nationwide effort to ensure free and fair elections,” Harmeet K. Dhillon, assistant attorney general for the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division, said in a statement. “The DOJ is committed to nondiscriminatory monitoring throughout the primary and general election seasons.”

A socialist candidate for governor in Wisconsin with an extensive history of inflammatory online posts once described America as "an abundance of suffering," Fox News Digital has found.

"I want this country to stop being an abundance of suffering but a wealth of opportunity," reads a Jan. 20, 2022 X post from Wisconsin state Rep. Francesca Hong, who is running in the Democratic Party's primary election to become the state's top official.

"We can do this by providing equal rights to Black and Brown folks," the post continues. "Elect more Black and Brown folks who won't be racist obstructionists. We can all be better and do so much more."

This isn't the first time the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) candidate has faced scrutiny for past comments on social media that are especially critical of America and its institutions and ideals.

This is an excerpt from an article by Fox News Digital's Peter D'Abrosca.

Voters in Tega Cay, South Carolina, are weighing experience, name recognition and President Trump’s endorsement in Tuesday’s special Republican Senate primary.

Ten Republicans are competing to become the party’s nominee for the seat held by the late Sen. Lindsey Graham, according to The Associated Press.

Some voters said the crowded race could head to a runoff, while one questioned Darline Graham’s lack of political experience.

Gary Shive, a Trump supporter who voted for Ralph Norman, told Fox News he was frustrated by Trump’s endorsement of Graham.

"I don't like the way that she immediately got an endorsement from President Trump. I mean I've been a President Trump supporter. But the fact that he immediately came and basically endorsed her without any — there's no background, no experience," Shive said.

Another voter pointed to Graham’s family name as an advantage.

"I mean she has a real shot at it, obviously a Graham legacy," Paul Loucas said. "I think Ralph Norman is a strong contender as well."

Fox News' Chelsea Torres and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren is urging Minnesotans to “go vote" while making an Election Day push for Peggy Flanagan in Minnesota’s Democratic U.S. Senate primary.

In a video shared to X on Tuesday, Warren called Flanagan "the fighter we need in Washington."

"Please, if you haven't already voted, go vote," Warren said. "Vote for Peggy Flanagan for the United States Senate. If you already voted, get some more people to vote. Today is really important." 

Sen. Bernie Sanders is urging Minnesota voters to support Peggy Flanagan in Tuesday’s Democratic U.S. Senate primary, while taking aim at what he called “dark money” spending in the race.

"MINNESOTA: Today is Election Day," Sanders wrote on X. "Dark money groups are spending $20 million to defeat Peggy Flanagan in the most expensive primary election in MN history."

He added, "This election is about the people vs. the money. I encourage all Minnesotans to support Peggy Flanagan for U.S. Senate."

David Axelrod, one of the architects behind President Barack Obama’s presidential campaigns, believes other progressives might stand a better chance of getting elected if, in his view, one of their more unserious candidates loses an upcoming primary.

"It would be good for Abdul El-Sayed if Francesca Hong loses her bid to become the Democratic nominee in Wisconsin next week," Axelrod wrote in a post to X.

"He is a serious person. She is a font of zany liberal, faculty lounge exotica. But the [Republicans] … would surely try to link Abdul and Hong as philosophical kin."

Axelrod’s comments seem to indicate that despite their recent success in the 2026 midterms, not all progressives are viewed equally across the party — that some of them are seen as political liabilities even among themselves.

"This tweet is a perfect example of why the consultant class keeps losing elections. They're totally clueless, and they're hellbent on keeping working-class people out of politics," Hong wrote about Axelrod's X post. "I've spent more time in kitchens than faculty lounges. Perhaps you'd like to come to Wisconsin and work a Friday night dinner rush with me?"

This is an excerpt from an article by Fox News Digital's Leo Briceno.

Michele Tafoya, who spent decades as a sports broadcaster, told Fox News Digital she jumped into the Republican Senate primary in Minnesota to offer voters a change from the status quo.

In an interview after casting her ballot Tuesday, Tafoya said Minnesotans "are ready" to elect a GOP senator for the first time since 2002 because there's been a "crisis of leadership."

"We've seen what career politicians have done in this state. They've brought us to a place of national embarrassment and this state is ready for change," she said. "We're going to bring it to them. We have the courage to do that. We have the common sense to do that."

Tafoya also discussed fraud cases involving Minnesota state programs, saying the issue is top of mind for voters.

"I know it plays on their minds every single day, not only the fact that they were stolen from but the fact that no one has really been held accountable in the government. No one has been fired, no one has stepped down, so people are wanting accountability and that's what we're promising. People are ready for that."

Tafoya is facing off against eight other candidates in the GOP primary, including former Navy SEAL Adam Schwarze, who has the Minnesota GOP’s endorsement; and former professional basketball player Royce White.

Fox News Digital's Andrew Mark Miller contributed to this report

Local election officials in Minnesota have accepted 206,196 absentee and mail ballots ahead of Tuesday’s primary, a record for a non-presidential election year, according to the Minnesota secretary of state’s office.

Of the ballots cast early, 99,053 were returned by mail and 107,143 ballots were submitted in-person, the secretary of state's office said.

As of Monday, about 213,000 ballots had not been returned. The deadline for them to be returned is 5 p.m. on Tuesday.

Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., who is running for Minnesota governor, is focusing part of her campaign platform on rooting out fraud in the state government.

Klobuchar has previously said she would govern differently from Tim Walz, who became a central target of Republican criticism over fraud after the Feeding Our Future scandal and other cases involving alleged misuse of public funds in Minnesota.

"You are right to be angry about the fraud. It is unacceptable and it must end," Klobuchar said in a speech in May. "On day one, I will begin a top to bottom audit of our state government. That audit will look at state agencies to look at waste, fraud and abuse."

According to her platform, Klobuchar will also establish a "Do Not Pay" database that will "automatically block any individual or contractor convicted of fraud" from receiving grant payments or government contract dollars.

She also committed to increasing the regularity of unannounced inspections of providers who are receiving state funds.

Modernizing the technology the state government uses to catch fraud is another priority of hers.

Klobuchar, who is leaving the U.S. Senate to seek the governor's mansion, is seen as the favorite to win the Democratic primary and would likely face the winner of a five-way Republican primary.

The GOP field includes MyPillow founder Mike Lindell, who has President Donald Trump’s endorsement, state House Speaker Lisa Demuth and former healthcare executive Kendall Qualls.

Sen. Darline Graham, R-S.C., addressed reporters outside her local polling place after voting Tuesday morning, telling them she plans to tackle affordability if she is elected to the U.S. Senate.

In response to a question about what issue she is passionate about outside the agendas held by President Donald Trump and her late brother, Graham said she viewed the rising cost of health care as "extremely important."

"I will work with anybody to get things passed for South Carolina to help South Carolinians. I will not compromise my conservative values," she said.

She also batted away a question from a reporter about the Senate seat supposedly being "handed" to her. Graham was chosen to finish out the remainder of her brother's term by South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster, a Republican.

"I don't see it that way. I'm not being handed this seat. I realize that I have to earn voters, so I'm working really hard to do that. Like I said, I want to spend the next two weeks getting out to as many places as I can," Graham said.

Throughout her brief remarks, Graham made it clear that she believes there will be a runoff on Aug. 25 and that she will be one of the candidates who advance.

She also addressed the fact that it has been a month since the death of Lindsey Graham, who had served in the Senate since 2003.

"It was a little different seeing my name on the ballot. And it's a really special day. Y'all know that unfortunately, today's the 11th. It's been one month since Lindsey's passing, so it's an emotional day, but yet an exciting day," she said.

"My daughter, this is her first time voting," Graham said as she gestured over to her daughter, who was standing near her at the podium. "Her first time voting she gets to vote for her mother."

Among Tuesday’s marquee races is the special election for the U.S. Senate in South Carolina, a contest to fill the seat of the late Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham.

Exactly a month after Lindsey Graham's death from an aortic dissection on July 11, the crowded field of 10 candidates will compete for the Republican nomination for a six-year term in the Senate.

Sen. Darline Graham, the late senator’s sister, announced her candidacy on July 20, one week after taking over her brother’s seat for the remainder of his term.

After winning President Donald Trump's endorsement, Graham has sought to establish herself as aligned with the administration on key priorities, including passing the SAVE Act.

Multiple candidates in the race, including Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C., have said they are open to eliminating the Senate filibuster, a move that could make it easier to advance more of Trump’s agenda. Critics have said this would carry political and institutional risks.

Because of the large number of candidates, it is possible that no one receives an outright majority, which would trigger a runoff between the top two vote-getters on Aug. 25.

On Aug. 8, nine of the ten candidates participated in the final stump event for the election in Florence County, where they explained their policies and priorities to voters.

Alabama is holding an unusual special primary election Tuesday in four congressional districts that were substantially redrawn after the Supreme Court’s landmark April ruling weakened key provisions of the Voting Rights Act.

The U.S. House primaries in the 1st, 2nd, 6th and 7th districts were postponed from Alabama’s regular May primary after the justices cleared the way for the state to use a Republican-drawn congressional map for the 2026 elections.

Republican Gov. Kay Ivey postponed the primaries for those districts because the Republican-drawn map, proposed by state lawmakers in 2023, changed their boundaries too close to Election Day.

In the 2nd District, where Democratic U.S. Rep. Shomari Figures is running for a second term, the Black population will be reduced from half the population to 40% under the new lines.

In the 7th District, where Democratic U.S. Rep. Terri Sewell is running for a ninth term, the Black population will continue to be in the slight majority.

Alabama's U.S. House members will serve their current districts through the end of 2026. Candidates in Tuesday's primaries are running to represent the newly drawn districts, which take effect in January 2027.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Minnesota GOP state Rep. Kristin Robbins told Fox News Digital in an interview ahead of the state's Tuesday primary elections that a Republican victory statewide is what's needed to prevent the adoption of DSA-style policies.

She said voters know "that if [Democrats] are given another shot at the governor's office and at the legislature they will finish implementing all the DSA policies they didn't get done the last time they had the trifecta. They want Republican control to be the backstop here in Minnesota on socialism."

Robbins pointed to a Democratic proposal this year to add a fifth tier to Minnesota's four-tier income tax structure. If it had passed, it would have imposed a 10.85% tax rate on income above $1 million for married couples filing jointly and above $600,000 for single filers.

Robbins characterized this as "the first wealth tax in the nation" and said it was a ploy to "solve the deficit that Tim Walz created."

"Our senate is Democrat by one vote and our house is tied. We are the definition of a purple state," Robbins said. "We absolutely can get control of the governor's office and flip the legislature because Minnesotans are fed up."

Robbins said that although DSA ideas are not catching on with the people she talks to in the suburbs of Minnesota, urban areas are more open to them.

"In the urban core where the socialists, the DSA has a foothold, that is what they want. They talk openly about no borders, no incarceration, closing down the prisons," she said. "That's...a message that's not resonating well across the state."

Fox News Digital's Andrew Miller contributed to this report.

MADISON, Wis. – Supporters of Democratic candidate for Wisconsin governor Francesca Hong expressed confidence ahead of Tuesday that the far-left progressive and member of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) can win the Democratic gubernatorial primary on a platform centered on economic relief.

"She's speaking to working-class issues. Everybody's struggling right now. The price of gas is insane. Trying to pay for your groceries is insane, trying to pay your rent is insane," campaign canvasser Josiah Wampfler told Fox News Digital at Hong’s campaign headquarters in Madison. "We're all struggling, and she's presenting solutions to bring down prices and to have improved government programs."

The affordability crisis has plagued many Americans amid rising costs of groceries, housing and healthcare. The House passed legislation — showing a rare display of bipartisanship earlier this year with a 390-9 vote — to deliver policies aimed at growing the supply of affordable housing in the U.S.

Francesca Hong, who is running to be to be the next governor of Wisconsin, suggested to reporters Tuesday that the party needs to coalesce around whoever emerges as the winner of the Democratic primary tonight.

"We need a united party. We are ready to unite not just the party, but working class people all across the state to defeat Tom Tiffany in November," Hong said during a press gaggle. "The Democratic Party, we are a big-tent party, and there's always room for better policies and always room for more people."

U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany, R-Wisc., is considered the favorite to win the Republican gubernatorial primary after receiving President Donald Trump's endorsement in January.

Hong, a Democratic Socialists of America member and a current state representative, slammed Tiffany for being an "election denier," among other things.

"What's extreme is that he has voted to help raise gas prices and make life harder for Wisconsinites," she said about Tiffany.

Hong's main proposals include guaranteed paid leave, boosting the state's minimum wage from $7.25 to $20 per hour, and a one-year moratorium in Wisconsin on building AI data centers.

"I think our policies are ones that are the solutions to deliver for working class people. Permanent affordability so we don't come back to moments like these," she said Tuesday.

She has faced scrutiny over years-old social media posts calling for defunding and abolishing the police, ideas she now says she does not support.

Fox News' Paul Steinhauser contributed to this report.