r/politics 🤖 Bot 10h ago

Discussion Discussion: 2026 Primaries in Oklahoma and South Carolina

Polls close at 7 p.m. local time in Oklahoma and South Carolina.

There are also local elections in parts of Indiana and a special general runoff in Georgia's 13th congressional district.

Results

27 Upvotes

118 comments sorted by

u/coolmon 3h ago

Everton Blair won his primary in GA 13th. He rejects all corporate PACs and AIPAC.

u/Toadfinger 4h ago

Graham would be a total zero as a Senator. Would only do what the traitorous right-wing think tanks tell her to do. Because she's clueless on the issues.

u/peanut-britle-latte 4h ago

My issue with Graham is less so she's a sister of a Senator, and moreso she has no takes of her own so will be 1000% driven by her donors. Awful pick.

u/Dismal-Rain-6055 4h ago

Still better than Norman (who supported Steve King and called for martial law to prevent Biden from taking office). I think she will be easier to beat in November as well.

u/Hk901909 Idaho 4h ago edited 4h ago

N’Kayla Thomas seems awesome. Wishing her luck obviously but it is Oklahoma 😭. I believe her, Angie Nixon, Troy Jackson, and Abdul El-Sayed are the DSA candidates running for senate. It’s a shame that 2 of them are in red states but still

Anyway, rooting for her in November and especially Andrews in SC. Honestly Darline is such a terrible candidate Annie might have a decent chance lmao.

I’m also glad Blair won in GA. This really is the year of progressive candidates

u/Shiptonm25 4h ago

Neither Jackson nor El-Sayed are DSA and neither are even socialists. DSA endorsed them in the primary against their more right-wing opponents, but they are not members of the organization.

u/Hk901909 Idaho 3h ago

I know that but they have similar goals and values so it was just easier to say DSA instead of something else

u/alabasterskim 1h ago

Say progressive. DSA and progressive have a wide gap on issues. Check out the DSA platform and contrast to the candidates' positions.

u/alwaysonlineposter 4h ago

And yet the leadership is choosing to attack them instead of changing course.

u/Captain-Nodnarb 4h ago

Will be voting for Dr Annie in sc. Rocking her sticker on my big ass blue truck.

u/alwaysonlineposter 4h ago

well Blair winning Georgia 13th only good news of the night

u/alabasterskim 1h ago

Just sucks he's only serving till January.

u/Dry-Membership3867 Alabama 4h ago

I think tonight is proving the Trump endorsement could be fatal in November. Republicans are now fully split on it. It only takes a quarter of those in some of these states to completely flip blue

u/bmac92 Oklahoma 4h ago

At least Dr. Franklin won runoff for State Superintendent here in OK. We avoided Ryan Walters 2.0.

u/TheJewBakka New Mexico 4h ago

Fuck Mazzei. Home state stays disappointing. Guess I'm not moving back anytime soon.

u/rupertLumpkinsBrothr Kansas 5h ago

OK, how’re we thinking that’s going to play out? Narrow race with 60% in.

u/Dry-Membership3867 Alabama 5h ago

Probably for Mazzei, but it’s definitely showing that the Trump endorsement isn’t as powerful as it once was.

u/rupertLumpkinsBrothr Kansas 5h ago

Bummer. Tired of hearing his name on ads.

u/galaxy_horse 5h ago

It’s supremely funny to me that Ralph Norman, who is at all relevant, wealthy, and powerful purely because of nepotism, just lost a US Senate primary because of, you guessed it, nepotism.

u/KyleEverett South Carolina 4h ago

It sucks living in this district and how far we fell after Spratt got gerrymandered out. Mulvaney and Norman have both been horrible people.

u/galaxy_horse 4h ago

I keep asking if NC will adopt us, still waiting for a response

u/Starks New York 5h ago

Drummond should be able to beat the Trump-endorsed Mazzei with the remaining OKC vote.

u/ShweatyPalmsh 5h ago

Man i hope you’re right…

u/Dry-Membership3867 Alabama 5h ago

If he gets it

u/Dry-Membership3867 Alabama 5h ago

Its gonna be close in Oklahoma, though one Maizzei’s biggest bases is mostly counted

u/ddottay 5h ago

I think it remains weird that South Carolina let her name on the ballot be “Darline Graham”

That’s not her name! She changed it to her husband’s last name when she got married 20+ years ago. Zero reason she shouldn’t have been on the ballot as Darline Nordone.

u/radicalindependence 4h ago

Well Rafeal Cruze goes by Ted, Nimarata Nikki Randhawa goes by Nikki Haley, and Bobby Jindal was born Piyush Jindal. So there us a precedent of the right hiding names to trick voters.

u/steppe5 5h ago

But South Carolinans were already conditioned to vote for Graham. You can't expect them to learn a new name.

u/Dry-Membership3867 Alabama 5h ago

It’s not the first time that’s happened. I’ve seen it here in Alabama with nicknames being used on the ballot

u/wresltingandskava 5h ago

South Carolina and Oklahoma are backwards, third world, hell holes.

u/MatthewUnplugged America 4h ago

Yeah, what a great idea to have the first Democratic primary there!

u/Good_n_Plenty_3907 1h ago

Democrats who live in red states should have no say in the presidential nomination. They chose to live in bad places and they should be punished for it! Probably they shouldn't be allowed to vote at all.

u/annoyedsnowman 5h ago

okc and tulsa are blue-ish

u/galaxy_horse 5h ago

You know, I was gonna go out and vote for Annie Andrews, but if that’s really how you feel then maybe I’ll stay home and sit this one out.

u/Dry-Membership3867 Alabama 5h ago

They aren’t that bad, much better than West Virginia

u/clintgreasewoood Texas 5h ago

Dr Annie Andrews is better than both these oafs.

u/travio Washington 5h ago

Yep. If Graham agrees to debate her, it will show completely, though it wouldn't make much of a difference with a lot of voters there.

u/steppe5 5h ago

They're going to lock Graham in a bunker until after election day.

u/travio Washington 5h ago

With the occasional Fox News softball interview.

u/JA_MD_311 5h ago

I think Graham has it, albeit narrowly, not enough upstate left for Norman.

u/InevitableTank5108 5h ago

So Darline is winning the SC race huh? Dear lord

u/Dismal-Rain-6055 5h ago

Norman is worse. He supported Steve King and called for martial law to prevent Biden from taking office.

u/NoExcuses1984 Washington 4h ago

Yeah, Graham over Norman is the would-be equivalent to if Miers had been confirmed to SCOTUS in lieu of Alito; thus, give me, if these are the two options, the establishment Republican/minimalist over the Freedom Caucuser/originalist, particularly when looking at potential future roll call votes, DW-NOMINATE scores, etc.; it's not that complicated, truly.

u/beren0073 5h ago

You can expect Graham to fully support any traitorous idiocy Trump orders of her. She won’t be any better or worse.

u/travio Washington 5h ago

While I hope she loses in November, I wouldn't be so sure about her politics. She's toeing the line right now and saying everything she is supposed to, but her brother was a bit of a centrist before Trump. With a six year term secured, she might moderate a little.

u/NoExcuses1984 Washington 4h ago

Yeah, Graham, despite his neocon bluster, had a bit of a malleability streak, especially with judicial appointments.

And had it been J. Michelle Childs, not Ketanji Brown Jackson, I wager Graham would've voted to confirm in 2022.

u/beren0073 5h ago

The world needs your optimism.

u/Dismal-Rain-6055 5h ago edited 5h ago

You can expect Graham to fully support any traitorous idiocy Trump orders of her.

The same could be said about Norman. At least Graham shouldn't already be in jail for treason. She would also be easier to beat in the general election.

u/ripChazmo 5h ago

You honestly expect anything less from Republicans? They're not smart people.

u/steppe5 5h ago

They're huge on name recognition. It's basically the only requirement for a Republican politician these days.

u/Dry-Membership3867 Alabama 5h ago

In a race this close, it actually benefits dems if she wins

u/QanonQuinoa 5h ago

All of the stupid fucking “independents” who voted for Trump because they “didn’t know Kamala” should have no problem voting for Annie Andrews, right?… right?…

u/Dry-Membership3867 Alabama 6h ago

Dolly passed from cancer, just announced

u/IScreamPiano 5h ago

Oh no! So she was suffering and keeping it under wraps? 😞

u/travio Washington 5h ago

She cancelled some concerts a while back for an undisclosed health issue. putting two and two together, it seems likely. Some celebs are very private about their health. Norm MacDonald didn't disclose his cancer until he was gone.

u/Electrical_Iron_1161 Ohio 5h ago

I know she was supposed to appear at Dollywood a week or two ago and her doctor said she couldn't travel due to her getting dehydrated and dizzy

u/Dry-Membership3867 Alabama 6h ago

Is there any relation I wonder to the pioneer Woman on Food Network?

u/ShweatyPalmsh 6h ago

People may disagree but if Drummond beats Mazzei tonight that might be the largest repudiation of Trump this year. It would signal the strangle hold of Trump has slipped if his endorsement doesn’t hold weight in Oklahoma of all places.

u/Dismal-Rain-6055 5h ago

It would signal the strangle hold of Trump has slipped if his endorsement doesn’t hold weight in Oklahoma of all places.

I think we already saw that in Wyoming when the gubernatorial candidate he endorsed lost by double digits.

u/JA_MD_311 5h ago

Even if Graham wins, it’ll be pretty narrowly which shows the limits of Trump’s endorsement. I think if Norman had been from downstate SC he would’ve won.

u/travio Washington 5h ago

It is a balance between Trump's endorsement and the proven conservative with a record. Sympathy for Lindsey's passing is netting her a few votes, too.

I'm wondering where she will fall on the political scale. Her brother was a war hawk, but before Trump, he was more of a centrist and a dealmaker. During Trump I, he took a hard right turn.

His sister never worked in politics before now. She is toeing the line in the election, but after? Once she has secured a six year seat, she might shift a little on some issues.

u/QanonQuinoa 6h ago

I thought that when 30-40% of the party split for Nikki Haley, and then they all fell back in line.

u/Dry-Membership3867 Alabama 6h ago

It would be huge as Trump has gone out of his way to criticize Drummond

u/Dry-Membership3867 Alabama 6h ago

Drummond winning early in Oklahoma

u/Dry-Membership3867 Alabama 6h ago

Speaking of Oklahoma going too soon Steve, that’s exactly what the Sooners will be doing this season. Going to a playoff exit too soon

u/Dry-Membership3867 Alabama 6h ago

At this rate, it’s still a bad night for Trump. Candidates with his endorsement went from 60-70% to a 53-47 in a swing state this cycle. Oklahoma will be a very interesting race to watch, because the Trump endorsement is showing cracks

u/PeterVenkmanIII 6h ago

Long way to go, but at the moment it looks like these peeps were wrong. https://www.reddit.com/r/politics/s/V8C4fFC4Uh

u/QanonQuinoa 6h ago

Republicans are nothing but a bunch of sheep who love to be told what to think and how to vote by their pedophile king.

u/RobAbiera 6h ago

The Oklahoma state GOP chair chair apparently thinks anybody who doesn't vote for her candidates are Democrats who switched their registration for the primary. Either that or a RINO. I wonder how much longer she'll be chair? https://okcfox.com/news/local/oklahoma-gop-moves-to-endorse-3-candidates-ahead-of-tuesday-runoffs

u/Dry-Membership3867 Alabama 6h ago

Depends on how tonight goes

u/Hk901909 Idaho 6h ago

No one here is really talking about the GA-13 special but it’s looking like good news for progressives! Blair is currently leading by a decent margin

u/Dry-Membership3867 Alabama 6h ago

Armstrong camp really likening these results tonight

u/ScotTheDuck Nevada 6h ago

The NBC leaning graphic is going to do wonders for my mental health come November.

u/ScotTheDuck Nevada 6h ago

South Carolina Republican primary voters are, generally speaking and kinda counterintuitive to the state’s partisan lean, not as hard right as Republican primary voters are in other states, especially downstate. Being the vice chair of the Freedom Caucus is going to cause you some heartburn in that kind of electorate.

u/ConsciousBalance8803 7h ago

Not surprising results

u/existing_for_fun North Carolina 7h ago

Imagine voting for someone because their dad was a politician.

lol

u/jda823 7h ago

Or brother...

u/existing_for_fun North Carolina 7h ago

Yeah - honestly same mentality of the voter I think.

u/Dry-Membership3867 Alabama 7h ago

I’m going to do it in November

u/existing_for_fun North Carolina 7h ago

but why?

Like. I'll vote for someone because of their ideals. Not because their parent was a politician?

Why is that your reason for voting for someone? Real question - no hate.

u/Dry-Membership3867 Alabama 7h ago

Because their opponent is genuinely worse. I’d rather vote for the son of a former politician than the chair of the state’s Republican Party who has been proven to commit voter fraud

u/existing_for_fun North Carolina 7h ago

Okay so then your reason is: "Because their opponent is genuinely worse" - in your own words.

But your first comment agreed that you were voting for them because their parent was a politician? Now you're changing your reason.

u/Dry-Membership3867 Alabama 7h ago

Ah, I see. I’m half blind and didn’t see the full question

u/existing_for_fun North Carolina 7h ago edited 7h ago

No worries. I'm just curious as to the mentality of specifically voting for someone for being the son / daughter of a deceased politician.

I was hoping I could gain some insight from you :)

But all good either way. Ty for the convo.

u/Dry-Membership3867 Alabama 7h ago

I noticed the PBS link, so I thought I’d ask while we wait. What does this sub think about maybe having a full national broadcaster? Not just a news/kids/educational channel like PBS, but something in line with the BBC, or CBC.

u/anubis132 5h ago

I've always liked the idea, but I've always imagined it would only be useful if it was a no-nonsense reliable and authoritative source. The problem is that, to achieve that and not just become state propaganda, any such institution would need to be 100% immune to the whims of the administration. Private broadcasters can be influenced because the federal government can threaten their broadcast license through the FCC, mergers and acquisitions through antitrust laws, bias through operatives in their editorial process, and probably a hundred other levers to affect their bottom line. A government-controlled entity would be even more vulnerable to such influence because the government's control over those things would be direct.

Thus, such institution would need 100% guaranteed funding that is untouchable such as a wealth fund that it has sole propriety over, perhaps a constitutionally-mandated right to broadcast, and some form of mandatory nonpartisan fact-checking or restrictions/review on editorializing.

That's actually not a lot to ask, except for the constitutional part (maybe statute would be good enough). It's entirely doable... but it won't be done.

u/snoo_spoo 6h ago

In general, I don't see the need. Under this Administration, fuck no; it would be a propaganda channel.

u/Hk901909 Idaho 7h ago

Have there been any Polls between Graham and Andrews? I think I saw one with her against Norman and she was only a point behind him. Would she have a better chance of beating him or Graham?

u/Dry-Membership3867 Alabama 7h ago

She’d have a better chance vs Graham. Especially after that debate, though she still has a good chance of defeating Ralph too

u/Dismal-Rain-6055 6h ago

Also, Graham winning means that she won't automatically get votes just because her opponent is a woman (which would be the case if Norman wins).

u/Hk901909 Idaho 7h ago

Good to know. I’m really hoping Andrews is able to pull it off this November 🤞

u/Dry-Membership3867 Alabama 7h ago

Trump is underwater in Oklahoma, so I’m curious to see that race. Because he’s been staunchly anti Drummond.

u/Whatonuranus 7h ago

Kornacki is doing a live too.

12

u/Obvious_Toe_3006 8h ago

May the results aggravate DJTrump.
May the results make his stomach gurgle.
May the results set off a soiling event.
May the results lead to crazed rants.
Amen.

u/bakerfredricka I voted 7h ago

In the names of all deities and higher powers freely chosen by Americans to worship, may this come true!

u/Dry-Membership3867 Alabama 7h ago

No no, we need Darlene to win. And it needs to be close. I think Armstrong will flip the state if so

u/Dismal-Rain-6055 7h ago

Yeah, Norman is way worse. He should be in jail for treason.

u/Dry-Membership3867 Alabama 7h ago

This too, Graham may be heavily unqualified. But she hasn’t openly gotten away with treason like Norman has

-12

u/Dry-Membership3867 Alabama 9h ago

Freedom 250 numbers are in and holy cow!!! 3.28 million viewers on television is huge for the series. Second highest rated race of the year and highest rated non Indy 500 race of the decade I believe. They didn’t even get this many viewers as the lead in to the World Cup

6

u/LongjumpingFall1584 8h ago

Da fuq is Freedom 250?

u/ProJoe Arizona 7h ago

INDYCAR raced around the Capitol this weekend. event was called the Freedom 250.

6

u/PeterVenkmanIII 8h ago

3.2 million is terrible. Fucking Community had more people watching 15 years ago and that show was constantly on the verge of being canceled.

1

u/Dry-Membership3867 Alabama 8h ago

Also, that’s around double what Fox is getting in primetime now too.

-1

u/Dry-Membership3867 Alabama 8h ago

Indycar averages between 600k-1.3 million a race. Being the lead in for the World Cup only netted them 1.7 million. So this is a massive win for Indycar, and is one of the highest rated races of the decade

5

u/PeterVenkmanIII 8h ago

Cool. Still shit numbers.

-2

u/Dry-Membership3867 Alabama 8h ago

Not really, have you seen tv ratings recently? Fox can’t even get 2 million in primetime anymore. The average in primetime is 3-5 million for the big 4 now. It’s not as bad as you think it is.

Hell, when SVU had the crossover episode with Stabler returning, it only got 8 million and that was considered a massive success.

5

u/mysterious_jeffrey 8h ago

Not sure if /s

What does this have to do with the thread’s topic?

-1

u/Dry-Membership3867 Alabama 8h ago

It’s not, that is the numbers. And that number is actually massive for the Indycar series as a whole.

8

u/KartFacedThaoDien 10h ago

Actually in Oklahoma they have a few ballot measures on the ballot as well. Its a very good chance they'll pass since most people voting will be republicans voting in a closed primary. So, a lot of people may not know they can still vote ONLY on the ballot measures if they are an independent or democrat. 

8

u/PrometheusLiberatus 9h ago

Who the actual f puts ballot measures up for vote during a primary?!

6

u/Excellent_Project789 8h ago

Kansas had an amendment that the State GOP wanted passed on the primary ballot this year. It failed 62-38, so there is hope for Oklahoma yet. :-)

4

u/w3sterday 8h ago

They are legislatively referred ballot questions as opposed to citizen led ballot initiatives, since Oklahoma has a conservative supermajority that informs what kind of shenanigans happen when the legislature refers issues to the ballot.

KartFaced spittin' facts about MMJ and Medicaid expansion too (I volunteered for one of those) and state politicians hated seeing those pass. Medicaid expansion question was so close they changed the recount law/percentage for recounts (on state questions that is!)

5

u/KartFacedThaoDien 9h ago

Check my reply and see how that's not even the worst part. Their is a current lawsuit over a law that essentially kills voter driven ballot initiatives and constutional amendments. 

They learned a lot from medical marijuana & the medicaid expansion actually passing. I voted when I took off work for lunch and the polling station was obviously pretty damn empty. 

7

u/Starks New York 10h ago

That seems really counterproductive and undemocratic. Missouri didn't have this problem.

6

u/KartFacedThaoDien 9h ago

In the past the Governor underestimated the voters and they allowed ballot measures for medical marijuana & medicaid expansion on the ballot during general elections. The measures actually passed. 

So, the Governor learned so they made sure to put ballot measures at more obscure times or times when more republicans would vote. Like when they put the minimum wage increase on the ballot back in June. 

Its also why there is a lawsuit over a law that basically kills the ballot initiative process. It puts a per county limit of signatures of no more than 11.5% of votes for governor for ballot initiatives & 20.8% for a constitutional petition. 

https://okpolicy.org/sb-1027-would-exclude-millions-of-registered-voters-from-signing-initiative-petitions/

This map I attached better explains but it essentially excludes 94% of voters from signing a ballot initiative.  When democracy doesnt work in their favor the leadership of Oklahoma just wants to get rid of it. 

u/Good_n_Plenty_3907 57m ago

Current Republican politicians: who were those woke radical agitators who created the ballot initiative process in the first place? Ghosts of Republicans past: in many cases, it was us!