MADISON, Wis. (AP) – A fiery Donald Trump loyalist and a one-time Trump skeptic seized Republican nominations for governor in two states Tuesday, while Vermont Democrats picked the nation’s first transgender nominee for governor to represent them in November.
The results came as voters across four states cast ballots and the 2018 midterm season lurched toward its finale.
Trump renewed his grip on the modern-day GOP as his pick for Kansas governor, Secretary of State Kris Kobach, scored a delayed victory against Gov. Jeff Colyer, who became the first incumbent governor to be defeated this season. Elsewhere in the Midwest, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker won the right to seek a third term, while former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty was fighting to resurrect his political career and prove he fits in Trump’s GOP.
Both Walker and Pawlenty criticized Trump before he became president, but they have since rallied behind him.
Meanwhile, accusations of domestic violence involving the Democratic National Committee’s second-in-command threatened to undermine Democratic enthusiasm, particularly in Minnesota, a state where women dominated on Tuesday.