Takeaways: Election denier wins, bad behavior dooms Cawthorn

doug mastriano
State Sen. Doug Mastriano, R-Franklin, a Republican candidate for Pennsylvania governor, gestures as he speaks at a primary night election gathering in Chambersburg, Pa., Tuesday, May 17, 2022, with his wife, Rebbeca. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Former President Donald Trump’s support was enough to elevate his Senate candidate to victory in North Carolina on Tuesday, while his pick in Pennsylvania remained in a tough fight in that state’s Senate primary.

In a key congressional race, a Republican congressman’s bad behavior finally caught up with him.

And in the Pennsylvania governor’s race, a Trump-backed candidate who has spread lies about the 2020 vote count won the GOP nomination, putting an election denier within striking distance of running a presidential battleground state in 2024. But in Idaho, with incumbency on his side, the sitting governor weathered a primary challenge from his far-right lieutenant governor.