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Takeaways from primaries in Maryland, West Virginia and Nebraska | CNN Politics

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Takeaways from primaries in Maryland, West Virginia and Nebraska | CNN Politics




CNN
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The matchups are set for two key races in this fall’s battle for control of the narrowly divided Senate after Tuesday primaries in which two Republican governors — one former, one sitting — advanced, and a Democratic county executive beat a congressman who pumped tens of milions of his own dollars into his campaign.

In Maryland, popular moderate former Gov. Larry Hogan won the Republican primary. Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks defeated Rep. David Trone, who loaned his campaign at least $62 million, in a hard-fought and expensive Democratic primary.

And in West Virginia — where Sen. Joe Manchin’s retirement has handed Republicans a critical pick-up opportunity — Gov. Jim Justice easily won the GOP primary, setting the stage for a November matchup with the Democratic nominee, Wheeling Mayor Glenn Elliott, in which Justice will be heavily favored. Elliott is endorsed by Manchin, making the prospect of a late independent entry in a bid to keep his seat unlikely.

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Meanwhile, two moderate House Republicans fended off conservative challengers, and West Virginia Republicans chose their nominee to replace Justice in the governor’s office.

And while Tuesday’s contests took place in states that aren’t competitive in presidential elections — except Nebraska’s 2nd congressional district, because the state awards its electoral college votes partially to the winners of each district — it offered a glimpse at a recurring theme: signs that some Republican voters are still voting against Trump. In deep-red Nebraska, with 38% of the expected vote counted, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley had more than 20% of the vote. She was near 20% in Maryland, too, with 65% of the estimated vote counted.

Here are five takeaways from Tuesday’s primaries in Maryland, Nebraska and West Virginia:

Tron’s millions couldn’t stop Alsobrooks in Maryland

Trone’s money bomb failed to detonate in Maryland on Tuesday, as the third-term House Democrat lost the party’s Senate primary to Alsobrooks.

Alsobrooks, who could become only the third Black woman elected to the US Senate and the first Black senator from Maryland, will face off with popular former Gov. Larry Hogan, a Republican, in November for a seat that Democrats cannot afford to lose as they battle to keep control of the chamber.

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Trone not only spent tens of millions of his own cash, but pledged to do more of the same if he was nominated. Alas, he was not. Alsobrooks should not hurt for funds, though, with an array of outside groups poised to jump into the race for a seat Democrats have held since 1977, when Paul Sarbanes began his three-decade Senate career.

But Hogan, who has occasionally been critical of former President Donald Trump, could complicate matters. Getting him into the race was seen as a coup for the Senate GOP’s campaign arm, and, at the very least, his name on the ballot means Democrats will have to invest considerable sums in the race.

Republicans are well-positioned to flip party control of the West Virginia Senate seat held by retiring Democrat Joe Manchin.

Justice, a two-term governor, coasted to victory in Tuesday’s GOP primary against a field that included US Rep. Alex Mooney, a member of the hard-line House Freedom Caucus. He’ll face Elliott, the winner of a three-way Democratic primary, in November. While Manchin reportedly may have considered an independent bid had former coal executive Don Blankenship won the Democratic primary, that idea is all but gone with his endorsed candidate moving on to November.

Justice, the 73-year-old owner of the Greenbrier resort who turned a coal mining business he inherited into a sprawling empire, was elected governor in 2016 as a Democrat but switched his party affiliation early in his first term — a move he announced at an August 2017 rally with Trump.

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Though Justice won as a Democrat in 2016 and Manchin was reelected in 2018, West Virginia is now a heavily Republican state — Trump took more than 68% of the vote there in both the 2016 and 2020 presidential elections, and Manchin is the lone remaining Democrat to hold nonjudicial statewide office.

AIPAC gets a big win in deep blue Maryland

Maryland state Sen. Sarah Elfreth didn’t enjoy much name recognition outside the district she is now poised to represent in Congress next year, but that low national profile might have helped her chances in deep blue suburban Baltimore.

Elfreth emerged from a field of more than 20 primary candidates by stressing her local connections and, as the campaign got tight, her top rival’s lack thereof. Former police officer Harry Dunn, who defended the US Capitol against pro-Trump insurrectionists on January 6, 2021, was the preferred candidate of several Democratic bigwigs, but Elfreth – with a major boost from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee’s super PAC, United Democracy Project – is projected by CNN to have comfortably won the nomination.

In addition to UDP, which spent $3.6 million on advertising alone, Elfreth also had strong support from organized labor, including the powerful Maryland State Education Association, and from retiring Sen. Ben Cardin, former Sen. Barbara Mikulski and an impressive slate of state and local lawmakers.

What’s less clear is why AIPAC decided to spend so big in the district, especially since there wasn’t much daylight between Elfreth and Dunn, who was widely regarded as her top rival. The impetus might have been the candidacy of labor lawyer John Morse, who was endorsed by Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, but Morse was long since left behind by the frontrunners.

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It was a good night for the more moderate House Republican incumbents.

In Nebraska’s 2nd District, a competitive Omaha-based district, Rep. Don Bacon defeated conservative challenger Dan Frei, who was endorsed by Rep. Bob Good, the chairman of the hard-line House Freedom Caucus. Bacon is now headed for a rematch with Democratic state lawmaker Tony Vargas in November.

US Rep. Carol Miller, a member of the center-right Main Street Caucus, fended off a challenge from Derrick Evans, a former state lawmaker who served three months in prison after filming himself behind police lines and in the US Capitol on January 6, 2021.

With Justice term-limited out of the office, the GOP primary drew a host of well-connected Republicans vying to replace him in the governor’s mansion.

Attorney General Patrick Morrisey won a race that also featured Moore Capito, the son of Republican Sen. Shelley Moore Capito; Secretary of State Mac Warner; and Chris Miller, the son of Carol Miller, the congresswoman.

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The primary was a nasty one. It featured a political action committee supporting Morrisey airing television spots taking aim at transgender people and describing Miller and Capito as allies of LGBT people. A pro-Capito group similarly aired ads comparing Morrisey to a pig and criticizing “the woke sex change industry.”

Morrisey will face Democratic Huntington Mayor Steve Williams in the general election.



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West Virginia

West Virginia just hit a solar milestone but there’s a major catch

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West Virginia just hit a solar milestone but there’s a major catch


The third of a quintet of West Virginia solar farms just came online, and while that’s a renewable milestone, there’s a disappointing hitch.

3 out of 5 West Virginia solar farms are online

FirstEnergy subsidiaries Mon Power and Potomac Edison have launched a 5.75 megawatt (MW), 17,000-panel solar farm at Marlowe in Berkeley County. The new solar farm sits on about 36 acres of land along I-81 and the Potomac River – land that used to store ash from the retired R. Paul Smith Power Station.

In 2022, FirstEnergy wrapped up a major cleanup effort, pulling more than 3 million tons of ash from the site to be reused in cement manufacturing. With the landfill officially closed, the company cleared the way to turn the former waste site into a clean energy generator as part of its solar program. Fifty-four local union workers constructed the solar farm, which features US-made solar panels, a racking system, and electrical equipment.

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It’s the third of Mon Power and Potomac Edison’s five solar farms that will generate up to 50 MW of clean energy combined. The companies completed their first solar farm at Fort Martin Power Station (18.9 MW) in early 2024, and their Rivesville solar site (5.5 MW) came online last fall. In total, the companies now have 30 MW of solar capacity.

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Electrek’s Take

Combined, the five projects will create more than 87,000 Solar Renewable Energy Credits (SRECs) available for purchase by customers for 4 cents per kilowatt hour in addition to normal rates. Aside from the essential benefit of cutting carbon emissions, there isn’t anything else in it for customers, apart from spending, on average, an extra $40 or so a month out of the goodness of your heart to go solar. Heck, you don’t even get a T-shirt.

Mon Power and Potomac Edison – why are customers being charged MORE to buy into solar in West Virginia? That’s a stick, not a carrot. (And WV? Coal’s not coming back. It doesn’t matter what Trump says.)

But solar growth anywhere is something to be cheerful about, and solar energy in coal-state West Virginia is progressing. According to the Solar Energy Industries Association, as of Q4 2024, 205 MW of solar is installed in West Virginia. So, it’s no surprise that it’s at the bottom – it’s ranked 49th in the US for the amount of solar installed. However, it’s projected to reach 40th place over the next five years with 1,064 MW, so at least it’s expected to improve.

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To limit power outages and make your home more resilient, consider going solar with a battery storage system. In order to find a trusted, reliable solar installer near you that offers competitive pricing, check out EnergySage, a free service that makes it easy for you to go solar. They have hundreds of pre-vetted solar installers competing for your business, ensuring you get high-quality solutions and save 20-30% compared to going it alone. Plus, it’s free to use and you won’t get sales calls until you select an installer and you share your phone number with them.

Your personalized solar quotes are easy to compare online and you’ll get access to unbiased Energy Advisers to help you every step of the way. Get started here. –trusted affiliate link*

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West Virginia

Mountaineers bound for Baton Rouge after LSU closes out regional with win over Little Rock – WV MetroNews

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Mountaineers bound for Baton Rouge after LSU closes out regional with win over Little Rock – WV MetroNews


No. 6 LSU rallied from a four-run deficit to finally push past Little Rock in the decisive game of the Baton Rouge Regional, 10-6. The Tigers (46-15) will host West Virginia (44-14) in the Super Regional round of the NCAA Tournament. The best-of-three series will begin Friday or Saturday.

Ethan Frey hits a 3-run double as The LSU Tigers take on Little Rock in game 7 of the 2025 NCAA Div 1 Regional Baseball Championship at Alex Box Stadium in Baton Rouge, LA. Monday, June 2, 2025.
© SCOTT CLAUSE / USATODAY Network / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images/The Daily Advertiser

West Virginia closed out the Clemson Regional with a 13-12 win over Kentucky on Sunday evening. The Mountaineers will compete in the Super Regional round for the second year in a row and the second time in program history.

After falling to Little Rock, 10-4 on Sunday night, the Tigers needed to defeat the Trojans Monday night to avoid elimination in the regional round. If Little Rock (27-34) had won the decisive game, West Virginia would have hosted the Super Regional series.

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LSU freshman pitcher Casan Evans struck out a dozen batters in six innings of relief. He was charged with just one run before exiting the game in the eighth inning after throwing 109 pitches.

LSU scored six unanswered runs with three in the fourth inning and single runs in the sixth, seventh and eighth innings.

Miami, Murray State, North Carolina, Oregon State and Tennessee also clinched spots in the Super Regional round on Monday, winning decisive games in their respective regionals. LSU was the last of 16 teams to advance to the second stage of the NCAA Tournament in a game that ended just short of midnight in Baton Rouge.

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Between The Eers: State of the West Virginia Quarterback Room

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Between The Eers: State of the West Virginia Quarterback Room


This fall, the competition in the West Virginia quarterback room will be turned up a notch as Nicco Marchiol, Jaylen Henderson (Texas A&M transfer), and Max Brown (Charlotte transfer) compete for the starting job. Redshirt freshman Khalil Wilkins and true freshman Scotty Fox are lurking in the background, but both need more time to develop.

Who wins the starting job? Well, it might be too early to tell, but I’ve got some thoughts on how the battle may go, when a starter could be named, and what each of the top three guys has to do in order to be in position to be the guy.

If you haven’t yet, please go over to our YouTube page, West Virginia On SI (@SI_WVU), and subscribe. You’ll get a notification the second a new episode of Between The Eers, The Walk Thru GameDay Show, or Mountaineer Postgame drops.

Football season show schedule:

Between The Eers: Sundays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays

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The Walk Thru GameDay Show: Thursdays

Mountaineer Postgame: Immediately after the game

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WVU Football Roster: Positional + Eligibility Breakdown



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