By: Eliza Collins – usatoday.com – June 13, 2018

Rep. Mark Sanford, a Republican who represents South Carolina’s 1st Congressional District, found out Tuesday that losing the support of the president is lethal in a GOP primary.

Sanford, a conservative who has frequently criticized the president, faced a primary challenge from state Rep. Katie Arrington, who campaigned as a Trump ally. Less than three hours before polls closed Tuesday, Arrington was rewarded for her loyalty with a tweeted endorsement from the president, who said Sanford was “very unhelpful” and “nothing but trouble.”

And then late Wednesday, the result became official: Arrington, who works for a defense contractor, will face Democrat Joe Cunningham in the fall, according to The Associated Press.

While Trump frequently tosses out endorsements to lawmakers he likes, the support for an opponent was new — and noteworthy. Sanford is a conservative member of the House Freedom Caucus, a group whose membership aligns themselves most closely with the president.

“I’m going to lose this race,” Sanford told voters Tuesday night shortly before 11 p.m. ET, according to the Associated Press, anticipating the final result. It’s a feeling Sanford isn’t used to. Despite having to resign as governor over an affair in 2009, Sanford has won every other election he competed in.

Sanford’s traditionally red district is on Democrats’ radar for November because it is wealthy and educated, demographics the left hopes will be turned off by Trump’s performance. Democrats say going against Arrington could make the race more competitive than if Sanford had been their opponent.

In his remarks Tuesday night, Sanford was unbowed, saying, “I stand by every one of those decisions to disagree with the president.”

Sanford is the second incumbent Republican to lose his primary race this cycle. Rep. Robert Pittenger lost his North Carolina race last month, but Pittenger and his opponent, Mark Harris, both ran as Trump fans.

Arrington wasn’t the only woman to win on Tuesday. In races across the country when women ran they emerged as their party’s nominees. In Virginia’s 10th Congressional District — a top pickup opportunity for Democrats in the fall — a female won a crowded Democratic primary and will face off against GOP Rep. Barbara Comstock, who also won her race.

Voters made their choices in South Carolina, Virginia, Maine, North Dakota and Nevada Tuesday. Here’s the rundown:

South Carolina

Gov. Henry McMaster was forced into a runoff after he failed to secure over 50 percent of the vote. Unlike Sanford, McMaster — who was an early endorser of the president’s — got Trump’s blessing. McMaster led his nearest opponent by more than 20 percentage points, but he failed to secure a majority.

Another district that will see runoff — or two runoffs: the Democratic and Republican races to replace retiring Rep. Trey Gowdy in the 4th District. Former state senator Lee Bright is headed for a runoff but a recount may be needed to determine who he faces. After Gowdy announced he would retire at the end of his term, the contest to replace him became one of the nation’s most crowded congressional races. The seat is expected to stay red, so whoever wins the Republican nomination has a good chance of representing the district in Washington.

At the state level Republican Jason Elliott declared victory in his nomination for re-election. Elliott became the first openly gay legislator in what has traditionally been a heavily conservative District 22.

Virginia

Virginia State Sen. Jennifer Wexton easily won a crowded primary for Virginia’s 10th Congressional District. Democrats see Virginia’s 10th Congressional District and GOP Rep. Barbara Comstock — who easily won her primary — as a top pickup opportunity in November.

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Source: Primaries: S. Carolina, Maine, Virginia, N. Dakota, Nevada go to polls