AYESHA RASCOE, HOST:
Primary season is winding up with just a few more states to go after some big developments this past week. So we'll begin this hour with NPR senior national political correspondent Mara Liasson. Good morning, Mara.
MARA LIASSON, BYLINE: Good morning.
RASCOE: OK. So let's get your takeaways so far.
LIASSON: Well, we've been watching very carefully to see if there's a trend that Democrats are nominating more center-left progressive activists than they are moderate candidates, but we're not really seeing a trend. We're seeing a real mix. We did see Michigan in - Democrats in Michigan nominate a candidate, a progressive activist, Abdul El-Sayed. But on the other hand, we saw Wisconsin two weeks ago nominate a more centrist, pragmatic candidate and reject the more left-wing candidate for governor.
This past week, the big story was Florida. Democratic voters chose a progressive state representative, Angie Nixon, over a more moderate Democrat in the U.S. Senate primary. But in the governor's race in that state, Democrats picked a more moderate Democrat. We also saw two other more moderate pragmatic Democratic incumbents - congressional incumbents fight off challenges from the left. So it's not a clear picture.
RASCOE: Well, let's kind of dig into that Florida Democratic Senate primary.
LIASSON: That's right. Angie Nixon, who won, is a member of the Democratic Socialists for America. It was a stunning win. She beat a much better-funded Democratic candidate, Alexander Vindman, who by some measures outspent her 16 to 1. But each one of these races is particular and has idiosyncratic characteristics. And Angie Nixon's opponent, Alexander Vindman, had a very high-profile role in the impeachment of Donald Trump, but he also ran a lackluster campaign. He raised a lot of money but didn't spend it on advertising.
And the bottom line in Florida is no matter who wins the primary, it's a very red state, and it's going to be hard for any Democrat to win. It's not rated as a toss-up or a competitive race. Unlike Michigan, where Democrats are conducting a giant experiment to see if a progressive candidate - in this case, Abdul El-Sayed - can win in a 50-50 swing state. Michigan is not like Florida, but it's a much more important test for the strength of these progressive activist candidates.
RASCOE: And President Trump was in South Carolina Friday in advance of Tuesday's Republican runoff election. What's the story there?
LIASSON: Well, the story is to test Donald Trump's rock-solid hold on the Republican base. It's very, very strong, but now we have a handful of cases where his endorsed candidate has not won the Republican primary. We saw that in Wyoming, Florida, Michigan, Tennessee, Georgia, Iowa, Minnesota, South Carolina. So his endorsement is no longer a complete guarantee of success in a primary.
RASCOE: Well, who was Trump campaigning for in South Carolina?
LIASSON: Trump was there to campaign for Darline Graham, the sister of the late Senator Lindsey Graham. She did advance to the runoff in the Senate primary in the Republican Party, but she didn't get over 50%. Trump certainly would have hoped that his endorsement would have let her clear the field. But here he is on Friday at a rally for Graham, sending a very specific message to Republican voters.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: The problem that we have is they say that Trump does great when he's on the ballot, but when he's not on the ballot, his people don't come and they don't vote for senators, congressmen and other Republicans. And that - these people, they're running. They're great. But if Trump isn't actually on the ballot - so what I really want you to do is pretend, please, that I'm on the ballot. Just come and vote. It's so important.
LIASSON: So that statement really serves two purposes. The first one, obviously, is trying to encourage people who are low-propensity voters but like him to get out and vote for other Republicans. But the other purpose it serves is to lay the groundwork for a post-election excuse. If Republicans don't do well in November, Trump can say, well, they didn't come out and vote because I wasn't on the ballot. It wasn't a repudiation of me.
RASCOE: Well, and a quick look now at two issues abroad. First, Iran.
LIASSON: Well, Iran - Trump appears to be leaving military threats behind, turning to economic threats. He's promising an economic D-Day, saying there's going to be a crushing operation to cripple Iran financially. We don't know if he'll back off on those threats like he has on others, but the war is still very unpopular in the United States. Bombing doesn't seem to have worked. Now he's going to try to see if economic pressure works also.
RASCOE: And now we'll end on South Korea.
LIASSON: Yes, Donald Trump seems to be friendlier to North Korea than South Korea right now. He failed in his effort in the first term to get North Korea to reduce its nuclear program. They actually have accumulated more weapons since then. But now he's punishing South Korea by reducing joint military exercises in retribution, he says, for South Korea's refusal to help him in the war in Iran. So, again, it seems like Trump's grievances, not any geopolitical strategy, is behind this latest U.S. move in Asia.
RASCOE: That's NPR's Mara Liasson. Mara, thank you so much.
LIASSON: You're welcome. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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