Stevens survives close Monomi Senate primary

HEYDWORTH - Incumbent Senator Rylan "Rill" Stevens is breathing a sigh of relief today.

The Conservative senator, who is politically moderate, narrowly defeated a more hard-line opponent in the party's primary election.

Stevens is known as a foreign policy hawk, but he's openly moderate on social issues.

As an openly-gay man, Stevens has struggled in the past to win over Monomi Conservative voters.

Running for re-election this year was no different for Stevens.

Gun-rights activist Randi Karswell, age 44, ran a well-funded campaign against the respected senator.

Ms. Karswell, an attractive business owner and married mother of three, argued that Stevens is too liberal and sides with Nationalists too often.

"Monomi is a Conservative state, and yet we have elected a senator who is Conservative on paper but votes like a Nationalist," Karswell said last week at a campaign appearance, where she refused to wear a mask.

Her campaign centered on Stevens' moderate voting record, gun rights and anti-mask sentiment.

Despite raising millions of dollars from across the country, and heavy support from the Grassadellian Rifle Club, Ms. Karswell still fell short in her bid to oust Mr. Stevens.

The final vote tally left Stevens with 54% to Karswell's 46%, or 491,383 votes to 418,671 votes, respectively.

Ms. Karswell, a first-time candidate, performed best in rural counties and in the most conservative counties.

Mr. Stevens received the most support in more urban and centrist counties, although he also received strong support in rural counties with large Native/Indigenous Grassadellian populations.

Stevens also won in his native Nylan County, home to the state's second-largest city Heydworth.

Karswell also is from Nylan County, but she struggled to win over voters on her home turf.

Unable to have a traditional victory party due to COVID, Mr. Stevens appeared on Facebook Live, at a small celebration with a few guests, all donning masks and toasting drinks.

"Thank you, Monomi Conservatives. I'm honored to have your support, it means the world to me. I will represent you well in the general election and we still have so much work to do to champion conservative causes," said Stevens.

Karswell held a drive-in victory celebration at a drive-in theater south of Heydworth. Few attendees wore masks at her campaign celebration.

Noticeably disappointed, Ms. Karswell thanked supporters and vowed she would run for office again.

"We won't quit campaigning and running until every pseudo-Conservative is booted out of office and replaced with real, honest, authentic, legit constitutional, Christian Conservatives," she said.

It's unclear who Mr. Stevens will face in the fall, general election. Nationalists are still conducting their primary selection. However, no big-name candidates have emerged, so it's likely Stevens will have a relatively easy path to re-election.