Breaking Election News

Breaking Election News

WASHINGTON – California Republicans turned to a pair of wealthy businesswomen, first-time candidates Meg Whitman and Carly Fiorina, to lead their party into the fall campaign.

And embattled Democratic Sen. Blanche Lincoln of Arkansas narrowly won nomination to a third term Tuesday night, overcoming a labor-backed challenger and defying a nationwide anti-establishment tide.

On the busiest night of the primary year, tea party activists flexed their muscle in South Carolina, pushing state Rep. Nikki Haley ahead of three rivals in the Republican gubernatorial primary. Shy of a majority, she will face Rep. Gresham Barrett in a June 22 runoff.

Another tea party-backed contender, Sharron Angle, led a crowded field for the right to challenge Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada in the fall.

In the marquee race of the night, Lincoln had 52 percent of the vote in nearly complete Arkansas returns, to 48 percent for Lt. Gov. Bill Halter.

The result marked a stunning defeat for organized labor, which had poured more than $5 million into an effort to dump Lincoln in retaliation for her departure from party orthodoxy on numerous issues. Seemingly headed for defeat in the race's final days, she unleashed a campaign ad that acknowledged voter anger with Washington, and she also got a boost from former President Bill Clinton, who told voters that out-of-state unions were trying to steal their votes.

Lincoln will meet GOP Rep. John Boozman in November in a race that national Republicans have targeted.

California Republicans took an historic step Tuesday by nominating two wealthy businesswomen to challenge Democratic icons for governor and U.S. Senate, setting in motion an election season of big-money campaigns and high drama in the nation's most populous state.

Whitman, the billionaire former eBay chief executive, easily won the Republican primary for California governor while former Fiorina was nominated to challenge Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer in the fall.

It is the first time the California Republican Party has put a woman — much less two — at the top of its ticket.

The nomination of the two first-time candidates begins an election season that will pit two deep-pocketed Silicon Valley business stars against stalwarts of the Democratic Party establishment.

Whitman, 53, worked on the presidential campaigns of Mitt Romney and John McCain. She has spent much of the primary in tightly scripted appearances and was criticized early on for avoiding detailed questions from political reporters. She advances to face Democrat Jerry Brown, who is seeking the job he held from 1975-83.

On Tuesday, Brown took a swipe at Whitman's reputation for controlling her message.

"I'm looking forward to a campaign where people get to see the candidates, not just the commercials," he said.

The opponent Whitman beat Tuesday, state Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner, is a wealthy Silicon Valley entrepreneur who spent $25 million of his money on his race.

The heated battle with Poizner to win over conservative GOP primary voters forced Whitman to move to the right on issues such as abortion and illegal immigration, moves that could hurt her against Brown in November.

Democrats and moderate independents comprise two-thirds of the electorate in California. Without a serious primary challenger, Brown has positioned himself as a moderate, pledging not to raise taxes and to make the kind of spending cuts that Whitman also campaigned on.

The gubernatorial race promises to be the most expensive in state history.

Whitman has already spent more than $81 million on her primary race, all but $10 million of it her own, far outpacing any previous primary contest in California. She had previously said she would spend $150 million in all on her gubernatorial bid, but has declined in recent weeks to say whether that number is now higher.

Brown will not be able to match Whitman's millions — he has $20 million in the bank so far — but is relying on Democratically aligned independent groups to fund an opposition campaign. Many of those groups are supported by public employee unions who bristle at Whitman's cost-cutting goals for state government. She has pledged to eliminate 40,000 state government jobs.

The U.S. Senate race also promises to be a high-dollar affair. Fiorina had spent $6.7 million by late May, while Boxer has $9.7 million cash on hand.

The seat is a top target for Republicans, so both candidates are likely to attract millions of dollars from outside California. Boxer is seeking a fourth term amid an anti-incumbent mood and has acknowledged facing a difficult race.

Fiorina beat moderate former congressman Tom Campbell and state Assemblyman Chuck DeVore.

Like Whitman, Fiorina, 55, is a political novice who also appeared on the national stage in the 2008 presidential contest, as an economics adviser to McCain.

Boxer is a top target of Republicans this year, but already has come out swinging against Fiorina, calling her out of step with mainstream California voters.

During the primary, Fiorina appealed to conservative voters with her views on abortion, guns and gay marriage, and touting an endorsement from former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin. She also said she wanted to repeal national health care reform, even though polls show a majority of Californians support it.


Fiorina Wins Big

LA Times:

Former Hewlett-Packard Chief Executive Carly Fiorina will be the Republican Party nominee in the November race against Democratic incumbent U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer.

Fiorina was the top vote-getter in Tuesday's primary election in a Republican field that included former Rep. Tom Campbell and conservative Assemblyman Chuck DeVore (R-Irvine).

Fiorina, who spent more than $5.5 million of her own money on the campaign, attacked Campbell's record as Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's top economic adviser. Campbell helped craft a state budget that included tax increases -- anathema to many conservative voters.

Fiorina received a boost from former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, who endorsed her and recorded a phone message that went out to thousands of California Republican voters.

AP: Whitman Declared Winner in Calif. GOP Gov. Primary

Meg Whitman, the billionaire former eBay chief executive who poured tens of millions of her own fortune into her first-time bid for political office, easily won the Republican primary for California governor Tuesday, advancing to face a Democratic icon, former two-term Gov. Jerry Brown.

Another wealthy businesswoman, former Hewlett-Packard Co. CEO Carly Fiorina, was leading in early returns in the Republican primary to decide who will challenge Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer in the fall.

If Fiorina wins, it would be the first time the California Republican Party would have put a woman — much less two — at the top of its ticket.

It also will set off an election season of big-money campaigns and high drama in the nation's most populous state, pitting two deep-pocketed Silicon Valley business stars against stalwarts of the Democratic Party establishment.

Whitman, 53, worked on the presidential campaigns of Mitt Romney and John McCain. She has spent much of the primary in tightly scripted appearances and was criticized early on for avoiding detailed questions from political reporters. On Tuesday, Brown took a swipe at Whitman's reputation for controlling her message.

"I'm looking forward to a campaign where people get to see the candidates, not just the commercials," he said.

AP: NV Gov. Gibbons loses GOP primary to Sandoval

Carly Fiorina, Meg Whitman take commanding leads in Calif. primary

Las Vegas Sun:

Sharron Angle opened an early slim lead in Nevada's Republican U.S. Senate primary, according to early election returns tonight.

Early returns in the race to decide who will challenge Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid showed Angle with 34.74 percent of the vote; Sue Lowden with 34.17 percent and Danny Tarkanian with 20.21 percent.

The remainder of the vote was divided among the other nine candidates.

Fiorina leads in Calif. Sen. primary

Lowden takes narrow lead in early returns against Angle in Nevada

AP calls it for Sen. Blanche Lincoln

AR U.S. Senate Dem runoff: Bill Halter, 88,716, 50.9%; Blanche Lincoln - 85,458, 49.1%; 60% precincts reporting

Halter Pulls Ahead of Lincoln: 55% in. Halter 51, Lincoln 49

42% in. Lincoln 51, Halter 49

AP: Haley Faces Runoff in S.C. Gov race

Nikki Haley, Gresham Barrett headed to a June 22 runoff in South Carolina for GOP

Associated Press: Lincoln, Haley in early leads

WASHINGTON – Embattled Democratic Sen. Blanche Lincoln grabbed a lead in early returns Tuesday, struggling to survive a union-backed challenger as well as a strong anti-establishment tide in an Arkansas runoff. Political outsiders from coast to coast tested their strength on the busiest day of an unpredictable primary season.

Another endangered congressional veteran, Republican Rep. Bob Inglis of South Carolina, fell behind his primary challenger in a race that was a referendum of sorts on the incumbent's support for the 2008 financial bailout.

In other early South Carolina returns, Republican state Rep. Nikki Haley, a tea party favorite, jumped ahead of three rivals in her bid to become the first woman elected governor of her state.

Lincoln with Narrow Lead in Ark.

Sen. Blanch Lincoln has a narrow leading in the Ark. Democratic Senate primary; Lincoln, supported by former Pres. Bill Clinton, had to fight off a union-endorse challenger. Lt. Gov. Bill Halter; Halter's party starts to pick up. Precincts are coming in Lincoln 53% halter 43%

Sheheen wins Dem. Gov. Nod in S.C.

State Sen. Vincent Sheheen has won the Democratic nomination for South Carolina governor. Sheheen picked up a majority of the votes Tuesday to avoid a runoff with either state Education Superintendent Jim Rex or state Sen. Robert Ford.

Haley widens double digit lead over Barrett

Nikki Haley jumps to double digit lead in South Carolina governors race; Politico: Haley awfully close to 50% ... 47.7% with 28.5% of precincts in

AP calls GA-9 for Republican Tom Graves. He'll succeed Nathan Deal, who resigned earlier this year to focus on his gov campaign.

Haley Widens Lead in S.C. GOP Gov Race

Haley leads Gresham Barrett, her closest challenger by 43% to 25% with 18 percent of precincts reporting; Haley needs to hit 50 to avoid a runoff.

Politico: VA-11 for Keith Fimian called. First results of the night are rolling in

Jim DeMint wins Republican Senate nomination in South Carolina.

Turnout High for Republicans in S.C.

COLUMBIA — Officials say voter turnout in South Carolina's primary elections has been mostly moderate across the state but heavier in traditional Republican strongholds.

State Election Commission spokesman Chris Whitmire says that officials reported heavy turnout Tuesday in Greenville and Lexington counties.

Polls opened at 7 a.m. Tuesday and closed 12 hours later.

Voters were whittling a field of seven candidates for governor and setting up the November race for a U.S. Senate seat.

The primary is pivotal for three congressional elections. Four other statewide offices — state schools chief, state attorney general, treasurer and comptroller general — were on the ballot.

Any runoff elections will be held June 22.

AP calls VA-5 GOP primary for Hurt.

Nikki Haley Takes Early Lead in S.C.

Republican Nikki Haley has taken a sizeable leader in the S.C. GOP governor's primary. She leads Barrett 42% to 26% with first precincts just reporing

Tweet from political analyst Larry Sabato:

Scott Rigell also in pretty good shape in VA-2, with 13% lead, over a quarter of vote in. So far things going according to plan for GOP.

Polls Close in Three States

Polls have closed in South Carolina, Virginia and Georgia, where state election officials report low to moderate turnout today. The results of some of the most compelling races will come later tonight, after voting ends in Arkansas, Nevada and California.


Can Democrats Escape a Summer Curse?

Rarely has the American electorate been so angry, unhappy and ready to throw the bums out. According to a new Washington Post/ABC News poll, voter antipathy toward Washington is rising and anti-incumbent sentiment is at an all-time high: Only 29% of Americans say they’re inclined to back their House representatives come November. As voters head to the polls in 12 states Tuesday — the biggest batch of primaries this year — Jane Sasseen, Yahoo! News’ editor-in-chief for politics and opinion, spoke with independent pollster John Zogby about what to make of the mood, and the long summer ahead for President Obama.

Read entire story at Yahoo! News


Rundown of Tuesday's Contests

Voters in 12 states cast ballots Tuesday in contests that will determine the fate of a Senate incumbent in Arkansas, decide the matchups for high-stakes races in Nevada and California and settle a nasty gubernatorial primary in South Carolina. A look at the contests:

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ARKANSAS (Polls close at 8:30 p.m. EDT)

Two-term Sen. Blanche Lincoln, a centrist Democrat, is fighting for her political life against Lt. Gov. Bill Halter. The two were forced into a runoff for the party nomination after neither captured 50 percent of the vote in the May 18 primary. Unions and other outside groups have spent millions in the state to influence the outcome.

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CALIFORNIA (Polls close at 11 p.m. EDT)

Republican billionaire Meg Whitman has invested more than $70 million of her own fortune in the governor's race against state insurance commissioner Steve Poizner, a wealthy former businessman who has put $24 million into his campaign. The likely winner of the Democratic nomination is Attorney General Jerry Brown, who was governor in the 1970s and 1980s.

Carly Fiorina, a former Hewlett Packard Co. chief executive, is leading in some polls over her GOP opponents for Senate: former U.S. Rep. Tom Campbell and state Assemblyman Chuck DeVore, a tea party favorite. The winner will challenge Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer.

The congressional race in Southern California's 36th District features contrasting Democratic candidates Rep. Jane Harman, who belongs to the Blue Dog group of conservative Democrats, and Marcy Winograd, co-founder of the Los Angeles chapter of Progressive Democrats of America. In 2006, Harman beat Winograd with 62 percent of the vote.

_____

NEVADA (Polls close at 10 p.m. EDT)

Gov. Jim Gibbons could be the first sitting governor to lose a nominating contest in the state in 100 years. He's had a tumultuous first term that included a nasty public divorce and allegations of infidelity. Polls have found Gibbons trailing GOP front-runner Brian Sandoval by double digits.

Three Republicans are in a bruising fight for the chance to face Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. Tea party favorite Sharron Angle has recently been running ahead of former Nevada GOP Chairwoman Sue Lowden and Las Vegas businessman Danny Tarkanian.

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SOUTH CAROLINA (Polls close at 7 p.m. EDT)

Republican state Rep. Nikki Haley is hoping to become the state's first female governor. The race has turned nasty with allegations of infidelity, which she denies. In some polls, Haley is edging out her GOP challengers, including Rep. Gresham Barrett, Lt. Gov. Andre Bauer and Attorney General Henry McMaster. Of the three Democratic gubernatorial candidates, state Sen. Vincent Sheheen has spent the most money. All are vying to succeed the term-limited Gov. Mark Sanford in the Republican-leaning state.

Democrats pick a challenger to Republican Sen. Jim DeMint.

South Carolina Republican Rep. Bob Inglis is in a tough race to keep the seat he's held for six terms. His challengers have made the primary a referendum on his 2008 vote to bail out the nation's banking industry. His race, as well as the GOP gubernatorial primary, could end up in a June 22 runoff.

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IOWA (Polls close at 10 p.m. EDT)

Iowa has a three-way Republican primary for the right to oppose Democrat Chet Culver, considered one of the nation's most vulnerable governors. Polls suggest former Gov. Terry Branstad leading over businessman Bob Vander Plaats and state Rep. Rod Roberts. Democrats choose a challenger to Sen. Charles Grassley.

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MAINE (Polls close at 8 p.m. EDT)

The primary races for governor are wide open, with no clear front-runners to replace term-limited Democratic Gov. John Baldacci. A seven-way Republican primary includes tea party favorite Paul LePage. Businesswoman Rosa Scarcelli has staked out the right and the outsider's role in the four-way Democratic race. The other three are government insiders — Senate President Libby Mitchell, former Attorney General Steve Rowe and Pat McGowan, a former legislator who also served in Baldacci's Cabinet.

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NORTH DAKOTA (Polls at 8 p.m. and 9 p.m. EDT)

Officials in both parties say Sen. Byron Dorgan's retirement gives Republicans their best opportunity to pick up a seat in the Senate. Republican Gov. John Hoeven is the leading candidate.

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SOUTH DAKOTA (Polls close at 8 p.m. and 9 p.m. EDT)

Five Republican candidates are competing for their party's nomination to succeed term-limited Gov. Mike Rounds. Rounds has endorsed the state's Lt. Gov. Dennis Daugaard, who was considered the front-runner throughout the campaign. Senate Democratic Leader Scott Heidepriem was unopposed for his party's nomination.

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VIRGINIA (Polls close at 7 p.m. EDT)

Virginia Republicans face critical choices about nominees as they look to win back the three U.S. House seats lost in the Democrats' 2008 sweep. The GOP has its eye on Rep. Tom Perriello's 5th Congressional District seat, since he won in 2008 by just 727 votes. Seven candidates are vying for the nomination, with no clear front-runner.

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GEORGIA (Polls close at 7 p.m. EDT)

In north Georgia, Tom Graves hopes his involvement with the Atlanta Tea Party Patriots will help him defeat Lee Hawkins, another conservative, in a runoff to fill a vacant House seat in a heavily Republican district. Rep. Nathan Deal resigned to run for governor.

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NEW JERSEY (Polls close at 8 p.m. EDT)

Members of the House faced challenges in seven of the state's 13 congressional districts but no upsets were expected. The tea party movement created a crowded field on the Republican side, with some candidates, including former NFL star Jon Runyan, endorsed by both the GOP and a tea party group.

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MONTANA (Polls close at 10 p.m. EDT)

Lincoln Faces Battle of Her Career Tonight

WASHINGTON – Democrat Blanche Lincoln battled to survive union opposition and an anti-establishment tide that's already drowned two fellow senators, and political outsiders from coast to coast tested their strength Tuesday on the busiest day of an unpredictable primary season.

With polls showing a sullen electorate, there was no shortage of subplots as voters in nearly a dozen states chose candidates for Congress and governors' offices. Californians decided whether to lead the fall GOP ticket with a pair of wealthy businesswomen campaigning on a promise to cut spending, and tea party activists tested their muscle in Nevada, backing Sharron Angle in a multi-candidate race to select a Republican opponent against Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid in a state where unemployment was 13.7 percent in April.

Nevada's Republican governor, Jim Gibbons, faced strong opposition for renomination after a term marked by a messy public divorce,

At the same time, a pair of former governors — Republican Terry Branstad in Iowa and Democrat Edmund G. Brown Jr. in California — hoped to take the first steps toward reclaiming the power they once held.

In the House, one Republican incumbent and one Democrat faced what amounted to ideological purity challenges.

Republican Rep. Bob Inglis in South Carolina sought renomination in his solidly conservative district in a race in which his vote for the 2008 financial bailout was an issue. And California Democratic Rep. Jane Harman, a member of the Blue Dog moderates' coalition in Congress, faced a liberal challenger for her safely Democratic seat.

The races took place in the shadow of the worst recession in decades, stubbornly high unemployment, dispiriting day-by-day images of the damage caused by an offshore oil rig disaster, and poll after poll that reported the voters angry and eager for a change.

"I don't believe very many politicians or very many people on the political scene, so I just had to vote my conscience and my prayers," said Judy Hamilton, a 59-year-old administrative assistant from Columbia, S.C., as she cast her ballot in the state's Republican primary.

That sentiment made the day's balloting a prelude to the fall, when Republicans hope to challenge Democrats for control of Congress and the two parties vie for three dozen statehouses midway through President Barack Obama's term.

So far, Sens. Bob Bennett, R-Utah, and Arlen Specter, D-Pa., and Reps. Alan Mollohan, D-W. Va., and Parker Griffith, R-Ala., have been defeated, a balanced set of one incumbent from each party in each house of Congress.

Lincoln, a two-term moderate, narrowly led in balloting in a primary May 18, but was thrown into a runoff with Lt. Gov Bill Halter three weeks ago when she fell short of a majority.

"There are very few who come out on the battleground and dare to say, 'Where is the common ground? Where do we solve these problems?' One of the reasons I've been beat up is I've gotten out of that foxhole. I'm out here in the middle," Lincoln said after voting in west Little Rock.

Organized labor, angered over Lincoln's positions on health care, union organizing proposals and trade, poured more than $5 million into an effort to lift Halter to the nomination. Union leaders said they were intent on demanding accountability from lawmakers who make promises and then fail to follow through.

Still, Halter declined consistently to state a public position on one of labor's big priorities — the proposal to make it easier for unions to organize workers.

The winner will face Republican Rep. John Boozman in the fall in a race that the GOP has made one of its top targets.

There were gubernatorial primaries in California, Iowa, Maine, Nevada, South Carolina and South Dakota.

South Carolina State Rep. Nikki Haley, running to become the first female governor in her state's history, battled several rivals as well as claims that she has had trysts with two men. She vociferously denied the allegations of infidelity, and relied on support from tea party activists and an endorsement from former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin to aid her in the race with Rep. Gresham Barrett, Lt. Gov. Andre Bauer and state Attorney General Henry McMaster.

A runoff will be held on June 22 if no candidate gains a majority.

In California, Brown faced little opposition for the Democratic nomination to reclaim an office he left in 1983. Among Republicans, former eBay chief executive Meg Whitman and Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner were the leading contenders in a battle of multimillionaires. She spent more than $70 million of her own fortune, while he put in more than $25 million.

In Iowa, Branstad, who served four terms as governor before leaving office in 1999, was opposed by two candidates as he sought the Republican nomination to run against Gov. Chet Culver.