Paul rides tea party support, takes GOP nod in Ky. WASHINGTON – Political novice Rand Paul rode support from tea party activists to a rout in Kentucky's Republican Senate primary Tuesday night, jolting the GOP establishment and providing fresh evidence of voter discontent in a turbulent midterm election season. Paul had 59 percent of the vote with returns counted from slightly more than half of the precincts, compared to 36 percent for Secretary of State Trey Grayson, who had been recruited to the race by the state's dominant Republican, U.S. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell. In a Democratic primary that commanded far less national attention, Attorney General Jack Conway led Lt. Gov. Daniel Mongiardo, 48 percent to 40 percent. On the busiest primary night of the year so far, Democratic Sens. Arlen Specter in Pennsylvania and Blanche Lincoln in Arkansas struggled uncertainly for nomination to new terms. In a fourth race with national implications, Republican Tim Burns and Democrat Mark Critz vied to fill out the final few months in the term of the late Rep. John Murtha in Pennsylvania. Each political party invested nearly $1 million in that contest and said the race to succeed the longtime Democratic lawmaker was something of a bellwether for the fall. In Oregon, Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden faced little opposition for nomination to a third full term. Voters in Pennsylvania and Oregon also selected gubernatorial candidates. In Kentucky, Grayson had the support of McConnell as well as other establishment figures. But Paul countered with endorsements — and the political energy that flowed along with them — from tea party activists, former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin and Sen. Jim DeMint of South Carolina, a conservative eager to push his party rightward in advance of the broader fall campaign. In an interview with The Associated Press, Palin called Paul's victory a "wake-up call for the country." According to his website, Paul, 47 and an ophthalmologist, is a "career doctor, not a politician." He favors a balanced budget and paying off the national debt over time, but the website mentions no specifics. He opposes all federal bailouts of private industry and government subsidies for alternative energy sources such as solar and wind power. He has called Washington lobbyists a "distinctly criminal class" and favors banning lobbying and campaign contributions by anyone holding a federal contract exceeding $1 million. The race marked the third time that tea party activists, a collection of disparate groups without a central political structure, have placed their stamp on Republican races. Their votes at a Utah Republican convention helped deny a spot on the ballot to Sen. Bob Bennett, a conservative judged as not sufficiently so. And their backing helped propel one-time longshot Republican Marco Rubio to a lead in the pre-primary polls in Florida's Senate race, prompting Gov. Charlie Crist to quit the party and run as an independent. So far, one Democrat has lost his race for a new term this year. In West Virginia, Democratic Rep. Alan Mollohan fell in a primary to an opponent who highlighted ethics issues. Eager to avoid long-term fallout from a bruising primary, GOP leaders in Kentucky set a unity breakfast for Saturday.
Sestak Defeats Specter in Pennsylvania Democratic Primary
Rep. Joe Sestak sent Pennsylvania Sen. Arlen Specter into retirement Tuesday with a stunning come-from-behind victory in the the Democratic primary.
Rep. Joe Sestak sent Pennsylvania Sen. Arlen Specter into retirement Tuesday with a stunning come-from-behind victory in the the Democratic primary.
Specter becomes the third incumbent member of Congress in two weeks to lose his job, after Republican Sen. Bob Bennett lost the GOP nomination at the party's Utah convention and Democratic Rep. Alan Mollohan lost a primary in West Virginia.
In November, Sestak will face Pat Toomey, who won the Senate Republican nomination Tuesday.
Specter switched parties last year in what he thought would be an easier path to another nomination. But Sestak proved to be hurdle too high for the five-term senator.
By LIZ SIDOTI, AP National Political Writer Wed May 19, 3:09 am ET
WASHINGTON – With the electorate's intense anger reverberating across the country, this is all but certain: It's an anti-Washington, anti-establishment year. And candidates with ties to either better beware. Any doubt about just how toxic the political environment is for congressional incumbents and candidates hand-picked by national Republican and Democratic leaders disappeared late Tuesday, when voters fired Democratic Sen. Arlen Specter in Pennsylvania, forced Democratic Sen. Blanche Lincoln into a run-off in Arkansas and chose tea party darling Rand Paul to be the GOP nominee in Kentucky's Senate race. "People just aren't very happy," Ira Robbins, 61, said in Allentown, Pa. With anyone linked to power, it seems. Taken together, the outcomes of primaries in Pennsylvania, Arkansas and Kentucky — following voter rejections of GOP Sen. Bob Bennett of Utah and Democratic Rep. Alan Mollohan in West Virginia — provided further evidence that voters are in the mood to choose outsiders over insiders. An exception was the race to fill a vacant House seat in a conservative-leaning Pennsylvania congressional district; voters elected the late Democratic Rep. John Murtha's one-time aide, Mark Critz, over Republican businessman Tim Burns. Oregon also held its primary; there were no surprises. Perhaps indicating that voters were expressing their frustrations at the ballot box, turnout appeared to be up in Pennsylvania, Arkansas and Kentucky from the most recent previous statewide primary elections.....................>>>>..............>>>>..........................http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/201.....dG9wBHNsawNwcmludA--
Clyburn says S.C. Dem Senate candidate a 'plant'; calls for probe By Michael O'Brien - 06/10/10 11:07 AM ET
The man nominated as Democrats' candidate for Senate in South Carolina might have been a "plant," a high-ranking Democrat suggested Thursday.
House Majority Whip James ClyburnHouse Majority Whip James Clyburn (D-S.C.) called for South Carolina to investigate the circumstances that led to Alvin Greene winning the Democratic Senate primary in his state earlier this week.
"There were some real shenanigans going on in the South Carolina primary," Clyburn said during an appearance on the liberal Bill Press radio show. "I don't know if he was a Republican plant; he was someone's plant."
The third-ranking House Democrat said he found it strange that Greene, a relative unknown prior to Tuesday, was able to produce the money to register and run for Senate despite being unemployed.
Greene allegedly tried to pay the registation fee in cash, and Clyburn said he wondered whether an outside party might have funded both the fee and Greene's campaign, in violation of federal campaign finance laws.
Despite having no real campaign or prior political support in the state, Greene won the primary to face Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) this fall with nearly 59 percent of the vote — almost 100,000 votes.
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