.

NEWS AND VIEWS THAT IMPACT LIMITED CONSTITUTIONAL GOVERNMENT

"There is danger from all men. The only maxim of a free government ought to be to trust no man living with
power to endanger the public liberty." - - - - John Adams

Wednesday, June 4, 2014

Primary results from around the nation


Endorsed by Sarah Palin

Tea Party Backed Chris McDaniel Surges



Mississippi

Sen. Thad Cochran appeared to fall short of claiming the GOP nomination for a seventh term Tuesday, sending the longtime incumbent and his tea party challenger stumbling into a costly runoff election and scrambling the general-election landscape in one of the nation’s most conservative states.
.
Already a savagely personal race, the duel between Cochran and activist state Sen. Chris McDaniel could now drag on until the next vote on June 24 and present national Republicans with a dilemma: Whether to continue supporting the senator and tearing down McDaniel at the potential cost of damaging the party’s eventual nominee.

.
With 98 percent of precincts reporting, McDaniel held less than a 1-point lead over Cochran, the second-longest serving Republican in the U.S. Senate. Neither candidate has won the simple majority needed to avert a second round of voting: At midnight, McDaniel had 49.6 percent of the vote to Cochran’s 48.8 percent, a difference of about 2,500 votes out of more than 300,000 cast.

.
An obscure third candidate, Thomas Carey, had 1.6 percent – probably just enough to prolong the political plight of Republicans in the state and nationally by another three weeks.

.
Outside groups have already spent more than $8 million in the Republican Senate primary, an extraordinary sum in a small state that rarely hosts competitive federal elections.

Read more:  Politico.

.
Sarah Palin-endorsed, Tea Party-backed Dr. Monica Wehby

Oregon
.
Pediatric neurosurgeon Monica Wehby defeated state Rep. Jason Conger in the Oregon Republican Senate primary on Tuesday and will challenge first-term Democratic Sen. Jeff Merkley in the fall.

That will be an uphill battle for Wehby in the blue state — but her primary success is a triumph for party operatives who hope the recruit can appeal to moderate and female voters and, as a doctor, credibly criticize the Affordable Care Act and its troublesome rollout in Oregon.

Wehby drew 53 percent of the vote, compared to 34 percent for the more conservative Conger, with 54 percent of precincts reporting in the all-mail primary, The Associated Press said.


“Dr. Wehby is an exciting candidate, a mom, and a pediatric neurosurgeon who has dedicated her life to healing children and has firsthand knowledge when it comes to Oregonians’ health care needs,” National Republican Senatorial Committee Chairman Jerry Moran in a statement. “Democrats are now on defense in Oregon.”

Read more:  Politico.


Sarah Palin and Tea Party-backed Joni Ernst

Iowa

J.
Joni Ernst won Iowa’s five-way Republican Senate primary on Tuesday, clearing the 35 percent threshold necessary to avoid a convention nomination fight.

Ernst, a state senator who ran as “a mother, soldier and conservative” and spoke of castrating hogs in one of the year’s breakout ads, will face Democratic Rep. Bruce Braley in the fall election.

In a statement released by her team after her win, the 43-year-old Ernst thanked her supporters and pivoted to slamming Braley, who she tagged as a “rubber stamp” for President Barack Obama and other Democratic leaders.

“This campaign will come down to a very simple choice: our shared Iowa values, versus Bruce Braley’s liberal Washington values,” Ernst said.

According to the statement, Ernst, a lieutenant colonel in the National Guard who served a tour in Iraq, will start a statewide tour on Wednesday alongside Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad and Lt. Gov. Kim Reynolds. She’s due to report for National Guard duty once that tour ends, the statement says without giving an exact timeframe.

Ernst opened a big early lead on Tuesday.

Read more: Politico.

.



No comments: