Tuesday, May 18, 2010

Conway Wins Dem Nod In Kentucky, Lincoln in a Runoff, Boozman Avoids One

12 AM ET Wednesday, May 19

In our last update of the night, we will wrap up the races of substance that we didn't yet cover.

Jack Conway was finally projected the winner in tonight's Democratic primary for the U.S. Senate seat from the Commonwealth of Kentucky. With nearly all precincts in, Conway has 44 percent of the vote to Mongiardo's 43 percent. This is another crushing loss for the Commonwealth's Lt. Governor, as he attempted to go for this seat in 2004 when he challenged outgoing U.S. Senator Jim Bunning.

Of course the two big stories of the night, Rand Paul won in a cakewalk tonight in the GOP primary for this seat, while 30-year veteran U.S. Senator Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania saw his career likely come to an end tonight as he ended in defeat to two-term congressman challenger Joe Sestak.

In Arkansas, another incumbent senator worked to fend off a surging challenge from her state's Lt. Governor. Blanche Lincoln will find herself in a runoff, as she will claim about 45 percent of the vote tonight to Bill Halter's 43 percent. The Republican that either one of them will face in November, Congressman John Boozman, waltzed to a big victory with nearly 53 percent of the vote, thus avoiding the runoff. He can focus on the general election, whil Lincoln and Halter have each other to worry about for three more weeks.

In Oregon, Ron Wyden won the Democrats nomination for another term, while Huffman won the GOP nomination easily. Wyden will be favored to hold that seat in the fall. In the race for governor, John Kitzhaber, the former governor, won the Democrats' nomination in a landslide. Former NBA player Clint Dudley, a wealth strategist, won the GOP nomination by a closer margin, but still comfortable.

Critz Wins Pennsylvania 12

10:00 PM CT

Republican businessman Tim Burns has reportedly called Democrat Mark Critz to concede in the special election for the seat John Murtha long held in the 12th Congressional District of Pennsylvania. This means that Democrats will hold on to a seat they have long held. Democrats are taking this as a bit of a breather and trying to spin it so that it appears that Republicans won't get the wave that appears to be building. However, Critz pitched himself as a conservative Dem. It will be interesting to see how this district responds in November.

BREAKING NEWS FROM THE KEYSTONE STATE

AP CALLS IT FOR SESTAK!
Pennsylvania's Democratic voters throw out 30-year veteran Specter.

9:15 PM CT

The Associated Press is calling the Democratic race for the U.S. Senate for Congressman Joe Sestak. Currently, with 71 percent of precincts in, Sestak leads incumbent Arlen Specter 53 percent to 47 percent.

This means that five-term veteran Specter will not be returning to the U.S. Senate next year.

Specter switched from the GOP to the Democratic Party because he believed it would give him a better chance at being re-elected. That turns out not to be the case.

PENNSYLVANIA: Toomey, Corbett to Represent GOP in November, Specter in Trouble, Democrat Leads in 12th District Race

Things are now shaping up in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania's primary elections tonight. As expected, former Congressman Pat Toomey quickly wrapped up the GOP nomination for the U.S. Senate and Attorney General Tom Corbett also won the party's nod for Governor.

In the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate, things are looking very hairy for incumbent Senator Arlen Specter. Although leading early, he now trails Congressman Joe Sestak 53% to 47% with 53% of precincts in. Specter is seeking his sixth term, but his first as a Democrat after his big party switch over a year ago.

In the Democratic governor's race, Allegheny County Executive Dan Onorato was recently projected the winner. He recently had 46% of the vote with 47% of precincts reporting in a four-way race.

The nation's political eyes are on the special election to fill the seat in the Pennsylvania's 12th House District. This race is to fill the seat of longtime Congressman John Murtha, who passed away earlier this year. With 30 percent of precincts in, Democratic candidate Mark Critz leads Republican businessman Tim Burns 56% to 42%. That being said, it is reported that most of the precincts in are Democratic leaning.

Stay tuned...

Kentucky Democratic Race Tightens

8:35 PM CT

The Democratic primary for the U.S. Senate in Kentucky has quickly tightened, with Conway now leading Mongiardo by only a 45%-43% count with nearly 90 percent of precincts in. Things are getting interesting in the Bluegrass State. Rand Paul romped to victory earlier. More to come...

DEMOCRAT U.S. SENATE UPDATE: Kentucky Gap Narrows, First Results Trickle In From Pennsylvania, Arkansas

7:45 PM CT

In the Commonwealth of Kentucky, it is only the Democratic primary that is really now being watched, as Rand Paul won by a huge margin earlier. Conway still leads, but by the narrower margin of 47.5% to 40.4% with nearly 64 percent of precincts in. Paul now leads 59% to 36%, but was projected the winner nearly an hour ago.

In the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, barely any precincts are coming in, just 1 percent, but we are looking at any numbers we can get today. Incumbent Arlen Specter leads Congressman Joe Sestak 64% to 35%. That margin will close as more results come in. We are waiting for one of the biggest races of the night, that is the special House election in the Pennsylvania 12th District. More will come on that as the results come in.

In Arkansas, polls have closed just a short while ago, and we are awaiting the bulk of the results there to see if incumbent Blanche Lincoln survives a primary challenge from Lt. Governor Bill Halter. We are also waiting to see what shapes up in the GOP primary, as Congressman John Boozman is expected to win that race.

Stay tuned...

BREAKING NEWS: Paul Declared Winner In Kentucky's GOP Primary For The U.S. Senate, Conway still dominates

CNN has just declared Rand Paul the winner in today's GOP primary for the U.S. Senate from Kentucky. With 37 percent of precincts in, the latest numbers are Paul with 59 percent of the vote, Secretary of State Trey Grayson with nearly 37 percent. In the Democratic primary, Attorney General Jack Conway has really opened up a lead, now claiming over 50 percent of the vote to the nearly 38 percent for Lt. Governor Dan Mongiardo with nearly 38 percent of precincts in.

UPDATE - 7:03 PM CT: The Associated Press has also called the race for Paul.

KENTUCKY UPDATE: Paul Dominating Early, Conway Pulling Ahead

With now over 14 percent of precincts reporting in Kentucky's close-watched U.S. Senate race, signs of the frontrunning candidate for each party is developing. For the Republicans, Rand Paul leads Secretary of State Trey Grayson 51.5 percent to 33.9 percent. On the Democratic side, Attorney General Jack Conway has pulled open a gap over Lt. Governor Dan Mongiardo. Conway holds 46.5 percent to Mongiardo's 40.5 percent. More updates upcoming...

PREDICTIONS

Predictions from The Conservative Statesman on tonight's elections

PENNSYLVANIA
Governor
D - Allegheny County Executive Dan Onorato
R - State Attorney General Tom Corbett
U.S. Senate
D - Incumbent Arlen Specter
R - Former Congressman Pat Toomey
12th U.S. House District Special Election
Republican Businessman Tim Burns
4th U.S. House
R - U.S. Attorney Mary Beth Buchanan
6th U.S. House
D - Former Philadelphia Inquirer Writer Doug Pike
R - Incumbent Jim Gerlach
8th U.S. House
R - Former Congressman Mike Fitzpatrick
10th U.S. House
R - Tom Marino
11th U.S. House
D - Incumbent Paul Kanjorski
17th U.S. House
D - Incumbent Tim Holden
R - State Senator Dave Argall

KENTUCKY
U.S. Senate
D - State Attorney General Jack Conway
R - Ophthalmologist Rand Paul

ARKANSAS
U.S. Senate
D - Incumbent Blanche Lincoln
R - Congressman John Boozman

OREGON
Governor
D - Former Governor John Kitzhaber
R - Wealth Strategist and Former Portland Trailblazer Chris Dudley

TURBULENT TUESDAY LIVEBLOG

Today, as you likely well know, is one of the biggest days of the year in American politics. There are several major primary election races, a special election for the U.S. House in the Keystone State and on top of that, two scandals have erupted today.

Many of the night's big races are shaping to be close, so it should be an exciting night to watch. Two U.S. Senators, one being a three-decade veteran, are in danger of going down to primary challengers in their own party, and a win by the Republican Tim Burns in the traditionally-Democratic Pennsylvania 12th House seat race stands to send shockwaves throughout the nation and would be seen as a referendum on the Obama administration.

Keep up with the action here as The Conservative Statesman liveblogs tonight's developments in the elections, the latest on the scandal around Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal's scandal regarding his statements on his service during Vietnam, and any other breaking political news of interest or merit.

Stay with us tonight on this very interesting evening.