Jillian Bandes: Lincoln In Runoff With Halter: Check Back In 3 Weeks

Polling and political wrap, 5/19/10
So...I'm sorry there was no Wrap on Tuesday night. I was busy catching up on TiVo'ed editions of "Iron Chef America". Did anything happen of interest last night? THE U.S. Senate CA-Sen: Campbell leads, but tenuously, in Senate Primary poll With a campaign that might be suffering from cash-flow woes (if the decision to pare back ad buys is any indicator), this is probably not the most comforting data for the campaign of Republican Senate aspirant Tom Campbell. A new poll by M4 Strategies for...

GOP outsider surges in Conn. polls
WEST Hartford — Just months ago, Republican Linda McMahon’s quest for the US Senate seat here seemed quixotic at best: a former world wrestling executive, with no political experience or network, spending millions of her own fortune on an Election in a heavily Democratic State. But with a strong anti-establishment mood sweeping the country, McMahon’s candidacy has gone from a curiosity to a genuine threat to the experienced GOP opponent she faces in a Party nominating contest...

A Failure of Conventional Wisdom
Did yesterday’s Elections bear out the “anti-incumbency” narrative that’s been building for many months now, in the media, in the halls of Congress, and among political observers inside and outside Washington? New York Times reporters Jeff Zeleny and Carl Hulse seem to think so : Senator Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania, who left the Republican Party a year ago in hopes of salvaging a 30-year career, was rejected on Tuesday by Democratic Primary voters, with...

Anti-establishment fever? Not on Israel.
The narrative of yesterday’s primaries was that both Democratic and Republican Incumbents are going to be in trouble this November and that anti-establishment candidates are favored. Representative Joe Sestak ended Pennsylvania Senator Arlen Specter’s Political Career, Democrat Bill Halter forced Arkansas Senator Blanche Lincoln into a Runoff, and the Tea Party candidate Rand Paul won in Kentucky’s Republican Primary. But the primaries also demonstrate the Israel...

Teachers union president facing 4 challengers
Capping off a tumultuous year at the Chicago Public Schools is one of the most hotly contested Union Elections in decades. On Friday, five slates of candidates will compete to head the Chicago Teachers Union . Whoever wins will be tasked with leading contract negotiations during one of the worst Budget crises in recent history, a $600 million hole that threatens teacher layoffs, increased class sizes, and cuts to beloved programs. The election also is playing out at a time when Teachers and...

How Blanche Lincoln Tempted Fate -- And Lost
Blanche responded on the floor of the Senate, saying she wouldn't be intimidated by "liberal interest groups" from outside Arkansas. But it was the voters of Arkansas who said "no thanks" to Blanche's future services as a US Senator yesterday. Lincoln has put on a Big show of late "standing up to the banks" with her Derivatives Regulation amendment. She ran campaign ads saying it would stay in the Financial Regulation Bill until the end . But the entire thing was a sham: the Senate Old Boys...

How Blanche Lincoln Tempted Fate -- And Lost
Blanche responded on the floor of the Senate, saying she wouldn't be intimidated by "liberal interest groups" from outside Arkansas. But it was the voters of Arkansas who said "no thanks" to Blanche's future services as a US Senator yesterday. Lincoln has put on a Big show of late "standing up to the banks" with her Derivatives Regulation amendment. She ran campaign ads saying it would stay in the Financial Regulation Bill until the end . But the entire thing was a sham: the Senate Old Boys...

Blanche Lincoln vs. Bill Halter in Round Two of Arkansas Senate Fight
Neither candidate received 50 percent of the primary vote, guaranteeing three more weeks of testy campaigning. Lincoln received 44.3 percent to Halter's 42.5 percent. The third candidate, DC Morrison, who aligned more with the Tea Party than with Democrats, garnered a stunning13 percent. A Democracy for American / Research 2000 poll after the primary showed Halter with 48 percent and Lincoln with 46 percent. In November, Halter or Lincoln will face Republican U.S. Rep. John Boozman, who beat...

DNC Chair Tim Kaine casts the Tea Party as "corrosive and divisive"
As the analysis begins in earnest about what ophthalmologist Rand Paul 's (R) landslide victory in Kentucky means for the role of the Tea Party on the national stage, Democrats are quickly moving to cast the movement as a force for division in the country's politics. Paul's win was a "crushing blow to national Republicans and Senator [Mitch] McConnell and also additional evidence that there is a corrosive and divisive Civil War occurring on the Republican side," Democratic National Committee...

Obama endorsements don't seem to help Democrats
Washington — Voters rejected one of President Barack Obama's hand-picked candidates and forced another into a Runoff, the latest sign that his political capital is slipping beneath a wave of anti-establishment anger. Sen. Arlen Specter became the fourth Democrat in seven months to lose a high-profile race despite the president's active involvement, raising doubts about Obama's ability to help fellow Democrats in this November's Elections. The first three candidates fell to Republicans....

Specter Loses, Everybody Wins
By James Taranto If you're a Left-wing Democrat, last night's Election results were filled with good News. In the only federal Election that actually pitted a Democrat against a Republican, the Democrat was victorious: "An aide to the late Democratic Rep. John Murtha won a Special Election to fill the final months of his boss's term--a nationally watched contest considered a potential bellwether for this fall's Midterm Election," the Associated Press reports. In the only district in the...

A big hit against big government
As we approached the Tuesday night with the year's most significant senatorial primaries so far, I turned for guidance to a man who had already been through the fires that define the incendiary politics of 2010. This Story Ten days after he was barred from the ballot in the Utah Republican Primary because the 3,500 delegates to the GOP state convention preferred to give more votes to his two challengers, three-term Incumbent Sen. Bob Bennett was, as I expected, more analytical than angry,...

Both parties' grassroots still don't grow nationally
Image via Wikipedia As someone who wrote a book about the power of Party activists, I was glad to see that the national Media emphasized the role that the “Grassroots” played in yesterday’s election results. As Jim VandeHei and John F. Harris wrote , What's now clear, in a way that wasn't before, is that these results reflect a genuine national phenomenon, not simply isolated spasms in response to single issues or local circumstances. This is a stark and potentially...

Runs across the border draw national interest
The biggest, for U.S. Senator from Arkansas , saw Lt. Gov. Bill Halter play Incumbent senator Blanche Lincoln to a draw in the Democratic Primary. They will battle in a June 8 Runoff, with the winner to face Republican U.S. Rep. John Boozman in November. It will be interesting to watch how local and national forces align in the Runoff. Halter is being credited for creating a campaign strong enough to force Lincoln to pay more attention to more progressive and even liberal issues than she might...

The Center Wins. Again.
The Democrats, of course, have their own Left Wing to worry about, but it does not pose the same kinds of problems. There have been several primary challenges to Incumbent Democrats who voted against the Health Care Reform Bill, but these challengers haven’t commanded the same kind of following. In Pennsylvania’s Seventeenth District, Sheila Dow-Ford got 33 percent against Representative Tim Holden. Last month, challengers to Democratic congressmen Larry Kissel and Heath Shuler got...

Lincoln, Halter Resume Warfare After Tuesday's Inconclusive Primary
Just hours after Arkansas voters forced Sen. Blanche Lincoln into overtime against Lt. Gov. Bill Halter for the Democratic nomination in Tuesday's primary, the two camps wasted no time in resuming their political warfare with an eye toward a June 8 Runoff.

Lincoln and Halter Head to Runoff Election
Little Rock, ARK.

Lincoln, Halter face runoff; Boozman wins GOP nod
Little Rock, Ark. — Arkansas Sen. Blanche Lincoln failed to win the majority of votes in the Democratic Primary Tuesday and now faces an extended fight to a Runoff Election with Lt. Gov. Bill Halter for her party's nomination. Lincoln, already one of the most vulnerable Incumbents seeking re-election this year, will battle Halter for another three weeks in what's already been one of the most bitter and expensive political fights in Arkansas history. The survivor of the June 8 showdown...

Blanche Lincoln, Bill Halter in Runoff in Senate Race; GOP's Boozman Wins
Sen. Blanche Lincoln and Lt. Gov. Bill Halter will meet again in a June 8 Runoff to decide who will be the Democratic nominee for November's U.S. Senate Election, currently held by Lincoln. Change font size Little Rock - Arkansas Sen. Blanche Lincoln failed to win the majority of votes in the Democratic Primary Tuesday and now faces an extended fight to a Runoff Election with Lt. Gov. Bill Halter for her party's nomination. Lincoln, already one of the most vulnerable Incumbents seeking...

Lincoln, Halter will face June 8 runoff in heated fight for US Senate seat in Arkansas
Members of the media interview U.S. Sen. Blanche Lincoln, D-Ark., outside her polling place in Little Rock, Ark., as her husband Steve, second from Right, and sons Reece, Far Right, and Bennett stand with her Tuesday, May 18, 2010. (AP Photo/Danny Johnston) (AP) Little Rock, ARK. — Arkansas Sen. Blanche Lincoln failed to win the majority of votes in the Democratic Primary Tuesday and now faces a three-week fight with Lt. Gov. Bill Halter for her party's nomination. Already one of the...

Runoff set in Arkansas Senate race
Little Rock -- Sen. Blanche Lincoln failed to win the majority of votes in the Democratic Primary Tuesday and now faces an extended fight with Lt. Gov. Bill Halter for her Party's nomination. Lincoln, already one of the most vulnerable Incumbents seeking re-election, will battle Halter for another three weeks in what has already been one of the most bitter and expensive political fights in state history. The survivor of the June 8 showdown will face Republican U.S. Rep. John Boozman, who...

Lincoln, Halter go to overtime in Ark. Senate race
Little Rock, Ark. — Arkansas Sen. Blanche Lincoln failed to win the majority of votes in the Democratic Primary Tuesday and now faces a three-week fight with Lt. Gov. Bill Halter for her party's nomination. Already one of the most vulnerable Incumbents seeking re-election this year, Lincoln will run against Halter alone in a June 8 Runoff. A third candidate, Little Rock businessman D.C. Morrison, drew enough votes Tuesday to force the extra campaign but will not progress. Lincoln had...

Lincoln, Halter go to overtime in Ark. Senate race
Little Rock, Ark. (AP) - Arkansas Sen. Blanche Lincoln has failed to win the majority of votes in the Democratic Primary. She now faces a three-week fight with Lt. Gov. Bill Halter for her party’s nomination. Already one of the most vulnerable Incumbents seeking re-election this year, Lincoln is headed toward a June 8 Runoff with Halter - extending what’s already been one of the most bitter and expensive political fights in Arkansas history. Lincoln had said she would be...

Lincoln, Halter Go Into Overtime
Arkansas Sen. Blanche Lincoln failed to win the majority of votes in the Democratic Primary Tuesday and now faces a three-week fight with Lt. Gov. Bill Halter for her party's nomination.   Already one of the most vulnerable Incumbents seeking re-election this year, Lincoln will run against Halter alone in a June 8 Runoff. A third candidate, Little Rock businessman D.C. Morrison, drew enough votes Tuesday to force the extra campaign but will not progress.   Lincoln had said she would...

Lincoln, Halter go to overtime in Ark. Senate race
Little Rock, Ark.— Arkansas Sen. Blanche Lincoln failed to win the majority of votes in the Democratic Primary Tuesday and now faces a three-week fight with Lt. Gov. Bill Halter for her party's nomination. Already one of the most vulnerable Incumbents seeking re-election this year, Lincoln will run against Halter alone in a June 8 Runoff. A third candidate, Little Rock businessman D.C. Morrison, drew enough votes Tuesday to force the extra campaign but will not progress. Lincoln had said...