A WIN FOR THE ESTABLISHMENT

Blanche Lincoln wins Arkansas Senate race; Nikki Haley in SC runoff

Arkansas Sen. Blanche Lincoln won renomination tonight, beating Lt. Gov. Bill Halter -- and the national labor unions that had spent millions on his behalf -- in a remarkable result that provided a counter-weight to the anti-incumbent trend nationally.
"This election is not about special interests, this election is not about me, this election is about us," Lincoln said in her victory speech.
Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee Chairman Bob Menendez (N.J.) praised Lincoln as a "true independent voice" for the state.
In the other marquee contest of the night, South Carolina state Rep. Nikki Haley (R) weathered a series of personal attacks to narrowly miss winning the Republican gubernatorial nomination outright tonight. She will advance to a June 22 runoff as a clear favorite for the GOP nod.
Haley stood at 49 percent of the vote, well ahead of Rep. Gresham Barrett who took 22 percent. The Associated Press called a runoff shortly before 10 pm eastern time, however, concluding that Haley would not break 50 percent of the vote. State Attorney General Henry McMaster and Lt. Gov. Andre Bauer lagged far behind.
Other notable results from a night where 12 states -- from Maine to California -- voted included: Nevada Gov. Jim Gibbons was soundly defeated by former U.S. District judge Brian Sandoval, former state Assemblywoman Sharron Angle won the Silver State primary and the right to challenge Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D) this fall, former Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad won the Republican nomination, and, in California, former eBay CEO Meg Whitman and former Hewlett Packard executive Carly Fiorina cruised to the Republican nominations for governor and Senate, respectively.
Lincoln's victory was considered virtually impossible in national political circles following her 44.5 percent showing in the May 18 primary.
Organized labor spent upwards of $10 million against Lincoln -- seeking to punish her for opposition to the Employee Free Choice Act and the inclusion of the public option in the health care bill.
She countered with former President Bill Clinton who has been all over the television airwaves in the final days of the runoff to cast Lincoln as the best choice for the state's voters.
Lincoln's winning margin came out of Pulaski County, which includes Little Rock, where she won 59 percent to 41 percent -- an improvement on the 12 point margin she enjoyed in the primary.
The South Carolina GOP primary to replace scandal-plagued Gov. Mark Sanford (R) drew national attention in recent weeks as two men came forward to say they had conducted extramarital affairs with Haley. She denied the allegations, ran TV ads featuring her husband and children and watched as her poll numbers soared.
On the Democratic side state Sen. Vincent Sheheen easily won the nomination and will await the GOP nominee.
Elsewhere in South Carolina, Rep. Bob Inglis faces a runoff with Spartanburg solicitor Trey Gowdy in the 4th district -- creating the very real possibility that Inglis could be the third House incumbent to lose a primary fight this year.
Earlier in the night in Virginia's 1st, 2nd and 5th districts, Reps. Rob Wittman, auto dealer Scott Rigell and state Sen. Robert Hurt -- all of whom enjoyed establishment support -- cruised to victories over candidates with the support of the tea party nationally. In the northern Virginia 11th district, which Republicans believe is a potential pickup opportunity this fall, 2008 nominee Keith Fimian bested Fairfax County Supervisor Pat Herrity.
In Iowa, former four term Gov. Terry Branstad won the Republican nomination and the right to face Gov. Chet Culver (D) in the fall.
And, in Georgia former state Rep. Tom Graves won a special election runoff to serve the remaining months of the term of former Rep. Nathan Deal (R) who resigned the seat to run for governor.