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Wednesday, June 9, 2010

Nikki Haley jumps to double digit lead in SC-Gov race


South Carolina state Rep. Nikki Haley jumped into a double digit lead in the early returns in the Palmetto State governor's race, an early indication that personal attacks aimed at her in the final week of the campaign had backfired.
With 30 percent of all votes counted, Haley stood at 48 percent while Rep. Gresham Barrett took second with 23 percent. State Attorney General Henry McMaster and Lt. Gov. Andre Bauer lagged behind.
Unless she breaks 50 percent of the vote, Haley and the second-leading vote-getter will tangle in a June 22 runoff although her current margin suggests she would be a considerable favorite in that contest.
The South Carolina seat, which is being vacated by 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.
The South Carolina race was one of a slew of competitive contests across the country as 12 states headed to the polls today.
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.
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.
The other major national race on the docket tonight is in Arkansas where Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D) faces a battle for her political life in a runoff race against Lt. Gov. Bill Halter.
Lincoln hoped to avoid joining an ignominious list of incumbent Senators to lose intraparty fights this year. Utah Sen. Bob Bennett (R) and Pennsylvania Sen. Arlen Specter (D) have already lost their renomination bids.
Lincoln's political fate is very much up in the air heading into tonight's vote as organized labor has spent millions against her -- 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 has 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. Clinton, both sides acknowledge, is extremely popular in the Razorback State -- dating back to his time as governor during the 1980s.
In Nevada, Gov. Jim Gibbons, who has been in an ethical cloud since winning the office in 2006, was expected to lose in a Republican primary to former U.S. District judge Brian Sandoval. Former state Assemblywoman Sharron Angle, a favorite of the tea party movement, was seen as the likely winner of a contest Republican primary for the right to face Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D) this fall.
In California, free spending businesswomen Meg Whitman, the former CEO of eBay, and Carly Fiorina, the former Hewlett Packard executive, are the GOP favorites for governor and Senate, respectively.



Nikki Haley: 10 things you didn't know about the S.C. Republican

By Philip Rucker
The past few days on the campaign trail, South Carolina gubernatorial candidate Nikki Haley liked to joke that she went from "Nikki Who?" to a near-permanent spot on the front pages of the Palmetto State's newspapers.
If the 38-year-old state representative becomes the Republican nominee for governor, she also instantly becomes one of the national GOP's most promising rising stars. She's smart and serious about policy, and a charismatic campaigner who dresses stylishly and can deliver barbed attacks with a smile.
So we interviewed Haley and her advisers and scoured local news archives to bring you 10 things you may not know about her:
1) She's a dragon slayer. This is not the first time Haley has upset her party's political establishment. In 2004, at age 32, she challenged state Rep. Larry Koon (R), a 30-year veteran and the state's longest-serving representative. Koon's family settled in the Lexington County district in the 1730s; Haley had lived there for five years. But she waved to commuters at subdivision entrances, passed out coffee and Krispy Kreme donuts in neighborhoods, and won a runoff over Koons by collecting 54 percent of the vote.
2) She is married to a National Guardsman. Haley's husband, Michael, is a full-time employee with the Army and as an officer in the South Carolina Army National Guard. When they met, his name was Bill, but Nikki made him start going by his middle name, Michael. As she told one of her campaign advisers, "He didn't look like a 'Bill.'"
3) She's an accountant. At age 13, Haley began keeping the books at her parents' business, a women's fine-clothing boutique called Exotica in Lexington, S.C. She went on to Clemson University, where she majored in accounting, and has held finance and accounting jobs and has served on the Lexington County Chamber of Commerce board.
4) She's the daughter of Sikh immigrants from India. Haley's parents, Dr. Ajit and Raj Randhawa immigrated from Amritsar to the tiny town of Bamberg, S.C. (population 3,733). Nikki was born there and grew up with a sister, Simran, and two brothers, Mitti and Charan. Mitti was an active-duty officer in the Army for 20 years and fought in Desert Storm. Haley could become only the second Indian American governor in the country, joining Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal (R).
5) She shortened her name. Haley's full name is Nimrata Randhawa Haley, but when she entered politics, she went by Nikki Haley. She dropped her maiden name because, as she once told the Charlotte Observer, "It wouldn't fit on a yard sign."
6) She converted to Christianity. Although Haley was raised a Sikh, she married a Methodist and is raising her two children, Rena and Nalin, as Methodists. Haley has said she attends services of both faiths, but has converted to Methodism and often speaks about her faith in God on the campaign trail. Nikki Haley became the first descendant of the Sikh religion elected to any state legislature in the United States.
7) She is being advised by Mark Sanford's political team. When Haley entered the state legislature, Gov. Mark Sanford (R) singled her out as a protegee. They both were conservative reformers, advocating fiscal restraint and smaller government. Sanford groomed her to be his hand-picked successor, and she began working with one of his longtime political consultants, Jon Lerner, who also advises the conservative Club for Growth. After Sanford became entangled in personal scandal last year, Haley kept her distance from the tainted governor, but Lerner continued to advise her campaign and Haley won the endorsement of the governor's popular ex-wife, Jenny Sanford.
8) She holds a concealed-weapons permit.
9) She is cheap. Haley ran her governor's campaign on such a tight budget, an adviser said, that she could not afford to pay for lawn signs. She still ordered thousands of signs, but her campaign sold them to supporters for $5 apiece. She ended up making a profit off the lawn signs.
10) She's celebrating more than an election. Tuesday was also the 12th birthday of her daughter Rena.


Few Show Up for Wacky Maine Race

— By Andy Kroll
| Tue Jun. 8, 2010 5:12 PM PDT
Tonight's Democratic and Republican gubernatorial primaries in Maine are about as wide open as these kinds of elections get. Here's what I reported yesterday on Maine's comically diffuse primaries:
On the blue side, the frontrunner by the slimmest of margins is state Sen. Libby Mitchell with 13 percentage points, followed by former state attorney general Steve Rowe (12 points), businesswoman Rosa Scarcelli (7 points), and Maine conservation department commissioner Patrick McGowan (6 points).
In the Republican primary, the field is even more fragmented. Businessman (and former Boston Red Sox vice president) Les Otten leads the way with 17 points—a 7-point gap over his nearest competitor, Paul LePage, mayor of Waterville. Rounding out the rest of the Republican slate, all with single-digit support, are state Sen. Peter Mills, education executive Bill Beardsley, businessman Bruce Poliquin, and Matt Jacobson, who heads a Maine job creation organization. Whew.
Perhaps the most telling statistic is this: The undecided comprise 62 percent of Democratic primary voters and 47 percent of GOPers. When Maine voters show up tomorrow, there's no telling who'll take the nominations.
Now, with the polls closed, the latest news in Maine's primaries is that voter turnout is expected to—not surprisingly—be quite low. Maine's secretary of state told the Associated Press he's expecting a turnout of just 20 percent. That throws the results of today's Maine primaries further into flux, with so few votes spread across an array of challengers, each separated by a few percentage points in the polls. When the votes are all counted later tonight, whoever does come out on top will likely do so by squeaking out the narrowest of victories.



Nikki Haley, Gresham Barrett advance to SC-Gov runoff

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 with more than 90 percent of precincts reporting, 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.
On the Democratic side state Sen. Vincent Sheheen easily won the nomination and will await the GOP nominee.
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.
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.
South Carolina was one of 12 states -- from Maine to California -- to host races today.
The other marquee contest of the night is in Arkansas where Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D) faces a battle for her political life in a runoff race against Lt. Gov. Bill Halter.
With 27 percent of precincts reporting, Lincoln held a 52 percent to 48 percent edge over Halter.
Lincoln took 44.5 percent to Halter's 42.5 percent in the May 18 primary but both sides were expecting a very close race tonight.
Lincoln hoped to avoid joining an ignominious list of incumbent Senators to lose intraparty fights this year. Utah Sen. Bob Bennett (R) and Pennsylvania Sen. Arlen Specter (D) have already lost their renomination bids.
Lincoln's political fate is very much up in the air heading into tonight's vote as organized labor has spent millions against her -- 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 has 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. Clinton, both sides acknowledge, is extremely popular in the Razorback State -- dating back to his time as governor during the 1980s.
In Nevada, Gov. Jim Gibbons, who has been in an ethical cloud since winning the office in 2006, was expected to lose in a Republican primary to former U.S. District judge Brian Sandoval. Former state Assemblywoman Sharron Angle, a favorite of the tea party movement, was seen as the likely winner of a contest Republican primary for the right to face Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D) this fall.
In California, free spending businesswomen Meg Whitman, the former CEO of eBay, and Carly Fiorina, the former Hewlett Packard executive, are the GOP favorites for governor and Senate, respectively.
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.
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.

Mother Jones

Dominant, SC's Haley Heads To Runoff

The scandal-plagued gubernatorial candidate almost secures guaranteed victory.
By Andy Kroll | Tue Jun. 8, 2010 7:32 PM PDT
Suspiciously timed allegations of extramarital affairs in the weeks before tonight's primary couldn't stop Republican gubernatorial candidate Nikki Haley. Endorsed by Tea Party favorite Sarah Palin, Haley all but swept aside the salacious claims of infidelity made by a conservative blogger and South Carolina political consultant, and scored a dominant victory [1] tonight. Forty-nine percent of Republican voters chose her, while the next highest vote-getter, Rep. Grisham Barrett, received less than half that, with 22 percent support.
But would Haley have reached or surpassed the 50 percent mark without the affair allegations? If she'd cleared this hurdle, she would've surpassed the threshold requiring a run-off vote against the number two candidate in the primary. Instead, Barrett will challenge Haley, a Barrett aide tells [2] Politico, in a June 22 run-off to decide who gets the South Carolina GOP's nomination for the fall election.
Obviously, Haley would've rather won outright in today's primary and avoided a few weeks of intraparty battling. Worse yet, the 14 days between now and the Haley-Barrett face-off will give the second-place candidate more time to harp on the allegations that dogged Haley in the past two weeks. Then again, if Haley had surpassed 50 percent, she'd likely face similar questions from Democratic gubernatorial candidate Vincent Sheheen, who won today's primary with 59 percent of the votes.
On one hand, Haley's victory is a high-profile win for female candidates on a night in which we'll likely see victories from California's Meg Whitman, a GOP gubernatorial candidate, and Carly Fiorina, a GOP US Senate candidate. Both powerful executives turned Republican politicians, Whitman and Fiorina entered today's primaries leading in the polls, and have a good shot at claiming their respective GOP candidacies.
On the other, as National Governors Association director Nathan Daschle has said (via Real Clear Politics [3]), Haley's victory is just as much a win for Democrats: "Democrats are the clear winner in both tonight's primaries. The divisive, ugly GOP primary has done nothing but turn off voters who are tired with politics-as-usual. The next two weeks promise a race to the bottom as Nikki Haley and Gresham Barrett battle it out for the nomination."

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We're Still at War:

Photo of the Day for June 8, 2010
Tue Jun. 8, 2010 2:00 AM PDT




US Soldiers from the 17th Fires Brigade make their way up the stairs of the 4,000-year-old Ziggurat of Ur, Iraq, near Contingency Operating Base Adder, on May 18, 2010. Photo via the US Army by Spc. Samantha Ciaramitaro.
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Does the Senate Climate Bill "Gut" the Clean Air Act?

Mother Jones


By David Roberts | Tue Jun. 8, 2010 4:06 PM PDT
[1]This post is part of a Grist series [2] on the Senate climate bill.
Does the Senate climate bill tie the EPA's hands? You increasingly hear from progressives that the American Power Act—the energy and climate bill introduced by Sens. John Kerry (D-Mass.) and Joe Lieberman (I-Ct.)—"guts" the Clean Air Act. Some groups have put this critique at the center of a campaign to improve the bill. If blog comments and email chatter are any indication, lots of grassroots greens have adopted it as a red line—reason to oppose the bill entirely.
So what would the bill do to the Clean Air Act, and how bad would it be? Let's explore!
A smidgen of backstory
In a landmark 2007 judgment [3], the Supreme Court ruled that the EPA possesses the authority to regulate climate pollution under the Clean Air Act. The justices noted that the power and scope of that law have been gradually expanded by Congress over the last 40 years. As dangerous air pollutants have been identified—or the danger of known pollutants has been better understood—the Clean Air Act has been extended to address them.
And it has been wildly successful. The Clean Air Act requires that EPA periodically assess the overall ratio of costs to benefits of the program. Its first report, covering 1970 to 1990 [4], estimated that "the actual costs of achieving the pollution reductions observed over the 20 year period were $523 billion [5]." Meanwhile, the benefits to health, welfare, and the environment were “estimated to range from about $6 trillion to about $50 trillion, with a mean estimate of about $22 trillion”—between 11 and 95 times the costs. Between 1990 and 2010, the benefits were four times the cost [6].
Every serious scientific assessment, most recently three new reports from the National Academy of Sciences [7], has concluded that the cost of inaction on climate change will be calamitous, while most knowledgeable economists agree [8] that the cost of addressing it will be affordable [9], on the order of a few points shaved off GDP growth over the next half century. So there's every reason to believe that the cost-benefit ratio of addressing greenhouse gases through the Clean Air Act would be similarly favorable.
So then what would the American Power Act do to the Clean Air Act?
The Clean Air Act currently contains a suite of tools to address air pollutants. There are standards that limit the ambient concentration of pollutants in the air, standards that mandate the use of particular emission-reduction technologies on new facilities, and cap-and-trade programs, which feature a declining limit on the total emissions permitted economy-wide.
By and large, when new tools have been added, the old tools have been preserved. For instance, when in 1990 Congress amended the Act to add a cap-and-trade system for acid-rain pollution, it did not exempt those pollutants from plant-by-plant technology standards, despite industry protests that the result would be a burdensome confusion of overlapping regulations. Acid-rain pollutants are regulated by a suite of Clean Air Act tools, and to wildly successful effect: This year the benefits of the acid-rain program are expected to outweigh the costs by 40 to 1 [10] (PDF).
That brings us to greenhouse gases. Both the climate bill passed by the House last summer and the American Power Act now pending in the Senate amend the Clean Air Act to establish a declining cap on, and trading program for, greenhouse gases. (But don't call it cap-and-trade! It's a "pollution reduction and investment program," or PRIP. At least I like to call it a PRIP.)
So far so good. But the climate bills do something new. They mandate that some of the other tools in the Clean Air Act may not be used on greenhouse gases. Specifically, they "preempt" some of the tools in the Act that apply to stationary sources—factories, power plants, etc. (The other major part of the Act, which governs "mobile sources," i.e. vehicles, is left untouched.)
Industry argues—see if this sounds familiar—that using both stationary-source tools and a cap-and-trade system on greenhouse gases would be duplicative and burdensome. This argument, BS though it may be, holds considerable sway in the Senate. Thus: the cap-and-trade system replaces, rather than complements, the Act's stationary-source air pollution tools (with a few significant exceptions, which we'll get to in a subsequent post).
Does preemption render the American Power Act "worse than nothing"?
In a word, no. The bill's Clean Air Act preemption is unnecessary and unwise. The more I've looked into it, the less I like it. But if eliminating it from the bill proves impossible—and it's an uphill climb—it's not sufficient reason to oppose the bill outright. Far from it. The bill is still overwhelmingly worth passing [11].
As I see it, there are roughly three possibilities, listed in order of preference:
  1. A bill that implements a declining cap on carbon alongside full Clean Air Act authority.
  2. A bill that implements a declining cap on carbon but preempts other Clean Air Act stationary-source tools.
  3. Existing Clean Air Act tools without a declining cap on carbon.
Unfortunately, if they were listed by probability, the order would be reversed. No. 3 is what the U.S. will end up with if the American Power Act fails to pass this session, which at least for now is the likely outcome [11]. No. 2 is what happens if the American Power Act passes as currently written. No. 1 is what happens if the left musters the political influence to substantially improve the bill. Weirder things have happened.
In the end, the choice may come down to legislation without Clean Air Act stationary-source tools or Clean Air Act tools without legislation.
New legislation is better than existing Clean Air Act authority, if we have to choose
We should prefer option No. 2 to No. 3:
• It will be a while before another economy-wide cap on carbon pollution is politically viable; the next Congress is almost sure to be more Republican and more hostile to climate action than the Congress we've got now. And the chances of a successful climate-change mitigation program are immeasurably improved by a declining cap on carbon in statutory law. This is true even if the cap is initially set too high and allows too many carbon offsets for compliance. As a matter of simple Senate physics, it is much easier to improve an existing law than to create one from scratch. The cap is the foundation on which all future battles will be fought. Emission-reduction targets in law are what provide the long-term predictability needed by major energy investors and America's international partners.
• The American Power Act expands the Clean Air Act in the largest, most significant way since it was originally passed. Authority over a declining cap on greenhouse gases would arguably be the most consequential authority EPA has ever possessed. Under the APA, the agency would be responsible for reducing pollutants involved in every known industrial process by 83 percent in 40 years. That is an historic chapter for the Clean Air Act, hardly a net diminution of EPA power.
• There's no way the Clean Air Act alone will be able to reduce emissions as much as legislation can. (For a primer on how existing regulations would be applied, see here [12].) Attempts to retrofit the Act's current suite of tools will be mired in litigation for years. Those tools only apply to new or modified sources of pollution and will result in the same problem of grandfathered old coal plants that has bedeviled enviros for years. And they will only be as effective as the administration in power. (Think the Palin-Gingrich administration will enforce them?) If the agency gets too ambitious, members of Congress could vote to revoke EPA authority (as Sen. Lisa Murkowski [13] [R-Alaska] is trying to do [13]) or attach riders to appropriation bills de-funding the program (a gambit for which there is precedent [14]). There's just no way an executive branch agency can engineer a social and economic transformation of the scale that's needed.
• Legislation does things regulations can't. Beyond reining in greenhouse gas emissions, the American Power Act incorporates energy-efficiency provisions, a renewable electricity standard, and electric-vehicle incentives. It distributes pollution-allowance value to affected industries and consumers to ease the transition. It protects trade-exposed industries. It funnels money to slow deforestation through domestic and international offsets. It massively incentivizes nuclear power (if you're into that sort of thing). It reconnects America to the international climate process. It doesn't do nearly as much investing in clean energy as I'd like, but it does some. However tentative and defensive, the bill represents the first steps toward an economy-wide, all-in effort to reduce emissions and enhance energy security. EPA regulations can't do that—they're all stick and no carrot.
Now, there is one extremely good reason to want to preserve stationary source tools for greenhouse gases: America has a filthy, aging, wheezing fleet of old coal plants, and they badly need to get shut down or dramatically upgraded. These plants are responsible for a disproportionate share of the power sector's CO2, soot, and mercury, but they are fully paid off and cheap as hell to run, so it'll be a while before a price on carbon gets high enough to hurt them. In the meantime, some sort of regulatory tool is needed to do the job. Some progressives claim the Clean Air Act has such tools and the American Power Act doesn't. But they're wrong! Check out the next installment of this series to find out why.
This post [15] was produced by Grist [16] as part of the Climate Desk [1] collaboration.
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Tweets for the night

Robert Wittman easily beats back tea party challenge in VA-01. AP calls race.

God bless VA. 28% counted in VA-05 already. Hurt 49%, McKelvey 27%

Jim DeMint wins GOP Senate primary. You can exhale now.
30% in. GA-09 Graves 66, Hawkins 34

16% in. SC-Gov. Haley 42, Barrett 25, McMaster 19, Bauer 14. Runoff looks likely

Rep. Tom Graves. He wins GA-09 special runoff.

30% in and Nikki Haley is at 48%....

Vincent Sheheen wins SC-GOV (D) primary. No runoff.

54% in,. Haley at 47.5.

Tim Scott, African American state Rep. in SC, is leading in SC-01 GOP primary. Runoff near certain but keep an eye on him.


Best name on ballot tonight? Early nominee: Mick Zais. (Running in SC for Superintendent of Education)

Nikki Haley is VERY close to 50 percent. 48.8 right now with 70 percent of precincts reporting

Question for Gresham Barrett: If Nikki Haley is just short of 50%...does he stay in the race?

9% in. Blanche 53, Halter 47

"Former Pro Bowl Eagles lineman Jon Runyan has won the primary to face freshman Rep. John Adler (D-N.J.)."

SC Rep. Bob Inglis (R) looks like 3rd House incumbent who will lose. Faces Trey Gowdy in 6/22 runoff but lost tonight by double digits.

19% in. Lincoln 52, Halter 48

SD Lt. Gov. Dennis Daugaard wins the R Gov nomination.


AP has officially declared #scgov GOP primary a runoff between Nikki Haley and Gresham Barrett. All focus will be on Haley but...don't overlook the fact that Barrett went ahead and "owned" his bailout vote with candidate-to-camera ad and stopped his bleeding.ButCan Barrett use the "I made a leadership" defense on the bailout vote in a 1-on-1 with Haley?

42% in. Lincoln 51, Halter 49

47% in. Blanche 51, Halter 49. Keep an eye on Pulaski County

Folks, put away the tin foil hats re: Lincoln and expectations. History of incumbents in runoffs indicated Lincoln was underdog

55% in. Halter 51, Lincoln 49

In Pulaski, (Little Rock), Halter leads 59-41 but with just 26% of precincts reporting. On 5/18, Lincoln won Pulaski 52-40.

63% in. Lincoln 51, Halter 49

Lincoln back up 51-49 with 63% reporting statewide

Now, with 41% reporting in Pulaski, Lincoln leading 60-40; clearly some sort of error in the count as Halter lost raw vote in latest update

66% in. Lincoln 51.3, Halter 48.7

 A Lincoln runoff victory doesn't neatly fit into any C.W. box. Healthy lesson 4 all reporters. History/trends matter expect when they don't

According to Jon Ralston, Sue Lowden only up 3 points with Clark Cty early vote in. Not nearly enough. Sharron Angle is smiling.

73% in. Lincoln 51, Halter 49

"Lance has won in NJ-07, but took a beating 56% vs 31% for tea partier David Larsen"

Anyone else surprised that Branstad-VanderPlaats is only 51-41 w/ 28% reporting statewide? Branstad lucky VanderPlaats never got much 'mo

77% in. Lincoln 51, Halter 48. Only 41% of Pulaski in though. Lincoln has to feel good.

AP just called it for Lincoln; Big upset given history of runoffs and incumbents; Labor going to struggle to explain this loss.

Labor's early spin: primary pressured Lincoln, toughened her on Wall Street; Message to other Dems: don't think we won't do this again

Don't let it go unnoticed both Gresham Barrett in SC GOV GOP primary and Lincoln in AR SEN Dem primary beat back Wall Street bailout attacks

"We have to fight for what we know is right." -- Blanche Lincoln

Talking to folks in both parties, they say wait about 3 weeks or so to let Lincoln bounce settle in and then see where Lincoln v. Boozman is


RGA with a VERY strongly worded statement on Nikki Haley; clearly trying to pressure Barrett into conceding;

Nev. Gov. Jim Gibbons has lost re-nomination. Lost really, really badly.

Good night for Bill Clinton: Blanche and Libby Mitchell (Maine) both win. Clinton backed both.

Meh Whitman wins. Now, how much will she have spent per vote?

32% in. Angle 37, Lowden 30, Tarkanian 22

Carly Fiorina wins. Only outstanding big race now is NV-Senate.

47% in. Angle 37.5, Lowden 29, Tarkanian 22
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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.
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SUPER TUESDAY LIVE



'UNPREDICTABLE'.. Elections In 12 States.. BREAKING: Embattled Sen. Blanche Lincoln Survives In Arkansas Primary Runoff.. Tea Partier Leading Nevada Senate Primary
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Helen Thomas RETIRING Effective Immediately



Helen Thomas, the 89-year-old veteran White House
correspondent, will retire effective immediately in the wake of her
offensive comments on Israel.
"Helen Thomas announced Monday that she is retiring, effective
immediately," a Hearst Newspapers statement said. "Her decision came
after her controversial comments about Israel and the Palestinians were
captured on videotape and widely disseminated on the Internet."
Thomas, who transitioned from reporter to columnist in 2000 but kept
her front-row seat at White House briefings, had come under fire for her
statement that Israel should "get the hell out of Palestine" and that
Jews in Israeli should return to Germany, Poland, or the US.
Thomas apologized for the comments, saying:

"I deeply regret my comments I made last week regarding the
Israelis and the Palestinians. They do not reflect my heart-felt belief
that peace will come to the Middle East only when all parties recognize
the need for mutual respect and tolerance. May that day come soon."
The White House Monday called Thomas' remarks "offensive and
reprehensible."
"Helen Thomas' comments were indefensible and the White House
Correspondents Association board firmly dissociates itself from them,"
the WHCA said in a statement. "Many in our profession who have known
Helen for years were saddened by the comments, which were especially
unfortunate in light of her role as a trail blazer on the White House
beat."
The WHCA statement added that the incident "does revive the issue of
whether it is appropriate for an opinion columnist to have a front row
seat in the WH briefing room."
More from the Associated Press:
The national director of the Anti-Defamation League, Abraham H.
Foxman, said Sunday that Thomas' apology didn't go far enough.
"Her suggestion that Israelis should go back to Poland and Germany is
bigoted and shows a profound ignorance of history," Foxman said in a
statement. "We believe Thomas needs to make a more forceful and sincere
apology for the pain her remarks have caused."
Thomas began her long career with the wire service United Press
International in 1943, and started covering the White House in 1960,
according to a biography posted on her website. She became a columnist
for Hearst in 2000.

Helen Thomas Through The Years (PHOTOS)


Helen Thomas ended a storied career as a White House correspondent Monday when she retired in the wake of controversial and offensive comments she made about Israel.
But her career amounted to much more than the final remark.
Thomas, who made her name with UPI before joining Hearst Newspapers as a columnist, is known for breaking the glass ceiling around White House reporting and was the first woman to both be admitted to and to lead the White House Correspondents Association.
Below, review Helen Thomas' White House career in photos:


Helen Thomas Through The Years (PHOTOS)
























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June 8 Primary Elections 2010: LIVE Updates

First Posted: 06- 8-10 05:17 PM   |   Updated: 06- 9-10 12:18 AM


Today's primary day is the biggest of the 2010 election season so far, and you can keep up with all the latest developments live on this page. Keep checking back for live updates, scroll down for the latest conversation on Twitter, and find primary election photos here.
(AP/Huffington Post): With polls showing a sullen electorate voters in nearly a dozen states headed to the polls on Tuesday to choose candidates for Congress and governors' offices. Arkansas voters were set to choose between Sen. Blanche Lincoln and her opponent, Lt. Gov. Bill Halter, in a Democratic runoff for a U.S. Senate seat.
Californians are deciding whether to lead the fall GOP ticket with a pair of wealthy businesswomen campaigning on a promise to cut spending, and tea party activists tested their muscle in Nevada, backing Sharron Angle in a multi-candidate race to select a Republican opponent against Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid in a state where unemployment was 13.7 percent in April.
Updates from across the country:

12:15 AM ET -- Carly Fiorina Will Take On Barbara Boxer: Former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina has won California's GOP primary for U.S. Senate, setting up a general election battle this fall with three-term Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer.
The 55-year-old Fiorina rolled to victory Tuesday after a campaign that focused on convincing conservatives she is one of them -- opposing abortion, gay marriage and steps the government has taken to prop up the economy. Boxer was unopposed for the Democratic nomination.
--AP

11:45 PM ET -- Whitman Wins In California: Meg Whitman, the billionaire former chief executive of eBay, easily won the race for the Republican gubernatorial nomination, setting up a general election contest against former Gov. Jerry Brown. Whitman took a large lead in the polls in the final weeks of the campaign after a negative ad war over which Republican was the most conservative.
The contest was the most expensive primary in California history, with Whitman spending more than $81 million and state Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner spending $25 million. Whitman, who has never before run for elective office, is the first woman to win the Republican nomination for governor in California. Brown, governor from 1975-83, was unopposed in the Democratic primary.
--AP

11:30 PM ET -- Branstad Wins In Iowa: Republicans have nominated former Gov. Terry Branstad to run against Democratic Gov. Chet Culver in Iowa. Branstad defeated Sioux City businessman Bob Vander Plaats and state Rep. Rod Roberts of Carroll to claim the Republican nomination and a bid for a fifth term in office. Branstad served as governor from 1983 to 1999.
--AP

11:20 PM ET -- Scandal-Plagued Nevada Gov Ousted In Primary: Former U.S. District Court Judge Brian Sandoval defeated incumbent Gov. Jim Gibbons in Nevada's Republican gubernatorial race Tuesday night.
Gibbons had been considered a long-shot to win his party's nomination for a second term, after trailing badly in polls and finances to Sandoval. The 65-year-old Gibbons has been dogged by political missteps and personal problems, including a nasty public divorce and allegations of infidelities. An uncompromising, hard-line stance against taxes and the federal government alienated even members of his own party as the state faces a possible $3 billion budget shortfall going into the 2011 legislative session.
The 46-year-old Sandoval was a moderate when he served the state Assembly. He's also former chairman of the Nevada Gaming Commission and former attorney general.
--AP/Huffington Post

11:05 PM PM ET -- Lincoln WINS In Arkansas: Embattled Democratic Sen. Blanche Lincoln narrowly won her quest for nomination to a new term in the U.S. Senate Tuesday night, fighting off a challenge from labor-backed rival, Bill Halter, as well as an anti-establishment tide in an Arkansas runoff.
In her victory speech on Tuesday night, Lincoln said that the voters of the state had sent a message: That "the vote of this senator is not for sale."
UPDATE: Some very harsh words from an unnamed senior White House official on the results of the Arkansas race in a post from Politico's Ben Smith: "Organized labor just flushed $10 million of its members' money down the toilet in a pointless exercise." More here.
--MICHAEL FALCONE

10:15 PM ET -- Primary Results: For an overview of results from tonight's' races -- major and minor -- click here.

9:50 PM ET -- Runoff In S.C.: Nikki Haley has weathered unsubstantiated claims of physical relationships with two men to advance to a Republican primary runoff with U.S. Rep. Gresham Barrett. Haley nearly won Tuesday's primary outright, but fell just short of the majority needed to avoid the June 22 runoff. The winner will face Democratic state Sen. Vincent Sheheen in November.
Dispatch from CNN's Peter Hamby: @hambypCNN: Music at Haley HQ: Twisted Sister, "We're not gonna take it."
UPDATE: Nick Ayers, the executive director of the Republican Governors Association, issued a statement on the race:

"The voters of South Carolina made a clear choice in Nikki Haley, notwithstanding the possibility of a runoff. The outcome is all but certain. "Nikki Haley withstood a barrage of innuendoes and slurs in the closing days of the primary season and persevered to the finish with dignity, determination and confidence. Moreover, receiving half of the votes against two other statewide incumbent Republicans and a sitting Congressman speaks volumes of her strength as a candidate and bodes very well for her in the General Election. We congratulate Nikki for her grit and determination."
--AP

9:45 PM ET -- Trouble For Halter? Nate Silver at FiveThirtyEight sees trouble brewing for Bill Halter in Arkansas. According to a breakdown of counties with a decent number of precincts reporting, his performance tonight is lagging far behind that of the original May 18 primary.
From the FiveThirtyEight blog:

Columbia: won by 17 in May, leads by 12 tonight. Conway: won by 5 in May, leads by 2 tonight. Ouchita: tied the country in May, trailing by 8 points tonight Saline: lost by 2 points in May, losing by 6 tonight Baxter: here's some better news for Halter ... won by 2 in May, winning by 12 tonight Calhoun: won by 17 points in May, leads by 16 points tonight. Scott: won by 12 in may, leading by 4 tonight.
--NICK WING
9:05 PM ET -- DNC Says GOP Hijacked By Tea Party: Whatever the outcome, the GOP will be the loser of Tuesday's primary elections, the DNC writes in a memo released on election night that is all about posturing in advance of midterm elections in November.
According to a memo from Brad Woodhouse, Communications Director for the DNC, the Republican Party "is being pulled so far towards the right wing fringe most Americans can't recognize it anymore." Woodhouse goes on to say that the Tea Party's influence within the GOP "has produced a slate of unattractive general election candidates, a trend that seems bound to continue today."
--NICK WING

8:40 PM ET -- An Early Look At Meg Whitman's Victory Speech: How's this for electoral confidence: California GOP gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman plans to call her opponent Steve Poizner "gracious" in defeat according to a snippet from her victory speech that a San Francisco Chronicle reporter got an early look at:


"Thank you so much ... What a great night! This victory is yours! I just received a very gracious phone call from Steve Poizner conceding the race."
Read more.
--MICHAEL FALCONE

8:30 PM ET -- Early Look At S.C. Results: Analysis from uber election prognosticator Larry Sabato, professor at the University of Virginia: @LarrySabato: "Lt. Gov. Andre Bauer (R-SC) is going bye for a while, and I don't need a lie detector to prove it. 13%, dead last, R GOV."

8:15 PM ET -- Harry Reid Already Gaming Out General Election: Even before polls closed in Nevada Tuesday, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid quietly began to mount a campaign strategy to defeat his likely GOP challenger, Sharron Angle, in November.
According to Hotline on Call, Reid campaign aides spent the past weekend thoroughly researching Angle, while the Las Vegas Review Journal on election day reported on signals from the Nevada Democrat's re-election team that seemed to suggest she would emerge the GOP nomination.
Reid campaign manager Brandon Hall told the Review that Angle offers "dangerous ideas," reviving a similar characterization recently echoed by the Senate Majority Leader's camp that painted the GOP hopeful as "a female Rand Paul."
--ELYSE SIEGEL

8:00 PM ET -- Some Golden State Voters 'Disgusted': Some Democrat and Republican voters in California said they were "disgusted" by the campaigns waged by Meg Whitman and Steve Poizner, according to a dispatch from the Sacramento Bee.
On GOP voter said: "Both Whitman and Poizner supported Gore and Boxer. There's no way you can be a conservative and support Al Gore."
Another voter was upset by the numbers of calls he received. "I just disconnected my house phone," Raymond Rodriguez told the Bee. "I understand the enthusiasm to get elected, but it's just annoying."
--JEREMY BINCKES

7:45 PM ET -- Let's Get This Party Started: Though only some will win, candidates around the country have planned "victory parties" tonight. Here's an overview:
South Carolina Republican gubernatorial candidate Nikki Haley has taken some heat for holding her primary night festivities at the Capital City Club, a high-brow, exclusive, members-only establishment in downtown Columbia. Her opponent, Lt. Gov. Andre Bauer, has chosen the Copper River Grill in Greenville as his venue.
In Nevada, the Clark County Republicans have secured the ballroom of the Orleans Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas to hold the GOP victory party, an event that they say will include all candidates. GOP Senate candidate Sharron Angle, who has ridden a wave of Tea Party support to the peak of the polls, plans to be in attendance, according to her campaign website.
Arkansas Lt. Gov. Bill Halter, who may be poised to topple current Sen. Blanche Lincoln for the Democratic Senate nomination, has made reservations at The Peabody Hotel in Little Rock for his victory party. Sen. Blanche Lincoln's shindig will take place at Next Level Events, a "private events facility" in downtown Little Rock.
In California, former eBay CEO Meg Whitman, who maintains a strong lead in her GOP California gubernatorial primary, will be hosting a victory party at the Hilton in Universal City, while her opponent, California Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner, will be holding his party at a rival Hilton in Irvine. Democrat Jerry Brown, who was uncontested in his race, is celebrating at Club Nokia in downtown Los Angeles.
California Republican Senate candidates are having parties of their own, with Tea Party-backed Assemblyman Chuck Devore throwing a reception at the Tustin Banquet Center in Tustin, former Rep. Tom Campbell hosting supporters at the San Jose Fairmont Hotel, and former HP CEO Carly Fiorina, the favorite heading into Tuesday, planning to celebrate at the Anaheim Hilton with the California Republican Party.
--NICK WING

7:30 PM ET -- Two More Hours To Go In Arkansas: The degree to which Arkansas' highly contentious runoff between Sen. Blanche Lincoln and primary challenger Bill Halter for the state's Democratic Senate nomination spurred voter turnout remained unclear Tuesday in the hours leading up to polls closing.
As of 4 p.m 67,981 votes had reportedly been cast at early-voting locations or submitted through absentee ballots; however, according to Politico, Arkansas election officials could not offer any estimates on how many people were hitting the polls across the state before votes were in and set to be tallied.
Twenty-nine percent of the 1.6 million registered voters in Arkansas came out to the polls on May 18 when the Lincoln-Halter match-up headed into a runoff after neither candidate managed to capture 50 percent of voter support.
--ELYSE SIEGEL

7:00 PM ET -- Turnout In South Carolina: With polls closing in South Carolina, officials say voter turnout in the state has been low to moderate so far. But the State Election Commission says that voting Tuesday has been heavier in some counties. If absentee voting is any indication, officials say turnout should run ahead of 2006 levels. Any runoff elections will be held June 22.
--AP

6:45 PM ET -- Whitman Already Planning A Victory Lap: Banking on an election night win, California gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman intends to waste no time starting a victory lap. On Thursday, Whitman plans to announce "her vision for a new California" in San Jose, according to an San Francisco Chronicle reports that the measure is a signal to Democratic candidate Jerry Brown that she will not rest on her march to the general election in November.
--JEREMY BINCKES

6:15 -- The Voice Of Palin: Former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin has lent her voice to California GOP Senate candidate Carly Fiorina's campaign, cutting a robocall that has been ringing the phones of California voters for the past few days.
A spokeswoman for the Fiorina campaign has confirmed the call to CNN, which reports that Palin says in the call that a vote for Fiorina is a vote to "...help get our country back on track."
--NICK WING

6:05 PM ET -- Have You Voted? If you're one of the millions of Americans whose states are holding primaries today and are wondering whether you still have time to vote, here's your answer:
Poll Closing Times:
Arkansas - 8:30 PM
California -11:00 PM
Georgia - 7:00 PM
Iowa - 10:00 PM
Maine - 8:00 PM
Montana - 10:00 PM
Nevada - 10:00 PM
New Jersey - 8:00 PM
North Dakota - 8:00 & 9:00 PM
South Carolina - 7:00 PM
South Dakota - 8:00 & 9:00 PM
Virginia - 7:00 PM

6:00 PM ET -- California's Big Spenders: The Golden State has seen it's share of CEO candidates and this year's crop may be among the biggest spenders. Former eBay chief executive Meg Whitman (running for the GOP gubernatorial nomination) has spent $81 million so far, all but about $10 million of it from her own bank account. Former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina (running for the GOP Senate nomination) has not spent anywhere near what Whitman has, but reports say she has dumped $5 million of her own fortune into the primary campaign. State Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner (running against Whitman for governor) a wealthy Silicon Valley entrepreneur, has spent $25 million.
--AP

5:45 PM ET-- Closing Words In Arkansas: After voting Tuesday at his polling place in North Little Rock, Arkansas Lt. Gov Bill Halter, who is vying to defeat Sen. Blanche Lincoln in the Democratic primary for a U.S. Senate seat, said he expects the runoff to be close but he still hoped to improve his vote total in every county over the May primary.
"I think that's why everybody's vote matters so much," said Halter, who planned to talk to voters until the polls close at 7:30 p.m.
Lincoln, who has been attacked by both the left and the right on issues such as health care, defended her Senate votes, saying groups from Arkansas have criticized her because she has tried to work with both parties.
"There are very few who come out on the battleground and dare to say, 'Where is the common ground? Where do we solve these problems?' One of the reasons I've been beat up is I've gotten out of that foxhole. I'm out here in the middle," Lincoln said after voting in west Little Rock Tuesday afternoon.
--AP

5:30 PM ET -- Schwarzenegger's Ballot Blunder: Poll worker Keta Hodgson says a scanning machine rejected [California Gov. Arnold] Schwarzenegger's first ballot Tuesday because he selected two Senate candidates, instead of one. Hodgson says the Republican governor was given the choice of filling out a new ballot or not having his Senate choice count. He cast a fresh ballot."
Here's video:
Cal Gov Votes

5:00 PM ET -- Will The Polls Be Right? With just hours left to vote in the dozen states holding primary election today, here's a look at the latest pre-Election Day public opinion polls in several key races:
California GOP Senate Primary
(Field Poll)
Carly Fiorina 37%
Tom Campbell 22%
Chuck DeVore 19%
Arkansas Democratic Senate Runoff
(Research 2000/Daily Kos)
Bill Halter 49%
Blanche Lincoln 45%
Iowa GOP Governor's Primary
(Des Moines Register)
Terry Branstad 57%
Bob Vander Plaats 29%
Rod Roberts 8%
Nevada GOP Senate Primary
(Las Vegas Review Journal/Mason Dixon)
Sharron Angle 32%
Danny Tarkanian 24%
Sue Lowden 23%
Nevada GOP Governor's Primary
(Las Vegas Review Journal/Mason Dixon)
Brian Sandoval 47%
Jim Gibbons 33%
South Carolina GOP Governor's Primary
(PPP)
Nikki Haley 43%
J. Gresham Barrett 23%
Henry McMaster 16%
Andre Bauer 12%

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HELLO, NOVEMBER



Blanche Lincoln Defeats Bill Halter In Ark. .. Nikki Haley, Gresham Barrett Headed To Runoff In S.C. .. Meg Whitman Wins CA Gov's Primary, Will Face Jerry Brown .. Carly Fiorina To Take On Barbara Boxer .. Nevada Gov. Ousted
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Tuesday, June 8, 2010

PRIMARY NIGHT IN AMERICA

Blanche Lincoln Defeats Bill Halter In Arkansas .. Nikki Haley, Gresham Barrett Headed To Runoff In S.C. .. Nevada Gov. Ousted In GOP Primary .. Elections Test Anti-Incumbent Sentiment .. LIVE Tweets
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'Birther Queen' Orly Taitz Goes Mainstream


California Republicans Worry About 'Birther Queen'
Candidacy, Orly Taitz Goes Mainstream





Birther queen Orly Taitz's claim to fame might not have seemed like an ideal launching pad for a Republican campaign for California Secretary of State, but now her momentum has the GOP quaking in their boots.

Taitz is facing a rather weak primary challenge from former Jacksonville Jaguar Damon Dunn on Tuesday, and Republican officials are worried that the controversial conspiracy theorist could go all the way.

As Politico reported Monday, the GOP would see a Taitz victory as a lost opportunity:

"It'd be a disaster for the Republican party," says James Lacy, a conservative GOP operative in the state. "Can you imagine if [gubernatorial candidate] Meg Whitman and [candidate for Lt. Gov.] Abel Maldonado -- both of whom might have a chance to win in November -- had to run with Orly Taitz as secretary of state, who would make her cockamamie issues about Obama's birth certificate problems at the forefront of her activities?"


"There is no Republican candidate for statewide office that would be willing to have her campaign with them," says Adam Probolsky, a spokesman for the Orange County Republican Party.

But while the GOP continues to bemoan the relatively powerful campaign that the birther queen has launched from the fringe, Taitz may be taking steps -- however small -- toward the mainstream.

Talking Points Memo reports Tuesday that Taitz, who is originally from Israel, attended the Republican Jewish Coalition "annual summer bash" on Sunday as a "special guest."

Other high-profile Republicans at the event included former Bush adviser Karl Rove, former Minnesota Senator Norm Coleman, and California Senate candidates Chuck DeVore and Carly Fiorina, and Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann.

UPDATE:

The Washington Post's Dave Weigel draws up a blueprint for an Orly Taitz victory:

Republican voters, brought out in sizable numbers by the contested primaries for governor and U.S. senator, fill out the rest of their ballot with progressively less information about their candidates. They know Taitz's name from... somewhere. And she's listed first on the ballot, thanks to the state's randomized ranking system. (Some of these voters, of course, will know and avidly support her.) She's identified on the ballot as an attorney, while Dunn is a real estate agent. They check off her name, and she wins.




Orly Taitz, Head Of Birther Movement,To Run For CA Secretary Of State

Orly Taitz, Orange County based dentist/lawyer and leader of the of
the birther movement, is planning to run for California Secretary of
State. The SF Gate reports:

Orange County
Registrar of Voters Neal Kelley said Wednesday that Orly Taitz, a leader
of the so-called birther movement, has qualified as a candidate.

She plans to challenge fellow Republican Damon Dunn, a former NFL
player living in Irvine, for her party's nomination.
Taitz made a name for herself last summer at the height of the "let's all forge up some birth certificates" craze.
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