Super Tuesday: A Post-Mortem
Yesterday, important primaries were held in six states: Arkansas, Georgia, Idaho, Kentucky, Oregon, and Pennsylvania. As of today, the race towards the general election starts in all of those states except Georgia, where there will be a runoff on July 22nd. Below is an analysis of the results:
Arkansas: Rep. Tom Cotton won the Republican primary and will face Democrat Senator Mark Pryor in the general election for the Arkansas U.S. Senate seat. Considered a vulnerable Democrat incumbent, Pryor has nevertheless been up in recent polls, indicating that this is going to be an interesting race to watch this summer.
Georgia: Democrat Michelle Nunn, who has never run for public office, won the Democratic nomination for senate with 75% of the vote. There were seven candidates running in the Republican primary, including Reps. Paul Broun and Phil Gingrey. Because no candidate received 50% of the vote in the Republican primary, a runoff between the top two candidates--David Perdue and Jack Kingston--will be held July 22. It is projected that Perdue, the former CEO of Dollar General, will win in the runoff. The winner will face Michelle Nunn in the general election.
Idaho: Republican Governor Butch Otter won the Republican primary last night, after being challenged from the right by state Senator Russ Fulcher. Last week a video of a debate between the Republican candidates went viral because of the statements of perennial candidates Harley Brown and Walt Bayes. In case you missed it, see below:
 | | Idaho GOP Governors Primary Debate (May 14, 2014) |
Kentucky: Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell won in the Republican primary over challenger Matt Bevin 60% to 35%. Now he faces a tough challenge from Democratic candidate Alison Lundergan Grimes.
Oregon: Republican pediatric neurosurgeon Monica Wehby won in the primary for senate and will face Democrat incumbent Senator Jeff Merkley in the general election. Merkley has enthusiastically supported Obamacare, whereas Wehby has been a staunch opponent of the law since it was launched, even appearing in an ad opposing it in 2009 when she was on the board of the American Medical Association. Unseating an incumbent is always difficult, but this will be a race worth watching. Accusations of harassment by a former boyfriend and custody issues with her ex-husband may hurt Wehby over the summer.
Pennsylvania: Republican Governor Tom Corbett is considered a very vulnerable incumbent, and will be facing Democrat Tom Wolf in the general election. Wolf won his primary with nearly 58% of the vote after investing $10 million of his own money into the race. Corbett has been struggling in the polls, and if he loses he will be the first governor to lose reelection in Pennsylvania history, according to The Washington Post.
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