Something to Cheer About

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Both parties had something to crow about following Tuesday’s Congressional primaries, the busiest day on the calendar for House and Senate races so far this year.

Voters chose nominees for six Senate seats and 81 House seats — two Alabama House contests have Republican runoffs on July 15 — including nominees for what are sure to be some of the most competitive races of the general election.

House Republican strategists were happy that their strongest possible candidates emerged in several hard-fought primaries, including those in New Jersey’s 3rd and 7th districts (for more details, see story below) and

in New Mexico’s 1st and 2nd districts. (See story, p. 9.)

And they argued that with his big victory margin in a bitter primary win over former Rep. Doug Ose (R), California state Sen. Tom McClintock (R) should be in good shape as he battles Air Force veteran Charlie Brown (D) in the race to replace retiring Rep. John Doolittle (R-Calif.).

But Democrats could point to New Mexico as a place where the primaries helped them.

Their strongest possible nominees emerged in the 1st and 2nd district primaries, and in the Land of Enchantment Senate race, some pundits believe that Rep. Steve Pearce (R) will be a slightly weaker candidate in the general election against Rep. Tom Udall (D) than the woman he defeated in Tuesday’s primary, Rep. Heather Wilson (R).

In two competitive Alabama House districts, Democrats got the nominees they wanted while Republicans face runoffs. Here is a wrap-up of results in all seven states that held primaries Tuesday:

Alabama

State Sen. Vivian Davis Figures won the Democratic primary for the right to take on Sen. Jeff Sessions (R) in November, but he is the prohibitive favorite.

In the crowded 2nd district Republican primary, state Rep. Jay Love will head to a runoff with state Sen. Harri Anne Smith after no candidate was able to achieve the majority of votes necessary to secure the nomination.

The southwest Alabama district was not expected to be competitive at the beginning of this cycle, but Republican Rep. Terry Everett’s retirement, combined with the strong Democratic recruiting efforts that brought Montgomery Mayor Bobby Bright into the race, have given Democrats an unexpected opportunity in what had been a safe Republican seat. With a 29 percent black population and Bright’s ties to both Montgomery and the rural southeast “wiregrass” area of the district, where he grew up, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has high hopes for flipping the 2nd district this cycle.

In the Huntsville-based 5th district, the Republican race is also headed to a runoff, though just barely.

With 18,512 votes (according to unofficial results), commercial insurance broker Wayne Parker was fewer than 500 votes shy of locking up the Republican nomination outright on Tuesday. Parker, who was the GOP nominee against retiring Rep. Bud Cramer (D) twice in the mid-1990s, will now compete in a July runoff against attorney Cheryl Baswell Guthrie (R), who earned 6,941 votes Tuesday.

The eventual Republican nominee will face state Sen. Parker Griffith (D) in November. Griffith, who was endorsed by Cramer in early April, earned 90 percent of the vote in his primary race. With 34,541 votes, Parker also earned the distinction of winning more raw votes than any Alabama Congressional candidate on the ballot Tuesday.

California

Although the Golden State had far and away the greatest number of Congressional primaries, only two were of consequence: McClintock’s victory over Ose in the 4th district and Marine Reservist Duncan D. Hunter’s resounding victory in the 52nd district Republican primary. Hunter is now the overwhelming favorite to replace his father, retiring Rep. Duncan Hunter (R), in the next Congress.