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CALIFORNIA: The AP's results story: "California Republicans took an historic step Tuesday by nominating two wealthy businesswomen to challenge Democratic icons for governor and U.S. Senate, setting in motion an election season of big-money campaigns and high-stakes in the nation's most populous state."
Meg Whitman won in a landslide, 64%-27%.
The L.A. Times quotes from Republican gubernatorial nominee Meg Whitman’s victory speech: "Career politicians in Sacramento and Washington, D.C., be warned -- you now face your worst nightmare; two businesswomen from the real world who know how to create jobs, balance budgets and get things done!"
Former HP CEO Carly Fiorina beat former Rep. Tom Campbell and Tea Party favorite Chuck DeVore, 56%-22%-19%.
“The 55-year-old [Senate nominee Carly] 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,” the AP says.
As much as Meg Whitman and Carly Fiorina don't want to linked, here's the New York Daily News: "Meg Whitman, Carly Fiorina, millionaire businesswomen win Calif. GOP primaries on historic night."
Rep. Jane Harman (D) won her primary 59%-41%.
Birther lawyer Orly Taitz lost her Secretary of State bid 76%-24%.
Also: "Californians approved a measure Tuesday that will dramatically change how voters choose candidates in elections -- and could mean that two Republicans or two Democrats would end up as voters' only choices in a general election," the San Francisco Chronicle reports. "Proposition 14, known as the open primary measure, will give every voter the same ballot in primary elections for most state and federal races, except the presidential contest. The two candidates with the most votes would advance to the general election, regardless of party affiliation… The measure would apply to all legislative and state races, and it is not expected to increase the cost of holding primaries. It also eliminates write-in candidates from general elections and makes it more difficult for minor parties to gain official recognition from the state."
GEORGIA: Former state Rep. Tom Graves won a special election for 9th District House seat “with a little more than 56 percent of the vote to serve out the remainder of former Rep. Nathan Deal's term in Congress,” the Gainesville Times reports.
IOWA: “Former Gov. Terry Branstad cleared the first hurdle in his political comeback Tuesday, winning a majority of the vote in the three-way Republican primary for governor,” the Des Moines Register writes. “By winning a majority of the vote, albeit a narrow one, Branstad can spend less time reaching out to Republicans who backed his GOP rivals and more time on the fall campaign, GOP strategists said.”
NEVADA: “Even before sundown it was clear [Gov. Jim] Gibbons would be the first incumbent governor in state history to lose his re-election in his own party primary,” the Las Vegas Review Journal writes of a night of firsts: “In taking down Gibbons, former federal Judge Brian Sandoval achieved two other firsts: He became the first Hispanic to claim a major-party gubernatorial nomination in Nevada, and he set into motion the longest-ever lame-duck period for a governor, leaving Gibbons in office for seven more months until the next governor takes office.
SOUTH CAROLINA: “Spartanburg prosecutor Trey Gowdy combined firm backing in Greenville County with strong support from his hometown to outpoll six-term incumbent Bob Inglis in the Republican primary for the 4th Congressional District,” Greenville Online writes. “Gowdy, however, didn’t win the majority needed to avoid a runoff, so he faces Inglis again in less than two weeks on June 22.”
Myrtle Beach Sun News headline: "Black Republican faces Thurmond's son in SC runoff." The AP's lead: "The son of former segregationist Strom Thurmond will meet South Carolina's only black Republican state lawmaker for a primary runoff in the congressional district that includes the city where the Civil War began. But both Paul Thurmond and his opponent, state Rep. Tim Scott, say history and race have little to do with the contest in the coastal 1st District that took shape Tuesday night."
VIRGINIA: “It's a face-off many have been expecting since state Sen. Robert Hurt announced in October that he would run for Congress,” the Roanoke Times writes. “In a primary Tuesday, 5th District Republicans chose Hurt to take on Rep. Tom Perriello in November for the seat that represents a large swath of the state, stretching from Charlottesville south to the North Carolina border.”
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The best news for Republicans in CA is that Orly Taitz lost.
Don't make too much of two rich and greedy female Wall Street CEO Criminals buying their way to a primary victory, let's wait to see how November goes as Jerry Brown and Barbara Boxer are going to put this desperate attempt by the repugnant ones to garner more support from women. Nope November will see both of the rightwing stepford wives sent packing back to their corrupt corporate culture.
I got a real laugh last night when Chris Matthews was somehow projecting that Whorely Taitz would win her race against a political unknown black man who didn't bother to campaign. She lost badly as her kind of fruitcake doesn't fly even in a dopes of nope primary. I did laugh that Chris called Tainted Taitz a Tribalist and a malignancy on the GOP. Would have been fun if she had won as she would have become the face of the repugnant one's party and would have dragged down the whole ticket not just in California but nationally.
For the last two terms, California has had a very wealthy REPUBLICAN businessman as Governor who basically sank California into more difficult times. Lesson well learned. Just because you are successful in business does not mean you can govern a state. Been there ... done that Meg ... you can talk all you want .. but unless you learn how to work with a State Senate and Assembly that is completely and totally blue, you will just be another Arnold and get nothing accomplished.
Arnold was an actor, not a businessman. We also have a Senate and Assembly that are controled by the Democrats, who are equally responsible for the fiscal mess that we in California are in. In fairness, the budgetary process in California requires a two thirds majority to pass, so the majority party is not solely responsible for the mess. We should always present both sides of the argument, just for fairness sake.
80 million for a campain ? I thought Meg was a smart woman! She strikes me a an idiot...i can't be the only one feeling this way ! I would vote for the guy who won with no campain budget ...This shows how lil this meg woman knows about business!
She didn't win "SHE BOUGHT IT " !
Living in LA ..the last time I checked ....the hollywood industry was a multi billion dollar business and Arnold excelled in it. And not just in acting. In fact, much of what Meg said in her campaign about her business experience reminded me of Arnold eight years ago. I have a funny feeling that Californian's aren't going to for the republican rhetoric again expecially from a woman who bought her way into the campaign since so few of her party members where willing to give her money
Not disagreeing about the industry, just Arnold, (I don't consider producing and acting as a businessman role) and the responsibility for the mess we as Californians are in. We're big on overspending (an opinion), but not on taking responsibility for the funding, hence the manipulation of budgets and accounting trickery to cover the shortfalls.
Anyone that reads my comments should understand that I am not so much pro-Democratic as I am anti-Republican. Since 2000 and as an ex-long-term Republican I have developed a complete contempt for what the Republican Party has become. Starting with Bush-Cheney and continuing with the Party’s ongoing mentality they have demonstrated a gross dishonesty and a self-serving arrogant boldness that focuses totally on their political ambitions and on being ‘puppets’ for the few who are their strong overt and covert supporters. They neglect all responsibility to the majority and just think they can use subterfuge to manipulate and control public opinion – their arrogance is appalling as they pursue their private agenda and then say anything to rationalize their actions and to just fault the Democrats. As Karl Rove aptly demonstrated and the party has completely adopted, they depend on boldness and persistence using scare tactics and emotional appeals to people’s biases, prejudices and self-interests, with their blatant dishonesty being totally disgusting and very costly. They even try to falsely convince that they are God’s choice, which is absolutely absurd and intentionally very manipulative to those who accept it. All we have to do is be rational and objective, look around at everything, put the deceptive rhetoric aside and see the drastic results and costs of their actions to know the con they are perpetrating.
The Democrats are not pure and holy and all that they propose could use the benefit of bipartisan cooperation to adjust and fine tune everything, that being what our government is designed to do … but that isn’t available as the Republicans focus only on gaining complete dominance without conscience. Today there is the Tea Party Movement which again has appeal to people’s self-interest by faulting taxes, government spending and Socialism, without any regard for need. It promises to turn over incumbents and replace them with extreme conservatives to insure the squashing of any liberalism … but is that a realistic goal or even desirable? Again, look around and see all of the drastic problems, imagine that government does nothing, worse that it returns to ‘more of the same’ and remember that the ultra-conservative mentality is what controlled Bush-Cheney and destined the problems. All extremes scare me and while some of the Tea Party goals, if they were more moderate, could be attractive they represent an unconscionably selfish approach that neglects to even consider real needs, tries to achieve results that don’t consider reality, is progressing towards turning over and supporting mainly Republican candidates and could just be a tool for the extreme conservative block that considers only their own interests. Is it a con aiming to again control public opinion and manipulate the voters? I don’t know but obviously it has many people emotionally excited and stirred up behind it.
What we really need today, especially now, is rational and objective thinking with candidates, incumbents, both parties and the people all rejecting the pressures and subterfuge of Special Interests, putting aside the ‘more-for-me-for-nothing’ thinking, with everyone being more moderate and then responsibly addressing the problems. The Obama administration seems to be the most responsible, honestly conscientious and real opportunity we have (ignoring the obnoxious self-serving slander thrown at them) and we really need to support and hold them to a higher standard. To get the Republicans to honestly and responsibly join in we need to firmly reject what they have become. The extremes are really the danger and being conned into accepting them is a costly failure.
Excellent... Bravo... well said; you eloquently took the words right out of my head.
I'm glad I'm not the only one witnessing extreme rhetoric and hyper-partisanship from both sides of the aisles; especially the republicans who all of a sudden can't think for themselves, but in lock-step with their party; acting like little kids throwing temper tantrums. Someone in the past called them knuckle dragging neanderthals - I laughed in agony because one without rational is exactly that - a neanderthal.
President Obama, while I don't agree with all his policies "soooo" feels like the only adult in the room.