Blanche Lincoln, Bill Halter Headed for Run-Off in Arkansas Senate Democratic Primary

By: Stephanie Condon
Topics: Campaign 2010 ,; Congress

(Credit: AP)

In a mark of the nation's anti-incumbent, anti-Washington mood, Sen. Blanche Lincoln of Arkansas will have to fight off her Democratic primary challenger Lt. Gov. Bill Halter in a run-off, according to the Associated Press.

Little Rock businessman D.C. Morrison also ran, leaving no candidate with a majority of votes. Consequently, there will be a run-off on June 8.

Lincoln won the ire of the Democratic base because of her perceived ties to corporate interests and by flip-flopping on the public option in the health care debate. Halter, subsequently, won the support of labor unions and liberal activists.

Nevertheless, Halter has said that simply denying Lincoln 50 percent of the vote should be considered a victory for him, given that Lincoln has served in Congress for 16 years and chairs the powerful Senate Agricultural Committee.

In this increasingly right-leaning state, neither Lincoln nor Halter are very far-left candidates. However, faced with a tough primary challenge, Lincoln has taken a strong stance in the financial reform debate, pushing for legislation to add strong new regulations to the derivative market.

Results:

Roundup: All Winners and Losers
Specter Falls in Pa. Dem Primary to Joe Sestak
Rand Paul Wins Kentucky GOP Primary
Blanche Lincoln, Bill Halter Headed for Run-Off
Dem Wins Special Election for Murtha's Seat

Analysis:

The Surprises From Tuesday's Primaries
Specter's Loss Goes Beyond Anti-Incumbent Mood
Where do Tuesday's Winners Go from Here?
Who Had the Better Spin?

Stephanie Condon
Stephanie Condon is a political reporter for CBSNews.com.
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by fxr60 May 19, 2010 2:32 PM EDT: Doesn't matter which one wins the Dem. vote, they will be beat by the Repub. canidate! Rand Paul will gain the support of the Repub. party along with the support of his recent rival and he will win out! The people have had enough of Obama and his ilk with their lies, pay offs, spending trillions, and it's time to show them the door! Another casualty, Blumanthal was caught on tape lying about his Veitnam service and today a lot of Veterans are very upset with him. If a man lies about something like that, how can anyone in their right mind vote for this idiot?; Reply to this comment


by tsigili May 19, 2010 9:32 AM EDT: She's headed for defeat, as well.; Reply to this comment


by MediaMadness May 19, 2010 8:05 AM EDT: http://www.politico.com/2010/maps/#/Senate/2010/KY
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Rand Paul has a Numbers Problem, Going into the Fall, Uh-Oh

Both Kentucky Democrats Garnered More Votes than Rand Paul:

Democrat Conway [226,773]

Mangiardo [221,269]

Libertarian-Republican-Tea Party Candidate Rand Paul Garnered [206,159] Votes

Had Mangiardo not been in the Kentucky Race, Conway would have a Far Larger Vote Total.

Mangiardo will make sure his Voters Vote for Conway, Uh Oh.
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by RobAla May 19, 2010 6:38 AM EDT

Where are the number of voters and percentages of each candidate? This is a terribly written article.

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by pasmalltown May 19, 2010 7:46 AM EDT: "With about 92 percent of the precincts counted in Arkansas, Lincoln led Halter by 44 percent to 42 percent. A third candidate, D.C. Morrison, won enough votes to prevent either Lincoln or Halter from crossing the 50 percent threshold." http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE64H0P120100519?loomia_ow=t0:s0:a49:g43:r3:c0.103300:b34136722:z0 Wed May 19, 2010 6:55am EDT
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Could it be no one has this information yet?????? Maybe it's just "NOT" there yet. As this article was written May 18th @ 11:15pm I can't say that it's "terribly written", just factual at the time it was written..............