A Super Tuesday of Sorts

It's a Battlefield Out There

During Presidential election years the day when the greatest number of states hold their primary elections is designated a special name, Super Tuesday. Well if the Midterm elections had any special title, today June 8th might edge out any other for that title. Let's look at three high profile elections: the South Carolina gubernatorial election, Arkansas Senate election, and the California gubernatorial race.

The Palmetto Pageant

In a high profile and high stakes primary election, South Carolina State Rep. Nikki Haley (R-SC) won the Republican gubernatorial election with 49% of the vote. However, since South Carolina laws dictate that the candidate must receive at least 50% of the vote to obtain the seat, she is now heading into a runoff election with U.S. Rep Gresham Barrett, who in a distant second received 21.6% of the vote.

This election received massive media attention due to high profile endorsements (all for Haley) from former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin (R-AK) and Mitt Romney (R-MA). The media frenzy continued with allegations of extramarital affairs, on Haley's part, yet no credible information has been produced in order to ascertain the viability of either claim. In response, former South Carolina First Lady Jenny Sanford through her weigh behind Haley and praised her ability to handle these frivolous allegations. Jenny Sanford was the wife of Governor Mark Sanford (R-SC) who last year admitted his extramarital affairs with an Argentinian woman, so Jenny Sanford is not new to controversy, Her endorsement and continued support most likely helped Haley overcome these attacks.

Haley and Barrett advance to a runoff which will be held on June 22nd, however the end seems all but over. The Republican Governor's Association, sensing victory has staked its claim behind Nikki Haley and claiming her as the most viable candidate. Regardless, the winner of the run off with face Democrat Vincent Sheheen in the general election.

A Fight for her Life

In Arkansas U.S. Senator Blanche Lincoln (D-AR) has finally overcome her Democratic primary opponent Lt. Governor Bill Halter today in a runoff election. Lincoln, who underwent a bruising campaign, beat Halter by 2 percentage points in the primary election; however, she failed to obtain 50% of the vote so she was forced into a runoff in order to save her political life. Now, with 91% of the precincts reporting, Lincoln can breathe a small sigh of relief because she edged out halter by receiving 51.8% of the vote compared Halter's 48.2%.

In the last campaign Lincoln pulled out all the stops, even reaching out to both President Obama as well as former President Bill Clinton. Clinton, a former governor of Arkansas, remains extremely popular in the state and Lincoln seized upon her status as a moderate in order to draw a closer comparison to Clinton. However, she's not out of the frying pan yet. The general election promises to be just a brutal as she faces off against the Republican nominee Rep. Bob Boozman.

Money, Money, Money

If there was ever a poster child for the power of money in elections, the California gubernatorial campaign is just that. The Republican California gubernatorial campaign saw Meg Whitman (R-CA), the former CEO of eBay, defeated insurance commissioner Steve Poizner (R-CA) in the primary. The price election saw Whitman spend over $70 million dollars of her own money to get 63.7% of the vote while Poizner, spending $25 million dollars, received 26.4%.

Meg Whitman will face former Governor Jerry Brown who is current the California Attorney General. This promises to be an intense election and may effect the balance of power in the Governors Association if California remains a 'Red' state.

Also in California, Carly Fiorina (R-CA) is currently is leading the pack in the Republican Senatorial primary with 54.4% of the vote. The winner of this election will face the incumbent Senator, Barbara Boxer (D-CA) who polls show, will face a bitter general election fight.

Later,
Cody

(Photo: Courtesy of the Associated Press)