Mike Lee Emerges as Favorite to Win Utah Senate Seat
In Utah, the Republican Senate primary chalked up another Tea Party win, as Mike Lee narrowly defeated Tim Bridgewater. Both conservatives, the two had come down the stretch looking to differentiate themselves and at least one poll had Bridgewater up, but Lee (at left)got the turnout where he needed.
Lee, as the GOP nominee, now enters the General Election phase as a favorite against Democrat Sam Granato in heavily-Republican Utah.
And in North Carolina, Elaine Marshall held off Cal Cunningham for the Democratic nod, despite the support that Cunningham had gotten from national Democrats, with Marshall succeeding and portraying herself as more of an outsider in the face off it.
Looking to the fall, Marshall will try to unseat Richard Burr. Burr is in his first term, and there's been recent Democratic successes in the state, but Democrats will surely have their work cut out for them if the surge of newer voters that helped propel President Obama to a narrow win in the state isn't prepared to come out for the midterms.
And some quick notes on House race primaries as they may affect the Fall:
In North Carolina's state's 8th Congressional district Republican runoff, former sportscaster Harold Johnson won the right to take on first-term Democrat Larry Kissell in this marginal district, setting up what could become one of the hotter congressional races to watch this fall.
In Utah's 2nd district, blue-dog Democrat Jim Matheson easily held off the most formidable primary challenge he's had, from Claudia Wright who got around one-third of the vote. This had drawn interest because, like some other conservative and centrist Democrats, Matheson had found himself needing to keep in mind more liberal voters while trying to chart a more centrist course in a Republican-leaning district -- a storyline to follow in many other Democratic-held districts this year.
Interactive Map: CBS News Election 2010 Race Ratings
Anthony Salvanto is CBS News Elections Director. You can read more of his posts in Hotsheet here.
