Republican primary and caucus results from Indiana and Utah


From National Public Radio—http://www.npr.org/

“Former Senator Dan Coats, an Indiana Republican who left office in 1998, successfully launched the first phase of his comeback Tuesday, winning the GOP Senate nomination for the seat being vacated by two-term Democratic incumbent Evan Bayh (which means that Evan Bayh was elected in 1998—my addition).

With 76 percent of precincts reporting, Coats has 40 percent of the vote. State Senator Marlin Stutzman, a strong conservative with significant tea party support, finished second with 30 percent (which was much better than he was originally thought to be able to achieve—my addition), and former Representative John Hostettler, another conservative, trailed with 22 percent. Two other candidates shared the remainder.

From the outset, Coats, 66, was the choice of the Washington GOP establishment, but some worried about his post-Senate career, which was mostly spent as a D.C. lobbyist. He also served as ambassador to Germany under President George W. Bush.

Coats will face Representative Brad Ellsworth in November. Bayh announced his retirement too late in the process for Democrats to hold a primary; party leaders will select Ellsworth, a pro-life and pro-gun moderate conservative who cast a widely watched vote in favor of the health care bill (which means he is NOT pro-life!—my addition), as their nominee on May 15.

Coats made it clear, in accepting the nomination, that he would go after President Obama as well as Ellsworth:

In light of the damage that President Obama’s policies already have done to the United States of America, as Hoosiers we cannot afford to be any part of it.

We cannot and we will not stand idly by and watch as our personal liberties are diluted, our national security diminished, and our fiscal health destroyed.

And we absolutely cannot afford to elect someone to the United States Senate who will enable this radical move to the left. Folks, anyone who has voted to reappoint Nancy Pelosi as speaker of the House cannot be trusted to protect Indiana’s interests.

We are going to confront Congressman Ellsworth and his liberal Washington allies because all Hoosiers, including those who may have voted for him in the past, deserve to have a clear choice in November.

Senator John Cornyn, the chair of the National Republican Senatorial Committee who went out on a limb early by recruiting Coats for the contest, was jubilant.

The contrast in this campaign could not be more clear for voters in Indiana this November. Brad Ellsworth was hand-picked by Washington Democrat party bosses because they know he will serve as another rubberstamp for President Obama and Harry Reid’s deeply unpopular agenda if he is elected to the U.S. Senate. Ellsworth has voted with Nancy Pelosi 81 percent of the time in Congress, and he has eagerly helped the Democrats in Washington pass their massive health spending bill and failed stimulus debacle.

Hari Sevugan, the press secretary for the Democratic National Committee, saw it differently:

In Dan Coats, national Republicans got who they wanted, and who they got is an establishment Republican steeped in the culture of Washington; a super-lobbyist beholden to special interests for his fortune. From Wall Street to big oil, Dan Coats has acquired $2.5 million in assets and an income of more than $800,000 by marketing his services to the highest bidder and securing bailouts for Wall Street. Dan Coats may represent national Republicans to a tee, but he doesn’t represent the values of Hoosiers anymore.

(As I said on my April 30th post, Dan Coats is endorsed by Indiana Right to Life according to his website. Therefore, although I was supporting Marlin Stutzman in the primary, I certainly support Dan Coats over a Democrat who voted for Nationalize healthcare and the provision permitting the federal government to pay, either directly or indirectly, for the MURDER of American citizens who have not yet been born—my addition.)

In the overwhelmingly Republican 4th Congressional District, which is being vacated by Representative Steve Buyer (R), the GOP nomination went to Secretary of State Todd Rokita (R), who easily topped a 13-candidate primary field. Rokita is all but certain to win in November.

In the 5th CD, veteran Representative Dan Burton (R) survived a tough battle for renomination against six challengers for the seat he first won in 1982.

Ellsworth’s 8th CD seat will be contested by state Representative Trent Van Haaften (D) and surgeon Larry Bucshon (R).

And in the 9th CD, where Representative Baron Hill (D) is seeking re-election, the news of the day is that former Representative Mike Sodrel will not be Hill’s GOP opponent for the fifth consecutive time. He finished third in the primary to attorney Todd Young.”

At the present time, five of Indiana’s nine seats in the House of Representative are held by Democrats. Hopefully, the Republicans can win one or two of these five seats while maintaining control of the other four. An important contest to watch is the 8th District where the incumbent—Brad Ellsworth—is running for the Senate. He is a second term member who won his second term by a 65% total and, of course, won in 2006 for the first time when the House of Representatives changed to control by the Democrats.

From Fox News— http://www.foxnews.com/

“Republican U.S. Senator Bob Bennett of Utah has been ousted in his bid to serve a fourth term after failing to make it out of the Utah GOP convention.

Attorney Mike Lee and businessman Tim Bridgewater are the remaining Republican candidates after Saturday’s vote. After a third round of voting, neither nominee received 60 percent of the vote, so both will head to the Utah primary on June 22.

Bennett was a distant third in the second round of voting among nearly 3,500 delegates, netting about 27 percent of the vote.

Wiping away tears, Bennett called the political atmosphere ‘toxic’ and said it’s, ‘Clear some of the votes I’ve cast have added to that toxic environment, looking back with one or two minor exceptions, I wouldn’t cast any (vote—my addition) any differently, even if I knew it would cost me my career.’

The three-term senator was targeted by Tea Party activists and other groups for supporting the first traunch (I don’t know what word is meant here. My spell check said it is misspelled. I could not find such a word in my dictionary. I, therefore, left it as it is—my addition.) of TARP, or Troubled Assets Relief Program.

Bennett, 76, is the first incumbent to lose his seat in Washington this year. (Of course, he has not lost it yet. His term expires when Congress convenes in January of 2011—my addition.)

Critics also say Bennett broke a promise he made during his initial campaign to only serve two terms. He was vying for his fourth term.

Aides to Bennett blame outside groups for ‘distorting’ his position on multiple issues, such as the auto bailouts, the stimulus and health care reform. Bennett voted against all of those measures. (It’s relatively easy these days to check the accuracy of what is said in relation to votes since the votes are posted on the internet—my addition)

Bennett isn’t the only Republican lawmaker in trouble as other moderate candidates across the country find themselves being abandoned by GOP voters in favor of those backed by Tea Party activists, such as with Senate races in Arizona, Kentucky and New Hampshire. (Does this mean that the Tea Party is having an impact on elections!—my addition)

In Florida, Governor Charlie Crist decided to run for Senate as an independent rather than face an almost certain primary defeat at the hands of Tea Party favorite Marco Rubio, Florida’s former state House speaker.

DNC Chairman Tim Kaine emphasized the Tea Partiers’ role in recent primary politics.

‘This is just the latest battle in the corrosive (His opinion!—my addition) Republican intra-party civil war that has resulted in the Tea Party devouring two Republicans in just as many weeks,’ Kaine said. ‘If there was any question before, there should now be no doubt that the Republican leadership has handed the reigns to the Tea Party.’ (NOT true! If anything, the Tea Party has grabbed the reigns away from some RINO party leaders who are supporting candidates who are NOT conservative enough. GOOD for them!—my addition)

Bennett’s seven Republican rivals contend he no longer has the credentials to represent ‘ultraconservative’ Utah.

Lee, 38, and Bridgewater (I plan to check him out soon—my addition), 49, have campaigned largely by saying they’re better suited to pare down government spending than Bennett.

‘I will fight every day as your U.S. senator for limited government, to end the cradle-to-grave entitlement mentality, for a balanced budget, to protect our flag, our borders and our national security and for bills that can be read before they receive a final vote in congress,’ Lee said in his convention speech.

The opposition to Bennett is specific, and can’t be chalked up solely to a general anti-incumbency fervor. Neither of Utah’s two Republican congressmen are at risk of losing their seats, and Republican Gov. Gary Herbert doesn’t have any serious challengers.

But Bennett’s vote to bail out Wall Street left many Republicans feeling he had become too much of a Washington insider. He's also come under fire for co-sponsoring a bipartisan bill mandating health insurance coverage and for aggressively pursuing earmarks.

In Arizona, Senator John McCain is in a tough primary fight against former Representative J.D. Hayworth, a conservative talk-radio host. In Kentucky, Rand Paul, the son of libertarian Representative Ron Paul of Texas, is gaining momentum in his challenge against the GOP establishment’s pick of Secretary of State Trey Grayson to replace retiring U.S. Senator Jim Bunning.”

In New Hampshire, former Attorney General Kelly Ayotte is battling three Republican challengers to fill the seat being vacated by Republican Judd Gregg.”