TOP OF THE TICKET
On a day with primary elections in eight states, the headline will be made in Mississippi, where six-term GOP Sen. Thad Cochran faces his toughest re-election fight ever. The state's Republican establishment backs Cochran against state Sen. Chris McDaniel, a favorite of the tea party.
Voters also are choosing nominees in Alabama, California, Iowa, Montana, New Jersey, New Mexico and South Dakota.
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MISSISSIPPI TURNING?
The closing days of the Cochran-McDaniel race were dominated by a controversy involving, of all things, a camera in a nursing home. Four McDaniel supporters were arrested on charges tied to the surreptitious photographing of Cochran's bedridden wife, who has dementia.
McDaniel said he knew nothing about it, but Cochran supporters suspected dirty politics.
Cochran, 76, emphasizes the federal money — sometimes called pork — that he has steered to Mississippi for decades. The 41-year-old McDaniel's critique of the incumbent is that he's too willing to go along with Democrats in Washington.
While a McDaniel win would be a rare victory for tea party conservatives this year over a candidate favored by the party's establishment wing, it's not likely to affect control of the Senate. The winner of the GOP primary will be the heavy favorite in November against the Democratic nominee, former U.S. Rep. Travis Childers.
The Cochran-McDaniel showdown has produced record spending in the relatively small state. Third-party groups have spent about $8.4 million, mostly for TV ads.
That's on top of $3 million spent by Cochran's campaign and $1 million from McDaniel's. The total outlay amounts to $4.13 for each of Mississippi's 3 million residents, and $6.53 for each of its 1.9 million registered voters. The cost-per-vote figure promises to be much higher, given that primaries usually draw only a fraction of eligible voters.
The race remained too close to call hours after the polls closed.
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SQUEALING PIGS IN IOWA
Democratic Sen. Tom Harkin's retirement triggered a feisty Republican primary in Iowa, where state Sen. Joni Ernst made national news with a TV ad boasting that she castrated hogs as a farm girl. (She will "cut the pork" in Washington ... get it?) Ernst went on to win endorsements from Sarah Palin, Mitt Romney and others.
The goofy nature of the ad doesn't really reflect Ernst's personality, but the attention it generated made her the star in a then-muddled field of five. She won the nomination, defeating businessman Mark Jacobs.
She will face U.S. Rep. Bruce Braley, who was unopposed for the Democratic nod.
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CALIFORNIA'S TOP TWO TAKE ALL
California holds its primaries under its unusual all-candidates system, in which the top two finishers, regardless of party, face off in November.
Democratic Gov. Jerry Brown is favored to grab one spot in the gubernatorial race. Republican candidates include former investment banker Neel Kashkari and state legislator Tim Donnelly. Donnelly, the more ardently conservative of the two, has compared President Barack Obama to Adolph Hitler.
Seven-term U.S. Rep. Mike Honda is being challenged by fellow Democrat Ro Khanna, a patent lawyer backed by several high-tech interests.
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BIG NAMES, LITTLE SUSPENSE IN SOUTH DAKOTA AND MONTANA
Source: Top Stories - Google News - http://ift.tt/1tGr03r
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