Sen. Thad Cochran, R-Miss., leaves a pre-election day rally at the Mississippi Agriculture and Forestry Museum in Jackson, Miss., on June 2, 2014.(Photo: Joe Ellis, AP)
WASHINGTON — Six-term Sen. Thad Cochran was fighting the political race of his life early Wednesday, locked in a nail-biter GOP primary in Mississippi against Tea Party-backed Chris McDaniel that was too close to call.
The fate of Cochran, 76, was the top race as eight states held primaries Tuesday to set up contests for the Nov. 4 general elections.
Joni Ernst won the Senate GOP nomination in Iowa to set up a battle with Democrat Bruce Braley this fall, in one of the races that will help determine which party holds power in the last two years of President Obama's second term.
Voters also picked Senate nominees in South Dakota and Montana, two other marquee races with implications for majority control. Key House races in California, New Jersey and Alabama were being set.. And in New Mexico, voters picked Democratic Attorney General Gary King to take on incumbent Gov. Susana Martinez in the general election.
All eyes were on Mississippi, where McDaniel was leading Cochran with more than 96% of the vote counted. Rep. Gregg Harper, R-Miss., a Cochran ally, told supporters at Cochran's election night party in Mississippi that it looked as though the race would head to a June 24 runoff.
That was a possibility with Thomas Carey running a distant third in the Senate GOP primary.
McDaniel, 41, argued that Cochran, first elected in 1978, has been in office too long and contributed to the fiscal problems plaguing Washington. But Cochran, a former chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, countered that experience matters when it comes to helping one of the poorest states in the nation.
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"People of this country were somehow awakened and we've been asleep for far too long," McDaniel told his supporters.
The race took a bizarre twist in the final weeks when Cochran's bedridden wife, Rose, who suffers from dementia, was photographed by a pro-McDaniel supporter. McDaniel has said he had nothing to do with the incident.
The Mississippi Senate race is "talked about as a Tea Party race, but it's more about the conventional challenge of an incumbent," said John Bruce, an associate professor and chairman of the political science department at the University of Mississippi. "The deep South has a long history of liking incumbents and we tend to like them until they die. But the magic of incumbency has died a little."
Travis Childers, a former congressman, easily won the Democratic Senate nomination. Political analysts agree Cochran would be the favorite if he wins the nomination. "I'm surprised I haven't heard ... if you want to make sure a Republican holds this seat, vote for Cochran," Bruce said. "The only chance Democrats have at all of winning is if McDaniel is the nominee."
Ernst, a state senator, had the edge in Iowa's five-candidate GOP field, thanks to distinctive campaign ads that introduced her to voters as a hog-castrating, Harley-riding, Iraq War veteran. Her supporters included the pro-business U.S. Chamber of Commerce and Mitt Romney, along with Tea Party loyalists such as Sarah Palin and the Senate Conservatives Fund.
"Candidates matter," said Scott Reed, senior political strategist for the chamber. "Joni Ernst put together this broad-based coalition and that's the sign of a winner. She's more interested in addition as opposed to subtraction. She's not against everybody."
Democratic Sen. Tom Harkin is retiring after 30 years representing Iowa, a swing state in presidential elections. Republicans need to pick up six Senate seats to win control from Harry Reid and the Democrats.
Braley, a Democratic congressman, made a misstep earlier this year when he criticized senior Sen. Chuck Grassley as "a farmer from Iowa who never went to law school." Grassley is poised to become chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee if Republicans win control in the 2014 midterm elections. Braley apologized for his comment.
MONTANA AND SOUTH DAKOTA SENATE: Voters in these two Great Plains states finalized their general election lineup for the Senate. Both are conservative, red-leaning states where Obama lost by wide margins in 2012 and Senate seats held by Democrats are up for grabs.
Former governor Mike Rounds easily won the GOP nomination in South Dakota and will face Democrat Rick Weiland, a former aide to Senate Democratic leader Tom Daschle, in November. Democratic Sen. Tim Johnson is retiring.
In Montana, appointed Democratic Sen. John Walsh defeated two challengers in his primary and will face GOP Rep. Steve Daines in the general election. Democrat Max Baucus stepped down from the U.S. Senate to become ambassador to China.
HOUSE RACES: In Mississippi, Gene Taylor appeared to fall short in his bid to win back the 4th District House seat he lost in 2010 to Republican Steve Palazzo. Taylor was a Democrat in his previous 11 terms in Congress, and he switched parties for a rematch with Palazzo.
In California, Republican Doug Ose and Democrat Joe Baca were running comeback campaigns. Veteran Rep. Mike Honda, who has represented a Silicon Valley district since 2001, was challenged by fellow Democrat Ro Khanna, a patent lawyer backed by Yahoo, Facebook and Google executives. Because of California's unusual primary system, in which the top two finishers regardless of party move on to the general election, the real battle for these House seats will come in the fall.
In New Jersey, businessman Tom MacArthur defeated Tea Party favorite Steve Lonegan for the GOP nomination in the 3rd District, a swing district. MacArthur, who was endorsed by retiring Rep. Jon Runyan, will face Democrat Aimee Belgard, a Burlington County freeholder, in November. Obama carried the district in 2008 and 2012. Lonegan, a former state director for the conservative Americans for Prosperity, lost last year's special Senate election to Cory Booker and was defeated in a GOP primary for governor in 2009 by Chris Christie.
CALIFORNIA GOVERNOR: Democratic Gov. Jerry Brown, who is running for an unprecedented fourth term, was the top vote-getter on Tuesday night. State Assemblyman Tim Donnelly and businessman Neel Kashkari, a former Bush administration official who ran the government's Troubled Asset Relief Program, are the top Republican candidates.
NEW MEXICO GOVERNOR: Martinez, the first Latina Republican elected governor, has already socked away more than $4 million for the general election as she seeks a second term. King, who defeated four other candidates to win the Democratic nod, is the son of the late Bruce King, the state's longest-serving governor.
Contributing: Associated Press
State Sen. Joni Ernst waves to supporters at a primary election night rally after winning the Republican nomination for the U.S. Senate on June 3, 2014, in Des Moines, Iowa.(Photo: Charlie Neibergall, AP)
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