Two Ky. Congressmen To Face Off For Senate Seat; Idaho Also Holds Primary
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Bunning
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LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AllPolitics, May 27) -- After the most expensive contest in Kentucky history, voters Tuesday chose two congressmen to fight for the Senate seat vacated by retiring Sen. Wendell Ford and held by the Democrats since 1974.
And in the Idaho primary races on Tuesday. Sen. Dirk Kempthorne, leaving Washington after one term, easily won the GOP nomination for governor over token opposition.
The Kentucky race for the Senate seat will feature two former athletes. Three-term U.S. Rep. Scotty Baesler, a 56-year-old former captain of the University of Kentucky basketball squad barely squeaked by two Democratic rivals for the right to challenge U.S. Rep. Jim Bunning, a 66-year-old conservative Republican, a former major-league pitcher who is a member of the baseball Hall of Fame.
With most of the primary vote counted, Baesler won 33 percent and was followed closely by Louisville cable industry multimillionaire Charlie Owen with 30 percent and Lt. Gov. Steve Henry with 27 percent.
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Baesler
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Owen spent more than $6 million of his own money, much of it on TV ads, making the race the most expensive in the state's history. Owen is a former federal prosecutor who has never held elective office. The previous record for a Kentucky campaign was set by Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell.
Bunning is in line for strong support from McConnell in the November campaign. He easily defeated state Sen. Barry Metcalf by a nearly three-to-one margin to capture his party's nomination.
The open Senate seat in Kentucky is one of several in the country Republicans are targeting in an effort to expand their 55-45 majority in the Senate.
There were also primary contests for three House races. In the Fourth District, a former Bunning aide, Rick Robinson, was upset by Gex "Jay" Williams, an abortion foe backed by Ralph Reed and the Christian Coalition. Conservative Democrat Ken Lucas won the Democratic nomination over Howard Feinberg.
Seven Democrats were battling for Baesler's vacated seat in the Sixth District. State Sen. Ernesto Scorsone, with the help of organized labor, won the right to challenge Republican primary winner Ernie Fletcher.
The race for the Third District seat will feature first-term Republican Rep. Anne Northup against former state Attorney General Chris Gorman, who won the Democratic nod and will try to reclaim the seat from Northup in November.
Idaho congressman wins GOP Senate nomination to succeed Kempthorne
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Crapo
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In Idaho, Kempthorne's likely opponent in the fall, Democrat Robert Huntley, a former state Supreme Court judge, led three opponents in early returns. Huntley had 1,281 votes, or 55 percent, with 9 percent of precincts reporting.
Three-term Rep. Michael Crapo won the Republican Senate nomination over token opposition to succeed Kempthorne. With 14 percent of precincts reporting, Crapo had 15,033 votes, or 89 percent.
Crapo will face Democrat Bill Mauk, a former state party chairman who was unopposed for the nomination.
The race for the seat in Crapo's Idaho district, former state legislators Dane Watkins and Ann Rydalch, state Rep. Mark Stubbs and House Speaker Michael Simpson battled for the GOP nomination.
Simpson was targeted by advocates of term limits for refusing to sign a pledge to serve no more than three two-year terms. His Republican rivals signed.
Stubbs led in early returns. He had 2,704 votes, or 44 percent of the vote, with 11 percent of precincts reporting. Simpson was second with 2,196 votes, or 35 percent of the vote.
The winner faces former congressman Richard Stallings, who was unopposed in the Democratic primary. Stallings left Congress after four terms in 1992, when he lost a bid for the Senate.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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