Chafee Wins, Cardin Looks to Defeat Mfume

BREAKING

Primary day in 9 states and the results are pouring in! The big news as of 12:30am Wednesday morning is one more competitive Senate race back on the electoral map. Embattled U.S. Senator Lincoln Chafee (R-RI) has beaten back a difficult primary challenge to earn the Republican nomination with 99% of returns tabulated. Chafee's victory moves this race solidly into the toss-up column, as the nomination of the conservative upstart Laffey would have surely doomed the seat to Democratic occupation. Perhaps more importantly, the Democrats must now pour precious funds into the Rhode Island race that could have been spent in Jersey, Ohio, or the Keystone State to dislodge stubborn Republican opponents.

Other races of note this evening:

-In Maryland, Rep. Ben Cardin (D, MD-3) looks to defeat former NAACP leader Kweisi Mfume, who trails by approximately 9 points with 64% of precincts reporting. However, reported mechanical issues at polling places throughout the state may give the Cardin campaign a minor headache heading into the general. A Cardin/Steele match-up has not been polling well for the Lt. Governor, but minority discontent could hurt Democratic turnout in two months. Stay tuned...

-A bonified dogfight is underway in Arizona's 8th, as Randy Graf and Steve Huffman are but 600 votes apart in that seat's GOP Primary. Conventional wisdom asserts that Huffman has a better shot at holding the seat for the Republicans, but Graf has run a tough campaign blasting the NRCC. Ugly.

-Not a race so much as a truce to announce. Evidently, Howard Dean and DCCC Chair Rahm Emanuel have brokered a strategic compact for the fall campaign. Theoretically, this should release millions of DNC dollars to help up to 40 Democratic candidates across the country. So much for the 50 state strategy... I wonder how Dean's Alaska and Utah GOTVs are shaping up?