07 June 2006

A Look at Latest Primaries in 8 States

By The Associated Press

The Associated Press
Wednesday, June 7, 2006; 6:00 AM

-- Key races in the latest primaries:

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CALIFORNIA:

SPECIAL ELECTION: Former Republican Rep. Brian Bilbray beat Democrat Francine Busby, a school board member, in the race to serve seven months left in the term of former GOP Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham, who was jailed for taking millions of dollars in bribes.

GOVERNOR: State Treasurer Phil Angelides beat Controller Steve Westly in the Democratic primary for the right to challenge Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger in November.

HOUSE: Seven-term Rep. Richard Pombo, who wants to rewrite the Endangered Species Act, was leading against a challenge in the GOP primary from former Rep. Pete McCloskey, who helped write the landmark wildlife-protection law.

ATTORNEY GENERAL: Former Gov. Jerry Brown won the race for the Democratic nomination.

PRESCHOOL: A $2.4 billion proposal to offer universal preschool by taxing the wealthy was rejected. The initiative was best known for its most avid supporter, Hollywood director Rob Reiner.

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IOWA:

GOVERNOR: Secretary of State Chet Culver won a tight race for the Democratic nomination. He will face Republican Rep. Jim Nussle in November. Gov. Tom Vilsack did not seek a third term, saying only that he wanted to do something different. But Vilsack is the focus of speculation that he may run for president in 2008.

HOUSE: Nussle's decision to run for governor left his House seat open. Republican entrepreneur Mike Whalen will face attorney Bruce Braley, a Democrat, in the fall.

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MONTANA:

SENATE: State Senate President Jon Tester defeated the state auditor for the Democratic nomination to challenge Republican Sen. Conrad Burns, whose poll numbers have sagged because of his ties to disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff. Burns prevailed easily over several GOP challengers.

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ALABAMA:

GOVERNOR: Republican Gov. Bob Riley defeated former Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore, who was ousted after he defied a federal court order to remove a Ten Commandments monument from the state courthouse. On the Democratic side, Lt. Gov. Lucy Baxley beat former Gov. Don Siegelman, who is on trial in federal court on bribery charges.

LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR: George C. Wallace Jr., son of the former Alabama governor, was headed to a runoff to decide the GOP primary for lieutenant governor.

CHIEF JUSTICE: Tom Parker, an associate justice who said state courts can ignore U.S. Supreme Court precedents, lost his bid for chief justice against the man who was appointed to fill Moore's post. Three other Supreme Court candidates who held similar views on the precedent issue lost their challenges to GOP incumbents.

GAY MARRIAGE: Voters overwhelmingly approved a ban on gay marriage.

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NEW JERSEY:

SENATE: Tom Kean Jr., son of a popular former New Jersey governor, prevailed against a more conservative political newcomer in the Republican primary. On the Democratic side, Sen. Robert Menendez easily beat a little-known challenger. Menendez, a former congressman, was appointed in January to serve out Sen. Jon Corzine's term after Corzine was elected governor.

HOUSE: In the race to fill Menendez's House seat, former state House Speaker Albio Sires won the Democratic primary against Perth Amboy Mayor Joseph Vas. Sires also won the primary for a special election to serve the final two months of Menendez's term.

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SOUTH DAKOTA:

GOVERNOR: Democrat Jack Billion won the nomination to challenge Republican Gov. Mike Rounds in the fall. Rounds is heavily favored to win another term.

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MISSISSIPPI:

CONGRESS: State lawmaker Chuck Espy lost his bid to unseat six-term Democratic Rep. Bennie Thompson. Espy's uncle, Mike Espy, was elected to the seat in 1986, becoming Mississippi's first black congressman since Reconstruction. Mike Espy left the House in 1993 to become President Clinton's secretary of agriculture.

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NEW MEXICO:

SENATE: Republican Allen McCulloch was nominated to challenge Democratic Sen. Jeff Bingaman in the fall.

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