Cochran narrowly wins runoff in Mississippi; incumbents victorious in Oklahoma
JACKSON, Miss. — Six-term Sen. Thad Cochran defeated challenger Chris McDaniel in Mississippi's Republican primary runoff on Tuesday, dealing another blow to Tea Party groups trying to unseat longtime GOP lawmakers.
Returns showed Cochran with a lead of about 3,800 votes, holding 50.5 percent of the vote to McDaniel's 49.5 percent with 98 percent of precincts reporting.
The race attracted $12 million in spending by outside groups. Cochran made the argument to voters that he was a solid conservative who would continue routing federal money back to Mississippi, just as he's done for decades. McDaniel held up Cochran as the face of an out-of-touch Congress responsible for a $17 trillion national debt.
McDaniel finished 1,418 votes ahead of Cochran in the three-person Republican primary on June 3, but nobody received a majority to win.
On the eve of the election, McDaniel rallied supporters in Flowood, near Jackson, by railing against the establishment.
Cochran, 76, employed a more low-key campaign style, typically making short speeches that focus on his record of bringing billions of dollars to Mississippi for disaster relief, military bases, agriculture and research. He said he tried to work with all members of the state's congressional delegation — one other Republican senator, and one Democrat and three Republicans in the House.
Rangel at risk?
Looking for a 23rd term, Democratic Rep. Charles Rangel of New York worked to fend off a state senator who could become the first Dominican-American member of Congress.
The 84-year-old Rangel, the third-most-senior member of the House, faced a rematch against state Sen. Adriano Espaillat in Harlem and upper Manhattan. Two years ago, Rangel prevailed in the primary by fewer than 1,100 votes.
In this race, Rangel said Espaillat “wants to be the Jackie Robinson of the Dominicans in the Congress,” adding that Espaillat should tell voters “just what the heck has he done besides saying he's a Dominican?”
Double dip in Oklahoma
Both of Oklahoma's Senate seats were on the ballot for the first time in recent history.
Sen. Jim Inhofe fended off minor challengers in the Republican primary in one of those contests.
In the other, two-term Rep. James Lankford of Oklahoma won the GOP nomination in the race to succeed Sen. Tom Coburn, who is stepping down with two years left in his term. In a blow to the Tea Party movement, Lankford, a member of the House GOP leadership, defeated T.W. Shannon, a member of the Chickasaw Nation and the state's first black House speaker.
National Tea Party groups and the Senate Conservatives Fund had backed Shannon, who also had the support of Sarah Palin and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz.
Shannon, 36, had questioned if Lankford was sufficiently conservative. Lankford, 46 and a former Southern Baptist camp leader, supported bipartisan budget agreements and voted to increase the nation's borrowing authority — favorite objections for tea party leaders.
Oklahoma has not elected a Democrat to an open Senate seat since David Boren in 1978, and Republicans were expected to hold it.
Colorado GOP divided
Primary day was an all-Republican affair in Colorado, a reflection of how the party remains divided in that key state.
Former Rep. Bob Beauprez won the crowded primary that included 2008 presidential candidate Tom Tancredo, an immigration opponent. That was welcome news to national Republicans who feared that Tancredo would be a drag on the GOP ticket in November. Beauprez faces Democratic Gov. John Hickenlooper.
District Attorney Ken Buck, a former Senate candidate, defeated three other Republicans for the party's nomination to replace Rep. Cory Gardner. The congressman passed on re-election to challenge Democratic Sen Mark Udall.
