Tea Party victory in Kentucky
(AP) -- Pennsylvania Sen. Arlen Specter has been defeated in a primary in his bid for a sixth term after taking the risky step of switching to the Democratic Party.
Voters yesterday picked Rep. Joe Sestak as the party's nominee, and rejected the 80-year-old Specter in his first Democratic campaign.
Sestak faces Republican Pat Toomey in the fall election.
In Kentucky, Rand Paul says his win in the Republican primary for a Senate nomination is a "tremendous mandate for the tea party."
Paul, a political newcomer, beat Republican establishment favorite Trey Grayson.
The victory gives a tea party activist a key win in a statewide election that could embolden the fledgling political movement in other states.
In Arkansas, Democratic Sen. Blanche Lincoln was forced into a potentially debilitating June runoff election against Lt. Gov. Bill Halter in her bid for nomination to a third term.
Rep. John Boozman won the Republican line on the ballot outright.
Democrats will retain control of the seat held for decades by the late Pennsylvania Rep. John Murtha after winning a special election to fill the final months of his term. Both parties viewed the contest as a test for the fall.
With 70 percent of precincts reporting Tuesday, Murtha aide Mark Critz had 53 percent of the vote compared with nearly 45 percent for businessman Tim Burns.
Critz and Burns will have a rematch in the November general election after also winning their parties' nominations in the Pennsylvania primary.
Murtha died in February of complications from gallbladder surgery, setting off a dash to the special election.
(Copyright ©2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
