FROM ONE NEWS NOW/AFA

Tuesday's primaries - a message for Nov. 2?


Russ Jones - OneNewsNow - 8/25/2010 9:30:00 AM

Primary races in Vermont and Oklahoma stepped aside to the more high-profile races in Alaska, Arizona, and Florida that captured the national spotlight Tuesday night. The outcome of those races could have significant implications on the mid-term elections just ten weeks away.

Republican Senator John McCain handily defeated former Congressman J.D. Hayworth. McCain, who spent $20 million in his re-election bid, morphed into a far-right candidate during his campaign. And in Florida, Democratic Congressman Kendrick Meek cruised to victory in his bid for the U.S. Senate. (More details)

Dr. Charles Dunn, dean of the Robertson School of Government at Regent University, says Meek's victory in Florida does not bode well for the former Republican governor of that state, Charlie Crist, who is seeking the Senate as an independent.

"This will weaken Charlie Crist's chances to beat [Republican] Marco Rubio," observes Dunn. "Increasingly now, Democrats will turn to Meek. A convincing victory means that money will follow for Meek, and Crist will find it difficult to woo Democrats."

In the biggest surprise of the night, advance balloting helped healthcare executive Rick Scott snatch the Republican nomination in the Florida governor's race from Attorney General Bill McCollum.

"Several hundred-thousand Floridians voted early," notes the educator. "They were not the beneficiaries of the negative news about Scott and his company. So I hope that there will be debate about early voting and the problems of early voting -- that it takes away the opportunity for the electorate to vote knowledgably."

In Alaska, former governor and GOP vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin endorsed the Tea Party-backed conservative Joe Miller who ousted Senator Lisa Murkowski.

"Some people think, well, Sarah Palin's had a string of losses. Superficially she has," admits Dunn, "but she has jumped into races and made candidates out of people who were really non-starter candidates."

Dunn concludes that both the Tea Party and Sarah Palin emerged from Tuesday's primaries as major factors in the mid-term elections just 70 days away.