Super Tuesday 2010

Voters in a dozen different states will go to the polls today, on what is the closest thing to a “Super Tuesday” in this mid-term Congressional election year of 2010.  Will it mean defeat for any incumbents?

There is no question that at least one sitting lawmaker is on Incumbent Red Alert status, and that is most certainly Sen. Blanche Lincoln of Arkansas.  She faces Lt. Gov. Bill Halter in a runoff for the Democratic Senate nomination, and no one here will be surprised by a close race – and maybe a defeat – for Lincoln.

More liberal Democratic interest groups are furiously trying to turn out the vote for Halter, arguing that Lincoln has been too conservative during her two terms in office.

“Blanche Lincoln has pulled out all the stops — outspending by millions on T.V. – and called in all her favors — even convincing Bill Clinton to campaign down here and bash unions and progressives for supporting Bill Halter,” said an email sent out by the group Democracy For America, asking for help in Arkansas.

Let’s go through the other states with voting today to give you a quick thumbnail on what might happen:

South Carolina – How can you ignore the Palmetto State after the last few weeks?  If you haven’t read about the charges and counter charges in the Republican race for Governor involving Nikki Haley, then just do a Google search and read from there.

As for the Congress, one Republican could be forced into a runoff, as Rep. Bob Ingliss (R-SC) is being attacked for voting in favor of the Wall Street Bailout.  Pushing Ingliss hard is the Solicitor of Spartanburg County, Trey Gowdy.

Rep. Ingliss is probably #2 in the Incumbent Red Alert Status rankings for this week.

Another interesting race is in South Carolina’s 1st District, an open seat where the GOP incumbent is retiring.  In the Republican primary, the son of former Gov. Carroll Campbell is running against a son of former Sen. Strom Thurmond.  That’s enough to get anyone’s political juices flowing.

California – 35 of 51 incumbents on the Congressional ballot have no opposition.  Three of them could face tough races, including Rep. Jane Harman (D), Rep. Laura Richardson (D) and Rep. Gary Miller ®.

Also of interest, former Governor Jerry Brown is expected to win the Democratic nomination for Governor.  Now the state’s Attorney General, Brown was known for years as “Gov. Moonbeam” when he served for eight years in the 1970s and early 80’s.

Meanwhile, in the race for Secretary of State in California, watch to see who wins the GOP nomination.  If it’s Orly Taitz, then the Republicans will have one of the leaders of the Birther Movement (Obama wasn’t born in the US) on their statewide ticket in November.

New Jersey – Rep. Leonard Lance ® is facing three conservative challengers in his GOP primary.  That probably helps him, since the Garden State does not have a runoff, like in the South.  A freshman, Lance has taken flak for voting for the Cap & Trade bill in the House.

Georgia - the Republicans will win the runoff for a special election to fill a seat in the U.S. House, because both candidates are from the GOP, as Tom Graves and Lee Hawkins face off.

Nevada – this state’s GOP primary for Senate will get a lot of attention, because the winner will face Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid in November.  The polls have been all over the place in recent days on this one.

Also voting today, Iowa, Maine, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota and Virginia.  All but two of the incumbents running for re-election in those states have no primary opponent.  

That is a reminder of just how rare it is for any Congressional incumbent to lose before the November elections.

Join me tonight on Twitter @jamiedupree for all the latest results, or go to my Twitter page at http://twitter.com/jamiedupree