Two of the longest-serving members of Congress face primary elections today that could end their political careers.
Six-term Mississippi Sen. Thad Cochran needs a comeback in a Republican runoff after trailing tea party-backed challenger Chris McDaniel in a June 3 primary. With more than $12 million in outside spending, the election has become the latest focus for the national battle between traditional Republican powers and conservative insurgents. Race is an issue, too, as tea partyers try to monitor how many Democrats — particularly black voters — cast ballots in the GOP runoff.
Race also is an issue in New York, where Democratic Rep. Charles Rangel, one of the most recognizable members of the Congressional Black Caucus, faces multiple challengers in his primary as he aims for a 23rd term representing demographically shifting areas of New York City. Rangel’s top challenger is state Sen. Adriano Espaillat, a Dominican-born legislator running in the increasingly Hispanic district.
In all, there are elections Tuesday in eight states. Colorado and Maryland will pick candidates for governor. Republicans in Oklahoma will choose a nominee who will be favored to succeed retiring Sen. Tom Coburn. Utah has legislative primaries, and in South Carolina there is a Republican runoff for lieutenant governor.
In addition, Florida has a special election in the heavily Republican 19th Congressional District to elect a replacement for Rep. Trey Radel, who quit in January after pleading guilty to cocaine possession.
But it’s Cochran and Rangel who have drawn the most attention. Both races feature aging lawmakers — Cochran is 76; Rangel is 84 — battling younger competitors in a midterm election year marked by widespread voter discontent with Congress and the nation’s overall direction. In both cases, the primary winners will be heavy favorites in November.
On Monday, Cochran pressed his campaign to convince Mississippians that they cannot afford to lose his influence and ability to steer billions of federal dollars back to the state, one of the nation’s poorest. The former Senate Appropriations Committee chairman could return to his old post if he’s re-elected and Republicans win a Senate majority in November.
In New York, Rangel has not escaped the stain of his 2010 House censure that followed the Ethics Committee’s finding him guilty of 11 violations. Espaillat, 59, used the scandal in 2012 to come within 1,000 votes of unseating Rangel.
In Oklahoma, Republican primary voters will pick a Senate nominee between Rep. James Lankford, an up-and-comer in the House Republican caucus, and T.W. Shannon, the state’s first black House speaker and a member of the Chickasaw Nation.
The Maryland primary for governor could be seen as a referendum for outgoing Gov. Martin O’Malley, who is considering a 2016 presidential bid. Lt. Gov. Anthony Brown is an O’Malley ally and would be counted on to continue O’Malley’s policies. Brown is favored over state lawmaker Heather Mizeur and state Attorney General Doug Gansler.
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