Sen. Thad Cochran, R-Miss., leaves a pre-election day rally at the Mississippi Agriculture and Forestry Museum in Jackson, Miss., on June 2, 2014.(Photo: Joe Ellis, AP)
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WASHINGTON — Six-term Sen. Thad Cochran was fighting the political race of his life Tuesday night, locked in a nail-biter GOP primary in Mississippi against Tea Party-backed Chris McDaniel.
The fate of Cochran, 76, was the top race as eight states held primaries to set up contests for the Nov. 4 general elections.
Senate nominees will be chosen in Iowa, South Dakota and Montana that could determine which party holds power the last two years of President Obama's second term. Key House races in California, New Jersey and Alabama will be set. And in New Mexico, voters will pick the Democrat who will take on incumbent Gov. Susana Martinez in the fall.
All eyes were on Mississippi, where McDaniel pulled into a slight lead with 81% of the vote counted. Thomas Carey was also running in the Senate GOP primary.
McDaniel, 41, argued that Cochran, first elected in 1978, has been in office too long and contributed to the fiscal problems plaguing Washington. But Cochran, a former chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, countered that experience matters when it comes to helping one of the poorest states in the nation.
MORE: Miss. Senate candidates work to fire up supporters
STORY: Sen. Cochran's old-school style at issue in campaign
The unknown factor was the impact of a bizarre incident in which Cochran's bedridden wife, Rose, who suffers from dementia, was photographed by a pro-McDaniel supporter. McDaniel has said he had nothing to do with the incident.
The Mississippi Senate race is "talked about as a Tea Party race, but it's more about the conventional challenge of an incumbent," said John Bruce, an associate professor and chairman of the political science department at the University of Mississippi. "The deep South has a long history of liking incumbents and we tend to like them until they die. But the magic of incumbency has died a little."
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Travis Childers, a former congressman, easily won the Democratic Senate nomination. Political analysts agree Cochran would be the favorite in the fall if he wins the GOP nomination.
The other marquee Senate primary is in Iowa, where state Sen. Joni Ernst is leading a five-candidate field for the GOP nomination. Democratic Sen. Tom Harkin is retiring, and Iowa, a swing state in presidential elections, is one of the states that will help determine whether Republicans pick up the six seats needed for majority control.
Ernst became the leading GOP candidate with the help of distinctive campaign ads that introduced her to voters as a hog-castrating, Harley-riding, Iraq War veteran. Businessman Mark Jacobs, a former energy industry executive, had the early lead in statewide polling and remains Ernst's closest competitor.
Ernst won the hearts of the pro-business U.S. Chamber of Commerce and former presidential nominee Mitt Romney as well as Tea Party allies such as Sarah Palin and Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida. She needs to top 35% of the vote on Tuesday or a state convention on June 14 will decide the Senate nominee.
"Candidates matter," said Scott Reed, senior political strategist for the chamber. "Joni Ernst put together this broad-based coalition and that's the sign of a winner. She's more interested in addition as opposed to subtraction. She's not against everybody."
The GOP nominee will face Democratic Rep. Bruce Braley, who made a misstep earlier this year when he criticized senior Sen. Chuck Grassley as "a farmer from Iowa who never went to law school." Grassley is poised to become chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee if Republicans win control in the 2014 midterm elections. Braley apologized for his comment.
MONTANA AND SOUTH DAKOTA SENATE: Voters in these two Great Plains states will finalize their general election lineup for the Senate Both are conservative, red-leaning states where Obama lost by wide margins in 2012 and Senate seats held by Democrats are up for grabs.
Former governor Mike Rounds easily won the GOP nomination in South Dakota and will face Democrat Rick Weiland, a former aide to Senate Democratic leader Tom Daschle, in November. Democratic Sen. Tim Johnson is retiring.
In Montana, appointed Democratic Sen. John Walsh faces two challengers in his primary. GOP Rep. Steve Daines, who is backed by the Chamber of Commerce, easily defeated two rivals for his party's nomination. Democrat Max Baucus stepped down from the U.S. Senate to become ambassador to China.
HOUSE RACES: In Mississippi,Gene Taylor was trying to win back the 4th District House seat he lost in 2010 to Republican Steve Palazzo. Taylor was a Democrat in his previous 11 terms in Congress, and he switched parties for a rematch with Palazzo.
In California, Republican Doug Ose and Democrat Joe Baca are running comeback campaigns. Veteran Rep. Mike Honda, who has represented a Silicon Valley district since 2001, is being challenged by fellow Democrat Ro Khanna, a patent lawyer backed by Yahoo, Facebook and Google executives. Because of California's unusual primary system, in which the top two finishers regardless of party move on to the general election, the real battle for these House seats will come in the fall.
In New Jersey, businessman Tom MacArthur defeated Tea Party favorite Steve Lonegan for the GOP nomination in the 3rd District, a swing district. MacArthur, who was endorsed by retiring Rep. Jon Runyan, will face Democrat Aimee Belgard, a Burlington County freeholder, in November. Obama carried the district in 2008 and 2012. Lonegan, a former state director for the conservative Americans for Prosperity, lost last year's special Senate election to Cory Booker and was defeated in a GOP primary for governor in 2009 by Chris Christie.
CALIFORNIA GOVERNOR: Democratic Gov. Jerry Brown, who is running for an unprecedented fourth term, is expected to be the top vote-getter on Tuesday night. State Assemblyman Tim Donnelly and businessman Neel Kashkari, a former Bush administration official who ran the government's Troubled Asset Relief Program, are the top Republican candidates.
NEW MEXICO GOVERNOR: Susana Martinez, the first Latina Republican elected governor, is waiting to see which Democrat she'll meet in November as she vies for a second term. State Attorney General Gary King, Santa Fe businessman Alan Webber, former government administrator Lawrence Rael, and state Sens. Howie Morales and Linda Lopez are all running for the Democratic nomination.
Iowa State Sen. Joni Ernst hugs a supporter after casting her ballot in the GOP Senate primary.(Photo: Nati Harnik, AP)
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