Democrat Lincoln narrowly wins Arkansas primary

WASHINGTON - Democratic Sen. Blanche Lincoln of Arkansas narrowly won nomination to a third term last night, overcoming a labor-backed challenger and defying a nationwide anti-establishment tide that dealt defeat to Republican Nevada Gov. Jim Gibbons and forced a veteran South Carolina congressman into a runoff.

In California, former eBay chief executive Meg Whitman won the Republican nomination for governor, and former Hewlett-Packard chief executive Carly Fiorina won her bid to become her party's candidate for the Senate.

On the busiest night of the primary year, tea party activists flexed their muscle in South Carolina, pushing state Rep. Nikki Haley ahead of three rivals in the Republican gubernatorial primary. Shy of a majority, she will face Rep. Gresham Barrett in a June 22 runoff.

A second tea party-backed contender, Paul LePage, won the Republican nomination for governor in Maine, and a third, Sharron Angle, led a crowded field for the right to challenge Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada in the fall.

In the marquee race of the night, Lincoln had 52 percent of the vote in nearly complete Arkansas returns, to 48 percent for Lt. Gov. Bill Halter.

The result marked a stunning defeat for organized labor, which had poured more than $5 million into an effort to dump Lincoln in retaliation for her departure from party orthodoxy on numerous issues. Seemingly headed for defeat in the race's final days, she unleashed a campaign ad that acknowledged voter anger with Washington. And she got a boost from former President Bill Clinton, who told Arkansans that out-of-state unions were trying to steal their votes. Lincoln will meet GOP Rep. John Boozman in November in a race that national Republicans have targeted.

Gibbons wasn't nearly as successful as Lincoln, falling to Brian Sandoval, a former federal judge, after a term marked by a messy public divorce and allegations of infidelity. Rory Reid, Harry Reid's son, won the Democratic nomination.

A third incumbent in trouble, Republican Rep. Bob Inglis of South Carolina, trailed challenger Trey Gowdy by double digits but qualified for a runoff on June 22 in the solidly conservative district.

Curiously, given the national mood, a pair of former governors, Republican Terry Branstad in Iowa and Democrat Edmund G. Brown Jr. in California, won nominations that marked successful first steps in efforts to reclaim the power they once held.