In one of the final primary season fights between battling Republicans, former Alaska Atty. Gen. Dan Sullivan defeated tea party favorite Joe Miller to seize the party's nomination for a much-desired U.S. Senate seat.
Sullivan will take on Democrat Mark Begich, a first-term incumbent who glided to his party's nomination.
Lt. Gov. Mead Treadwell, the third major GOP candidate, trailed Sullivan and Miller throughout the night. Sullivan broke to an early lead and maintained it as votes eased their way in from Alaska's far-flung rural environs. The Associated Press projected Sullivan as the winner about five hours after the polls closed.
The stakes in Alaska's GOP primary extended far beyond the state's reach to the national efforts by the party to take over the U.S. Senate. The seat held by Begich has long been among those most sought by Republicans as they seek the six needed to wrest control of the upper house.
Eager to prevent the GOP bloodletting that accompanied the 2010 contest — Miller stunned the state by knocking off incumbent Lisa Murkowski in the primary but she won reelection with a write-in campaign — establishment Republicans rallied behind Sullivan.
On his own the best-financed of the candidates, he received additional help from conservative groups like American Crossroads and the Club for Growth, according to data compiled by the Center for Responsive Politics.
But Sullivan also came under a nearly $4-million barrage from an independent group, Put Alaska First PAC, a "super PAC" that received much of its funding from the liberal Senate Majority PAC, which seeks to keep the Senate in Democratic hands. (Adding another complication, a second Dan Sullivan was running for the Republican nomination for lieutenant governor, and won easily.)
The Democrats' fiercest hope was to hand the nomination to Miller, whom they judged the weakest candidate against Begich, or foment the sort of multi-candidate free-for-all that he kicked off in 2010. Republicans won a small victory late in the race when Miller told his fellow Republicans that he would support the party nominee, regardless of who it was — although, he said, he was confident it would be him.
Miller's improbable attempt at a political comeback was hardly a financial juggernaut; he was a distant third in campaign donations and spending among his GOP brethren. But he sought to take advantage of a late endorsement by the state's former governor, Sarah Palin, who continues to hold some sway over the tea party's ranks.
Miller hewed to their platform in the race, sending out a controversial mailer characterizing undocumented immigrants as menacing gang members. When Treadwell criticized those words in a recent debate, Miller called them "real-world stuff."
For political news and analysis, follow me on Twitter: @cathleendecker
Copyright © 2014, Los Angeles Times2:07 a.m.: This story has been updated with results calling the race for Dan Sullivan.
Anda sedang membaca artikel tentang
Establishment GOP candidate defeats tea party opponent in Alaska race
Dengan url
http://usiamudahan.blogspot.com/2014/08/establishment-gop-candidate-defeats-tea.html
Anda boleh menyebar luaskannya atau mengcopy paste-nya
Establishment GOP candidate defeats tea party opponent in Alaska race
namun jangan lupa untuk meletakkan link
Establishment GOP candidate defeats tea party opponent in Alaska race
sebagai sumbernya
0 komentar:
Posting Komentar