UPDATE 10:28 p.m.
Lt. Gov. Bill Halter told supporters there will be a runoff election between him and incumbent U.S. Sen. Blanche Lincoln.
Halter, who is holding a watch party at the Peabody Hotel in downtown Little Rock, addressed supporters shortly after 10:15 p.m., telling them results showed neither candidate would reach 50 percent of the vote and a runoff will be held. In remarks earlier Tuesday, Halter said a runoff would be a victory for him because he is not the incumbent.
"At three weeks from today, we're going to finish the job," Halter said to applause.
He called this a "very, very good night" with results looking "absolutely great."
"Today you proved that your vote and not their money are going to determine the future of Arkansas and the future of America," Halter said.
The latest unofficial results from the Secretary of State's office show Halter has 42.6 percent of the vote to Lincoln's 43.2. DC Morrison has more than 14 percent of the vote according to the figures, which represent 28 of 75 counties reporting.
UPDATE 10:13 p.m.
The race for the Democratic nomination to the U.S. Senate may be headed for a run-off election as neither candidate is nearing the 50 percent mark with more than a quarter of Arkansas counties reporting preliminary results.
According to the latest unofficial Secretary of State figures, Lt. Gov. Bill Halter is leading with 33,148 votes (43.57 percent) to incumbent Sen. Blanche Lincoln's 32,347 (42.51 percent). Long-shot candidate DC Morrison has almost 14 percent of the vote.
Those numbers reflect 22 of 75 Arkansas counties and 47 percent of polling locations reporting.
Halter in appearances Tuesday morning said a run-off election would be a victory for him. Lincoln spokesman Katie Niebaum said that's not the case given a "tough campaign" that featured "two months of attacks from outside groups" against Lincoln.
"With a three-person race, we certainly knew a run-off was likely," she said. "We feel positive going forward."
UPDATE 10 p.m.
Lt. Gov. Bill Halter is leading Sen. Blanche Lincoln 43 percent to 42 percent with more than a third of polling locations reporting results, according to preliminary information from the Secretary of State's office.
The incumbent senator has 17,739 votes to Halter's 18,165 with 16 of Arkansas' 75 counties reporting. Long-shot candidate DC Morrison has a surprising 14.19 percent of the vote.
If these numbers hold up and no candidate surges past the 50 percent mark, the top two finishers would meet in a run-off election.
A couple hundred Lincoln supporters have gathered to watch the numbers roll in at a party at the Holiday Inn Presidential Center in downtown Little Rock, though the Senator has yet to make an appearance.
Campaign spokesman Katie Niebaum said Lincoln will come to the event shortly once more vote totals are known. She said it was too soon to make any projections.
"It's so few results in, we'll have to wait and see," Niebaum said.
UPDATE 8:48 p.m.
Sen. Blanche Lincoln took an early lead among ballots cast in advance of Tuesday’s primary as she sought the Democratic nomination in a bitter, nationally watched race with the state’s lieutenant governor, Bill Halter.
Early returns showed Lincoln with 47 percent to Halter’s 40 percent of ballots in the 1 percent of precincts counted. Those votes came primarily from people who cast absentee or early ballots in the two-week run-up to the election.
Lincoln and Halter each hoped to reach the 50 percent mark and thus advance to the Nov. 8 general election against the Republican nominee. Both candidates acknowledged that a three-week sprint to a runoff could be added to the marathon campaign.
The primary race became a high-dollar battle between business and labor groups and Lincoln was considered among the most vulnerable incumbents seeking re-election this year.
“I think this race has definitely been nationalized, to the point that Arkansans realize we’ve got a pretty good thing here. We’ve got a uniqueness and a personal touch in our campaigns that we would like to hold onto,” Lincoln said. “We’ve got a lot of national money coming in misrepresenting me and my votes and my positions on things.”
Halter said his message that Arkansas had to change representation in Washington had resonated with voters.
“If you send the same people to Washington, you’re guaranteed to get the same result,” Halter said Tuesday.
Republicans were choosing among eight candidates seeking the GOP nomination for Lincoln’s post. In the Republican primary, U.S. Rep. John Boozman led in most pre-election polls over state Sen. Gilbert Baker or former state Sen. Jim Holt — both of whom were hoping for a runoff spot.
About a third of the state’s 1.6 million voters were expected to cast ballots.
In Camden, H.A. Martin, 69, who runs a ribs catering service and is a Baptist minister, said he voted for Lincoln.
“Lincoln is a people person. She has come down here from time to time,” he said. “I don’t believe in politicians that throw mud. That tells me a lot about their character and Lincoln’s campaign was clean, at least at the start.”
Ann Phillips, 65, voting in Little Rock, said she supported Lincoln in the past but has shifted her allegiance to Halter. Phillips complained that Lincoln would make promises during personal appearances but she couldn’t get a call back when she’d call Lincoln’s office.
“She (Lincoln) had a chance to prove herself. She just couldn’t make up her mind” on issues, she said.
Halter’s criticism of Lincoln included saying she wavered back and forth. Lincoln had angered conservatives by supporting the Democratic-led health care overhaul and frustrated liberals by opposing a government-run insurance option as part of the reform package.
Phillips cited Halter’s energy as a reason to support him. “He needs a chance to prove himself,” she said.
The fight between Lincoln and Halter has turned into a proxy fight among some of the nation’s top interest groups, including the AFL-CIO and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. The candidates themselves swapped attacks on a daily basis, over issues such as health care and free trade.
Lincoln, the chairman of the Senate Agriculture Committee, led in pre-election polls among Democratic voters but most showed her short of the 50 percent mark needed to avoid a runoff with Halter. Little Rock businessman D.C. Morrison is also in the race.
Tuesday’s election also features primaries for Congress and state offices, as well as nonpartisan judicial races. Three of Arkansas’ four incumbent congressmen are not seeking re-election to the House this year — including Boozman.