Lincoln, Halter to face off in June

Sen. Blanche Lincoln and Bill Halter
Sen. Blanche Lincoln and Bill Halter

— U.S. Sen. Blanche Lincoln and Lt. Gov. Bill Halter on Tuesday won spots in a June 8 runoff for the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate, lengthening one of the most closely watched Senate races in the nation.

Halter painted it as a victory for him, a setback for her. Lincoln treated it as a triumph, her campaign saying national media had “written her off months ago.”

The results of the primary disposed of the third candidate, lightly funded Little Rock farm loan originator D.C. Morrison.

With 2,416 of 2,516 precincts reporting, the unofficial count in the Democratic primary was:

Lincoln ....................143,604

Halter ...................... 136,895

Morrison ...................41,824

An enthusiastic Blanche Lincoln spoke to supporters after results from the primary extended her campaign against Bill Halter another 3 weeks. A runoff between the two candidates will occur June 8.

Lincoln speaks to supporters

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“Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!” said Lincoln, to cheering supporters.

She said people who thought she was finished “got another think coming.”

Lt. Gov. Bill Halter along with wife Shanti speaks to supporters Tuesday night at a watch party in Little Rock. Halter is running against incumbent Sen. Blanche Lincoln in the democratic primary for U.S. Senate.

Lincoln forced into runoff against Bill Halter

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She thanked Democratic voters who saw that “this campaign is not about the outside groups who are trying desperately to exert their influence here. This race is about us. It’s about you and me. It is about Arkansans. We want to con-trol our own destiny, and we will.”

Halter said his message of “change” got out.

Democratic U.S. Senate opponents Bill Halter and Blanche Lincoln cast their ballots Tuesday.

Lincoln, Halter cast ballots

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“For the last 11 weeks, D.C. insiders, special interests, Republican operative groups, they’ve all had their say, but today Arkansans had their say,” Halter told supporters. “Today, you proved that your votes, not their money, are going to determine the future of Arkansas. Arkansans have said with a loud voice that if you send the same people to Washington, you’ll get the same results.”

He pledged to “finish the job” in three weeks, in the runoff. As of midnight, Halter was leading in 38 counties, and Lincoln was leading in 35. Two counties hadn’t reported votes.

Arkansas Attorney General Dustin McDaniel introduced Lincoln and alluded to the 1992 presidential campaign bounce-back of Bill Clinton and said “Arkansas has been the home of more than one comeback kid.”

Long viewed as a potential gubernatorial rival to Halter, McDaniel declared Lincoln to be “the comeback lady.”

Beaming in a yellow jacket, Lincoln told the crowd, “The next three weeks is going to prove us right.”

She said people may be mad at Washington, but she’s “not part of the problem. I’m part of the solution.”

Halter also received the backing of liberal groups such as MoveOn.org and unions including the Service Employees International Union.They trumpeted the results, saying they helped Halter, who began his campaign only three months ago, push a “corporate politician” to the edge of defeat.

“Tonight’s election results are a huge defeat for Blanche Lincoln,” said Adam Ruben, political director of MoveOn. org. “The fact that Bill Halter was able to hold Sen. Lincoln, an incumbent with a huge war chest, to a neartie and force her into a runoff shows not only Halter’s strength as a candidate, but also the depth and breadth of voters’ frustration and anger at corporate politicians.”

SEIU touted its “aggressive multimillion-dollar media campaign” with ads against Lincoln.

Earlier Tuesday, in a bit of election-day drama, Lincoln went to vote at St. James United Methodist Church on Pleasant Valley Road in Little Rock but was told she and her husband had already been sent absentee ballots. They were allowed to vote provisional ballots.

Spokesman Katie Laning Niebaum said Lincoln had earlier requested an absentee ballot in case she had to be in Washington for Senate business, but it turned out that wasn’t necessary.

Lincoln, 49, entered the Senate in January 1999. A native of Helena, she previously represented eastern Arkansas’ 1st Congressional District from 1993-96. At 38, she was the youngest woman ever elected to the Senate.

Halter, 49, was elected lieutenant governor in 2006 after flirting with the idea of running for governor in the Democratic primary against then-Attorney General Mike Beebe. Halter has previouslyserved on company boards and various positions in the federal government, including deputy director of the Social Security Administration.

The last time an incumbent senator in Arkansas faced a runoff was in 1972. U.S. Sen. John McClellan led a four-way primary and later beat U.S. Rep. David Pryor in a runoff, 242,983 to 224,262.

The candidates waited for election results Tuesday evening in Little Rock: Lincoln, at the Holiday Inn Presidential; Halter at the Peabody Little Rock hotel.

Lincoln was joined by husband, Steve, and her mother, Martha Lambert.

Halter was joined by his wife, Shanti.

Some saw the race as an early gauge of the mood toward incumbents nationally. Republicans targeted Lincoln in early 2009, but she didn’t face Democratic opposition until Halter got into the race March 1.

He has criticized her for opposing legislation to make it easier to unionize workplaces, but he has repeatedly declined to give his position on that legislation. Unions were quick to support him. They have run many television ads against her, even as other groups ran ads against Halter in an ad-buying spree of $5 million or more in this race alone.

He has also accused her of being too cozy with Wall Street bankers and of contributing to the Wall Street meltdown by voting to deregulate Wall Street in 1999. He has also faulted her for voting for free trade with Mexico and other nations, saying those votes cost Arkansas jobs.

Lincoln has touted her record as Agriculture Committee chairman and of voting for the health-care revamp, which she said will help thousands of Arkansans get the care they need.

She or her supporters also ran numerous ads saying a company on whose board Halter sat shipped jobs to India, a claim Halter has vigorously denied. She has portrayed him as “Dollar Bill” who made millions as a board member and linked him to a company she portrayed as having done “shady drug deals,” depicting Halter’s face in a pill bottle.

Meanwhile, unions have run ads against her about the trade legislation and accused her of not doing enough on health care. Lincoln has said the ads are misleading.

Lincoln said Halter as lieutenant governor hasn’t had to vote on legislation and doesn’t have a record of taking positions.

Lincoln has raised $8.6 million and Halter, $2.6 million, one of Arkansas’ costliest races ever.

Halter won the party nomination for lieutenant governor against then-state Sen. Tim Wooldridge of Paragould, 97,279 to 74,906. In the general election, Halter beat Holt, 437,490 to 325,215.

Lincoln beat state Sen. Jim Holt of Springdale in the 2004 general election 589,973 to 458,036. He had criticized her for not supporting a proposed national ban on homosexual marriage.

She was challenged in the Democratic primary by Lisa Burks of Hot Springs, whom she defeated 231,037 to 47,010. Burks had accused Lincoln of being too conservative and voting too often with President George W. Bush.

Lincoln has never lost an election.

Her first race was in 1992, when she beat incumbent Democratic Rep. Bill Alexander of Osceola, 85,205 to 55,623. In the general election, she beat Republican Terry Hayes of Heber Springs, 149,558 to 64,618.

Two years later, she beat Republican Warren Dupwe of Jonesboro, 95,290 to 83,147.

She decided not to run in 1996 after she had twins.

In 1998, Lincoln won the Senate seat, beating Republican Fay Boozman, the late brother of John Boozman.

Top Democrats previously announced their support of Lincoln, including President Barack Obama, former President Bill Clinton, U.S. Sen. Mark Pryor, and U.S. Reps. Mike Ross and Marion Berry.

Front Section, Pages 1 on 05/19/2010

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