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| Republican right wing defeated in Kentucky and Georgia primaries | |
| (about 9 hours later) | |
| Conservative Republicans have called for a truce with the party leadership in an effort to win control of the US Senate after minority leader Mitch McConnell scored a resounding win over a Tea Party challenger in Kentucky and rightwing candidates were decisively defeated in a crucial Georgia primary. | Conservative Republicans have called for a truce with the party leadership in an effort to win control of the US Senate after minority leader Mitch McConnell scored a resounding win over a Tea Party challenger in Kentucky and rightwing candidates were decisively defeated in a crucial Georgia primary. |
| Minutes after the polls closed in Kentucky the Associated Press declared McConnell the nominee for that state in a race that was once seen as the best opportunity for rightwing Republicans to punish him for backing down during last October's budget showdown in Washington. | Minutes after the polls closed in Kentucky the Associated Press declared McConnell the nominee for that state in a race that was once seen as the best opportunity for rightwing Republicans to punish him for backing down during last October's budget showdown in Washington. |
| Instead results showed McConnell ahead by 24 percentage points over Tea Party-supported businessman Matt Bevin by the time 71% of precincts declared at 8.20pm. | |
| The result in Georgia was far tighter and took longer to call. But shortly before midnight on Tuesday, David Perdue, a businessman considered more moderate than his opponents, declared victory to his supporters in Atlanta. | |
| With almost nine out of 10 precincts counted, Perdue secured 30% – the leading tally, but insufficient to avoid a runoff with his main opponent, Jack Kingston, who came in second. | |
| Kingston, a congressman with running with the support of the Chamber of Commerce, received 26% of the vote, narrowly beating the Sarah Palin-backed candidate, Karen Handel. | Kingston, a congressman with running with the support of the Chamber of Commerce, received 26% of the vote, narrowly beating the Sarah Palin-backed candidate, Karen Handel. |
| Perdue and Kingston ran the two best-funded campaigns and were both endorsed by GOP apparatchiks. | Perdue and Kingston ran the two best-funded campaigns and were both endorsed by GOP apparatchiks. |
| Tea Party-backed congressmen Phil Gingrey and Paul Broun, in contrast, both trailed badly, compounding the sense that the rightwing insurgency that has reshaped the Republican party over the past five years is finally running out of steam. | |
| Neither the Kentucky nor Georgia result was a surprise given recent polling. But the speed of the Tea Party's defeat in Kentucky prompted the Senate Conservatives Fund – a self-styled “grassroots” group funding “true conservatives” – to urge its supporters to put the rancorous campaign behind them and back McConnell. In the November midterm elections McConnell will face a tough challenge from Democrat Alison Lundergan Grimes, who also comfortably won her primary. | |
| We thank Matt Bevin for giving conservatives a choice in this election. Now it's time to unite for victory in November. #KYSen | We thank Matt Bevin for giving conservatives a choice in this election. Now it's time to unite for victory in November. #KYSen |
| Bevin stopped short of endorsing McConnell, but encouraged his supporters to continue “working in the confines of the Republican party”. | |
| McConnell, who had once threatened to punch groups like SCF “in the nose” for dragging the party into a pointless budget showdown, turned instead to his Democrat opponent, accusing her of being “Barack Obama's candidate” in a victory speech that gave a taste of how Republicans plan to fight November's key midterm election. | McConnell, who had once threatened to punch groups like SCF “in the nose” for dragging the party into a pointless budget showdown, turned instead to his Democrat opponent, accusing her of being “Barack Obama's candidate” in a victory speech that gave a taste of how Republicans plan to fight November's key midterm election. |
| With Kentucky joining states like North Carolina in rejecting the Tea Party wave that has dominated much of Washington politics for the last five years, the Democrats now face a tougher battle to hold on to the half a dozen vulnerable seats standing between them and a total loss of control in Congress. | With Kentucky joining states like North Carolina in rejecting the Tea Party wave that has dominated much of Washington politics for the last five years, the Democrats now face a tougher battle to hold on to the half a dozen vulnerable seats standing between them and a total loss of control in Congress. |
| The single significant victory for the Tea Party in this election cycle has been that of Ben Sasse, in Nebraska, although he is standing in a deeply conservative state that Democrats have scant hope winning come November. | The single significant victory for the Tea Party in this election cycle has been that of Ben Sasse, in Nebraska, although he is standing in a deeply conservative state that Democrats have scant hope winning come November. |
| While establishment candidates came out on top in the Georgia primary, the close race poses complications for Perdue and Kinsgton, who have already spent weeks in bruising campaign battles. They now face another nine weeks of head-to-head campaigning. | While establishment candidates came out on top in the Georgia primary, the close race poses complications for Perdue and Kinsgton, who have already spent weeks in bruising campaign battles. They now face another nine weeks of head-to-head campaigning. |
| "We've got a big battle coming up, a two-person race here," Perdue told his supporters in a subdued speech. "We're gonna have to work hard." | |
| Kingston has run a series of attack ads against Perdue. A source close to Perdue's campaign said the businessman was now likely to retaliate hard, using similar tactics to attack the congressman's voting record and paint him as a Washington insider. | Kingston has run a series of attack ads against Perdue. A source close to Perdue's campaign said the businessman was now likely to retaliate hard, using similar tactics to attack the congressman's voting record and paint him as a Washington insider. |
| That is good news for Democrat Michelle Nunn, who breezed to victory in her primary race, securing more than 70% of the vote. Hours before the vote was called she appeared in a hotel in the other side of Atlanta beside her father, the former Democratic senator Sam Nunn. | That is good news for Democrat Michelle Nunn, who breezed to victory in her primary race, securing more than 70% of the vote. Hours before the vote was called she appeared in a hotel in the other side of Atlanta beside her father, the former Democratic senator Sam Nunn. |
| Demographic changes in Georgia, which has seen a significant growth in minority voters, have led top Democratic party strategists to identify the state as one they can wrestle back from Republicans. | Demographic changes in Georgia, which has seen a significant growth in minority voters, have led top Democratic party strategists to identify the state as one they can wrestle back from Republicans. |
| The focus of their strategy is to mobilise the large and growing Democratic base in the state but party bosses also believe Nunn – the chief executive of the Points of Light Foundation founded by former Republican president George Bush Sr – has the kind of profile that will appeal to Georgia's conservative electorate. | The focus of their strategy is to mobilise the large and growing Democratic base in the state but party bosses also believe Nunn – the chief executive of the Points of Light Foundation founded by former Republican president George Bush Sr – has the kind of profile that will appeal to Georgia's conservative electorate. |
| Nunn's campaign manager, Jeff DeSantis, describes her as a "non-political candidate". Viewers of her TV ads – which emphasise her relationship with Bush – could be forgiven for thinking she is a Republican. She has studiously avoided any association with President Barack Obama. | Nunn's campaign manager, Jeff DeSantis, describes her as a "non-political candidate". Viewers of her TV ads – which emphasise her relationship with Bush – could be forgiven for thinking she is a Republican. She has studiously avoided any association with President Barack Obama. |
| In an interview with the Guardian on the eve of the poll Nunn declined to say whether she would have voted for the president's Affordable Care Act and refused to say which president – Bush or Obama – had done a superior job. "I have an extraordinary respect for all of the presidents and the service that they render," Nunn said. | In an interview with the Guardian on the eve of the poll Nunn declined to say whether she would have voted for the president's Affordable Care Act and refused to say which president – Bush or Obama – had done a superior job. "I have an extraordinary respect for all of the presidents and the service that they render," Nunn said. |
| Asked again who she thought was preferable out of the Republican and Democratic presidents, Nunn replied: "As I move forward in Georgia I am going to be looking forward to working with the president, whichever party they represent." | Asked again who she thought was preferable out of the Republican and Democratic presidents, Nunn replied: "As I move forward in Georgia I am going to be looking forward to working with the president, whichever party they represent." |