WASHINGTON — In one of a handful of intensely watched primaries around the country, US Senator Michael Bennet last night fended off a feisty Democratic primary challenger in Colorado, bucking a wave of anti-incumbent fervor and demonstrating that President Obama still carries electoral clout.
That result, however, was an exception on a primary night in which outsider candidates, feeding on voter anger, generally held sway. In Connecticut, Republican voters overwhelmingly chose a wealthy wrestling executive and political novice as their candidate for US Senate.
Linda McMahon, who defeated former US Representative Rob Simmons, will now face Attorney General Richard Blumenthal, who was unopposed for the Democratic nomination. They are vying to replace longtime Senator Chris Dodd, a Democrat who is retiring after three decades in the Senate.
McMahon’s victory continues a string of strong campaigns for women in the GOP, from California to South Carolina. But in Minnesota last night, it was a Democratic female candidate who appeared headed for victory. House Speaker Margaret Anderson Kelliher was leading in the Democratic gubernatorial primary there and could become the state’s first major-party female nominee for governor.
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2010/08/11/mcmahon_wins_gop_primary_in_conn/