2010 elections

Tonight's Primaries: The Last Big Election Night Before November

Eric Kleefeld | September 14, 2010, 5:58PM

Republican candidate for U.S. Senate Christine O'Donnell

Tonight marks the last major night of the 2010 primary season. And what a wild and wacky season it's been -- and could still prove to be tonight.

This is the last multi-state primary night this year. After tonight, the only one primary left is Hawaii's this Saturday.

So let's take a look at some of tonight's races. There are Tea Party insurgents against establishment GOP moderates, Dems fighting it out to keep their jobs, and a whole lot of fun throughout.

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Bill Binnie

NH-SEN Candidate Binnie: My Pro-Choice Stance Led To Death Threats

Jillian Rayfield | September 9, 2010, 3:16PM

Bill Binnie (R), candidate for US Senate in New Hampshire

Bill Binnie, a candidate in the Republican primary for senate in New Hampshire, has addressed rumors that he had received death threats over his pro-choice stance on abortion, telling the Conway Daily Sun: "Why am I being attacked by these outside groups? Do you think their motivation is anything other than that? Look who is attacking me, it's a real issue. I think (Thursday) we got over 1,000 pieces of mail to my home, 1,000. We don't answer our phone anymore.

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NH-SEN

Is Kelly Ayotte In Trouble In The NH-SEN Republican Primary?

Jillian Rayfield | September 8, 2010, 8:46AM

Former NH Attorney General and Senate candidate Kelly Ayotte (R)

Former state Attorney General Kelly Ayotte was sailing along in New Hampshire's Republican senate primary. She was way ahead of her Republican opponents -- and her potential Dem rival Rep. Paul Hodes -- in the polls, was backed by the establishment GOP, and was even counted among the ranks of Sarah Palin's "mama grizzlies" when the former half-term governor endorsed Ayotte back in July.

But somewhere between the primary in-fighting and concerns about Ayotte's conservative record, former state Board of Education chairman and Tea Party-backed candidate Ovide Lamontagne began to gain some ground.

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NH-SEN

Magellan Poll: Ayotte Leads NH-SEN Republican Primary -- Tea Party-Backed Lamontagne Gaining Ground

Eric Kleefeld | September 3, 2010, 4:21PM

US Senate primary candidate Kelly Ayotte (R-NH)

The new Magellan Strategies (R) poll of the New Hampshire Senate primary shows former state Attorney General Kelly Ayotte, the establishment choice for the GOP nomination, leading the wide-open field. But it's not a sure thing, with plenty of volatility in the numbers.

The numbers: Ayotte 34%, former state Board of Education chairman Ovide Lamontagne 21%, businessman Bill Binnie 17%, and businessman Jim Bender 13%. The survey of likely primary voters has a ±3.3% margin of error.

The previous Magellan poll from May had Ayotte at 38%, Binnie at 29%, Lamontagne at 9%, and Bender at only 4%. The TPM Poll Average has Ayotte at 36%, Binnie 23%, Lamontagne 15%, and Bender 8.5%.

The primary will be held on September 14.

Bill Binnie

NH-SEN Republican: 'English Is The Language Of America' -- And 'Even The Internet' (VIDEO)

Jillian Rayfield | August 12, 2010, 5:24PM

Bill Binnie (R), candidate for US Senate in New Hampshire

Bill Binnie, who is running in the Republican primary for senator of New Hampshire, put up a web video on his campaign website yesterday, promising that, if elected, he will make sure "all immigrants learn English." After all, he says, it's the "language of America," and "it's the language of international commerce, science, and even the internet."

Apparently Binnie has never seen the video of the Russian Trololo guy.

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NH-SEN

Rasmussen Poll: GOPer Ayotte Leads Hodes By 13 In NH-SEN Race

Marc Kilstein | August 9, 2010, 10:40AM

US Senate primary candidate Kelly Ayotte (R-NH)

A new Rasmussen poll of the New Hampshire Senate race finds Republican Kelly Ayotte -- the front runner in the Republican primary -- with a 13-point lead over Democratic Rep. Paul Hodes, 51%-38%. The latest numbers show Hodes down six points to GOP hopeful Bill Binnie, 46%-40%.

Ayotte has held an advantage in the polls through the duration of the campaign. The last Rasmussen poll, conducted on July 12, showed her leading Hodes 49%-37%. In late July, a University of New Hampshire survey found similar results, with Ayotte on top 45%-37%. A PPP poll from July 25 showed a much closer contest, with the GOPer holding a slight 3-point lead -- a statistical tie, given the survey's ±3.26 margin of error -- but no other poll in the last few months has produced a similar result.

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NH-SEN

Ayotte: Binnie's FEC Complaint Against Me In NH-SEN Is 'Illogical'

Jillian Rayfield | August 5, 2010, 4:14PM

New Hampshire GOP Senate primary candidates Kelly Ayotte and Bill Binnie.

Bill Binnie, a Republican candidate for Senate in New Hampshire, has filed a complaint with the Federal Election Committee that alleges his Republican primary opponent Kelly Ayotte coordinated an attack ad against Binnie with a conservative group, in violation of FEC rules.

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NH-SEN

Poll: GOPer Ayotte Leads Dem Hodes By 8 In NH Senate Race

Thomas Rhiel | July 28, 2010, 6:50PM

Rep. Paul Hodes (D-NH)

The University of New Hampshire is out with some new polling (PDF) of the state's Senate race, and the numbers still don't look all that good for Democratic Rep. Paul Hodes. The new poll shows Republican Kelly Ayotte -- the frontrunner in the GOP primary -- leading Hodes 45%-37% among likely voters. Bill Binnie, another possible contender for the Republican nomination, also leads Hodes 41%-38%.

Still, there is some good news here for the Democrat -- the poll does show Hodes gaining ground on his likely Republican opponent. The university's last survey -- from April -- showed Ayotte leading Hodes 47%-32%.

A PPP poll released yesterday showed an even tighter race, with Hodes down only three points against Ayotte.

The TPM Poll Average of the race shows Ayotte with a 47.2%-37.9% lead over Hodes. The TPM Poll Average shows Binnie ahead of Hodes 45.2%-39.1%. The margin of error for the latest University of New Hampshire is ±4.6 percentage points. The primary is September 14.

NH-SEN

PPP Poll: Ayotte Trouncing Rivals in GOP's NH-SEN Primary

Thomas Rhiel | July 28, 2010, 9:38AM

US Senate primary candidate Kelly Ayotte (R-NH)

A new PPP (D) survey of the New Hampshire Republican Senate primary finds Kelly Ayotte cruising in first with a huge lead over other would-be Republican nominees. The poll has Ayotte with 47%, rival Bill Binnie with 14%, and the other contenders mired in the single digits.

Ayotte's lead in this PPP poll is the largest she's had. A Magellan poll from late May gave Ayotte only a nine-point leader over Binnie, and a PPP poll from April put Ayotte's lead at 24 points.

The TPM Poll Average shows former state Attorney General Ayotte with a general election lead of 48.1-38.2 over Democratic Rep. Paul Hodes.

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NH-SEN

PPP Poll: Dem Rep. Paul Hodes (Just Barely) Trails Top GOPers In NH Senate Race

Thomas Rhiel | July 27, 2010, 12:26PM

Rep. Paul Hodes (D-NH)

A new PPP (D) survey (PDF) of the New Hampshire Senate race shows Democratic Rep. Paul Hodes trailing both of his most likely Republican opponents -- but just barely. The survey found Republican Kelly Ayotte leading Hodes 45%-42% and Republican Bill Binnie ahead of Hodes 46%-41%.

The last PPP poll of the race -- from April -- showed Ayotte with a seven-point lead over Hodes, and Binnie with a five-point lead.

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2010 elections

First-Quarter Fundraising Roundup -- Day One

Eric Kleefeld | April 1, 2010, 6:43PM

Fmr. Nevada GOP Chair Sue Lowden and Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV)

Here are some of the latest pieces of fundraising news in races from across the country, as the first-quarter money results start to come in:

• Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV), who is in danger of losing his seat this year, raised $1.5 million, and has over $10 million on hand.

• Former Nevada GOP Chair Sue Lowden, one of the candidates for the Republican nomination against Reid, raised $500,000. She has pledged to self-finance to match her individual donations, so this would bring in another $500,000 for a total of $1 million.

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