Dem primaries

Sen. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.) on Wednesday sent out a fundraising e-mail to his donor list on behalf of his Senate colleague Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), who faces a primary challenge. 

The mailer comes one day after Bennet's primary opponent, former Colorado House Speaker Andrew Romanoff, received the endorsement of former President Bill Clinton. The endorsement drove a wedge between Clinton and President Barack Obama, who has backed Bennet. 

The mailer makes no reference to Romanoff, but touts Bennet's achievements in the Senate and attacks Republicans. 

"Since arriving in the Senate last year, Michael fought along with me to pass health care reform, and he even led the charge for a public option. From reforming Wall St. to protecting our environment, I've been impressed with Michael's commitment to setting partisan games aside and getting to work on solving real problems," Dodd wrote. "But while Michael has been fighting for all of us, his Republican opponents have staked out extreme positions, far outside the mainstream in an attempt to win Tea Party support."

The Connecticut senator's letter could be an indicator that the primary race is heating up. It's already been tinged by Romanoff's claim that the White House invited him to apply for a job so that he would exit the race. 

Clinton's endorsement brought up memories of the 2008 presidential campaign; Romanoff endorsed Hillary Clinton, while Bennet — an appointed senator — backed Obama. 

Dodd endorsed Obama in February 2008 after dropping out of the Democratic presidential primary in January. 

For Democrats in close races, former President Clinton could be the more highly coveted surrogate campaigner than President Obama.

A top Obama administration adviser Sunday cast doubt on the legitimacy of Alvin Greene's Senate Democratic primary win South Carolina.

Asked if Greene's victory was legitimate, Senior White House Adviser David Axelrod said, "It doesn't appear so to me. The whole thing is odd. I don't know how really to explain it. I don't think anyone else does either."

Axelrod's comments come after House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.) suggested last week that Greene's candidacy was a "plant" and called for an investigation.

"How he won the primary is a big mystery. Until you resolve that I don't see how you can claim to be a strong candidate," Axelrod said on NBC's "Meet the Press."

Greene is an unemployed military veteran. The Associated Press reported last week that Greene faces a felony pornography charge.

James Clyburn (D-S.C.) said Sunday that experiences in his own primary bolstered suspicions about Alvin Greene being a "plant."

Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.) and Lt. Gov. Bill Halter (D) will face one another for the Senate nomination on Tuesday.

The AFL-CIO said Wednesday that it would wage a "very aggressive" campaign in the runoff election between Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.) and her Democratic primary challenger.

The labor group said it would spend what it needs to in order to help Arkansas Lt. Gov. Bill Halter unseat Lincoln in a Democratic primary challenge.

"We're in it to win it," AFL-CIO political director Karen Ackerman said in a conference call Wednesday. "We are certainly ready and able to spend whatever we need to do on behalf of Halter."

The union said it saw a "real victory for working people" in last night's Arkansas primary, in which neither Lincoln nor Halter received 50 percent of the vote, forcing a June 8 runoff primary between the two.

The AFL-CIO and other labor groups poured millions into the race on Halter's behalf, angered by Lincoln's stance on healthcare reform legislation and a union organizing bill, among other issues.

Ackerman also hailed the victory for Democrats in Pennsylvania's 12th congressional district, and downplayed incumbent Sen. Arlen Specter's (D-Pa.) loss in a Democratic primary. She said that local AFL-CIO officials had decided to back Specter, in part due to their years of support for him.

But she said that their focus had shifted to Arkansas, where they will commit resources to Halter, though Ackerman wouldn't put a price tag on the amount.

"We figure that it is very important to take a stand against incumbents or candidates who are not sympathetic to the needs of working people, and who have not really proven themselves to fight for the economic security of working people," she said.

Cross-posted from the Briefing Room.

Kentucky Attorney General Jack Conway (D) won by a thin margin and will face Rand Paul (R) in November.

Reps. Dan Burton (R-Ind.) and Mark Souder (R-Ind.) emerged from Tuesday’s primaries bruised but unbeaten. Their performances, however, won’t do much to hearten members worried about their own primaries.

So, as we talk about this pervasive anti-incumbent mood, who’s next? In fact, several other members of Congress will learn their primary fates in the coming days and weeks.

The Ballot Box looks at incumbents who could fall in the next month:

Saturday – Sen. Robert Bennett (R-Utah): The three-term senator has turned into an underdog at his state party convention this weekend, and recent polls suggest he might not even make the final ballot at the convention, which would effectively end his tenure in the Senate.

Tuesday – Rep. Alan Mollohan (D-W.Va.): Mollohan faces state Sen. Mike Oliverio, who nearly outraised him in the first quarter and led him 41-33 in an internal poll two weeks ago.

May 18 – Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.), Sen. Arlen Specter (D-Pa.) and Rep. Paul Kanjorski (D-Pa.): Could two Democratic senators fall on one primary day? They could. Both Lincoln and Specter have seen their leads shrink to single digits. The most vulnerable man that day, though, might be Kanjorski, who faces Lackawanna County Commissioner Corey O’Brien.

June 1 – Rep. Parker Griffith (R-Ala.): Much like Specter, Griffith is dealing with the aftermath of a party switch. He went the other way, to become a Republican, and the GOP primary never cleared. Madison County Commissioner Mo Brooks and businessman Les Phillip will battle with Griffith over who is the real conservative Republican in the race.

Lots of names were on the ballot on Tuesday. In case you don't want to go through each individual race, The Ballot Box gives a quick and dirty version of the winners and losers:

Winners

1. Elaine Marshall

Former state Sen. Cal Cunningham looked to be closing the gap in the North Carolina Democratic Senate primary, and he had the national party behind him, at least in spirit. But Marshall came away with a nine-point edge, 36-27, and polling shows she enters their June 22 runoff with a significant edge. A recent Public Policy Polling (D) poll shows she would take 51 percent of the vote from candidates who didn’t make the runoff, while Cunningham would take 27 percent.

Now it will be up to Cunningham to raise big money and drown Marshall in advertising. Despite not raising much money, she is proving to be no pushover. The runoff is June 22.

2. NRCC

It wasn’t pretty, and in fact, it was downright ugly in many cases, but the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) got its chosen candidates through on Tuesday. In Indiana, state Rep. Jackie Walorski, Dr. Larry Bucshon and attorney Todd Young all won. In North Carolina, Iraq veteran Ilario Pantano and businessman Jeff Miller both appear to have avoided runoffs. And in Ohio, state Sen. Bob Gibbs’s apparent narrow victory in Rep. Zack Space’s (D-Ohio) district (there could be a recount) gave the NRCC a sweep there.

Ohio Lt. Gov. Lee Fisher has won his state’s Democratic Senate primary, though it wasn’t quite resounding.