Top of the ballot: Primary day

Voters cast ballots Tuesday in Arkansas, Kentucky, Pennsylvania and Oregon, The New York Times torpedos Connecticut's "golden boy" and Nevada Senate candidate Sue Lowden's campaign bus may not be street-legal.

Gray Tuesday

Turnout is expected to be about 30 percent in the Kentucky Senate primary, where much of the attention is focused on the GOP power struggle between Rand Paul and Trey Grayson. On the Democratic side, the nominee will likely be either Attorney General Jack Conway or Lt. Gov. Dan Mongiardo.

In Arkansas, the focus has been on the state's two Senate primaries, but there are also House primaries for its three open seats.

The weather in Philadelphia on Tuesday is in the 50s, which could hurt Sen. Arlen Specter (D-Pa.) as the less-motivated Dem primary voters stay home. Specter's last-minute pitch to voters? He went after Rep. Joe Sestak (D-Pa.) for not saying he'd endorse him after the primary during an interview with CNN on Sunday. "Now who is the true Democrat?'' Specter asked Monday. ''Who is the true team player?''

A self-Swift-Boating?

Connecticut Senate candidate Richard Blumenthal (D) is pushing back against a New York Times report that he routinely mischaracterized his service in the Marines during the Vietnam War.

"The New York Times story is an outrageous distortion of Dick Blumenthal's record of service," Mindy Myers, Blumenthal's campaign manager, said in a statement Monday. "Unlike many of his peers, Dick Blumenthal voluntarily joined the Marine Corps Reserves in 1970 and served for six months in Parris Island, S.C., and six years in the reserves. He received no special treatment from anyone."

He's holding an event Tuesday with veterans where he'll address the allegations. Republican Senate candidate Linda McMahon's campaign is taking credit for putting the paper on the trail.

Girl on the bus

Lowden is being attacked for accepting the use of a tan, 2001 Monaco campaign bus as an in-kind contribution. A supporter of her Senate campaign is leasing her the bus, but its value likely exceeds the amount allowed under campaign finance rules. Moreover, Lowden's GOP rivals are beginning to attack her use of the bus.

"Like a typical insider, Sue Lowden doesn't think the rules apply to her," a spokesman for Republican Danny Tarkanian told the Las Vegas Sun. He referred to the bus as a "free ride."