Senate races

Former Pennsylvania Rep. Pat Toomey cruised to the GOP Senate nomination after facing only token opposition from Johnstown activist Peg Luksik in the primary.

Toomey had 79 percent of the vote with 1,840 of 9,233 precincts reporting, according to unofficial returns. The Associated Press declared him the winner. 

He will face either Sen. Arlen Specter (D) or Rep. Joe Sestak (D) in the general election. In recent weeks, the Toomey campaign started directing its fire toward the congressman, attempting to brand him as a liberal extremist. Toomey has a considerable war chest and is expected to be a formidable opponent for either Sestak or Specter.

The Nevada State Democratic Party filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission Tuesday against Republican Senate candidate Sue Lowden for accepting an RV as an in-kind donation.

The Lowden camp said it's leasing the 2001 Monaco Executive Motorhome from supporter Carl Giudici, but the Democrats say the arrangement violates election law.

"The 'lease' with Mr. Giudici is irrelevant and, frankly, pointless," Bradley Schrager, an attorney for the Nevada Democrats, said in a statement. "She is 'leasing' a vehicle she already owns. The lease language does not in any way affect Nevada's determination of who owns this vehicle — Sue Lowden."

The Lowden camp said there's nothing wrong with the arrangement for its use of the "nearly decade-old RV."

"The Sue Lowden for U.S. Senate campaign has rightfully entered into a private lease agreement, with a private owner of this RV, to compensate the owner for the fair market value for the RV's use," Robert Uithoven, Lowden's campaign manager, said in a statement. "The payments and in-kind contributions have been fully and properly disclosed to the FEC. In addition, the lease agreement clearly states that Sue Lowden and the Sue Lowden for U.S. Senate campaign is not, has never been nor ever will be the owner of this private individual's RV.

"The campaign will continue to provide full compensation for the operation, use, maintenance, fuel and insurance on this RV, and we will continue to report such expenses as required by law."

The campaign provided a copy of the lease agreement to the Ballot Box but it did not specify how much it's paying for the vehicle's use.

Rep. Joe Sestak (D-Pa.) sought to portray himself as the real Democrat in the Senate primary against Sen. Arlen Specter (D-Pa.).

During the course of the campaign, he pointed to Specter's past in the GOP and played up in a TV ad the praise the former Republican received from George W. Bush. But is Sestak a team player? And do you need to be a team player to be a good Democrat? The Philadelphia Inquirer thinks so.

In reiterating its endorsement of Specter, the Inquirer's editorial board made this point:

_{Sestak has taken the rash step of giving up his 7th District congressional seat after only two terms to take advantage of Specter's vulnerability. Sestak accuses Specter of putting personal interests first. But Sestak's decision to give up his seat makes it likely that a Republican, former U.S. Attorney Pat Meehan, will win it.}

_{That certainly won't be good for President Obama's agenda.}

Flanked by veterans at an afternoon press conference, Connecticut Senate candidate Richard Blumenthal (D) said he regretted mischaracterizing his military service during the Vietnam War.

"I regret that I misspoke and I take full responsibility," Blumenthal said. "But I am going to continue to fight for veterans because they have been disrespected and dishonored when they served in Vietnam and then returned to this country."

On several occasions, Blumenthal said he served in Vietnam during the war when in fact he was stationed stateside during the conflict, according to the New York Times.

"I am proud of my service in the United States Marine Corps," he said. "I always honor those who gave far more than I did."

Blumenthal said it was only a "few" occasions that he misspoke about his service.

He said he would not allow his record to be tarnished by the mistakes. "I will not allow anyone to take a few misplaced words and impugn my record of service to our country," he said.

His words were cheered several times by veterans who gathered to hear the speech.

Blumenthal also pushed back against the Times story. "The article denigrates service in the Reserves," he said.

He noted he couldn't be held responsible for the published reports about his service in Vietnam. "I can’t be responsible for all the articles, I may not even have seen them," he said.

Democrats rallied around Blumenthal Monday. He's expected to be the party's nominee in the race to succeed retiring Sen. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.).

Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal said he regrets his "misplaced words" about service in Vietnam.

Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.) had trouble voting Tuesday when she went to cast her primary ballot in Little Rock.

Sen. Arlen Specter (D-Pa.) and Rep. Joe Sestak (D-Pa.) are in a tweeting frenzy Tuesday as Pennsylvania voters go to the polls for the Democratic Senate primary.

Specter had tweeted 8 times by 1 p.m. ET Tuesday. Sestak had tweeted 11 times.

Both of them are urging people to vote and to get their friends to vote too.

"Call 5 voters today and let them know that election day is TODAY, you can also tell them where they can vote," Specter wrote.

"Call 5 voters during your lunch break," Sestak urged.

And, first thing Tuesday morning, both candidates tweeted messages about the polls being open.

"The polls are open - make sure you get out and vote today," Specter's message said.

Sestak simply wrote: "VOTE."
 
Polls close in Pennsylvania at 8 p.m. ET. More tweets are sure to come.

Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell (D) predicted that his preferred candidate will win the state's Senate primary on Tuesday.

Rendell backs Republican-turned-Democratic Sen. Arlen Specter, who is facing a challenge from Rep. Joe Sestak (D-Pa.)

“It’s going to be close. I think in the end Specter will pull it out. People will realize the value of his service to the state over the last 30 years," he said on Fox Business Network. “That [the African-American vote] is certainly a cornerstone for him. But the rain here is a factor. We’ll see how that affects the turnout.”

On Monday, Rendell simply predicted that the race would be close, but on Tuesday, he expressed a bit more confidence in Specter. 

Polls generally show Specter locked in a statistical tie with Sestak, despite the support the incumbent senator has from Rendell and the White House. 

Cross-posted to the Briefing Room

The chairman of the Senate Democrats' campaign committee expressed confidence on Tuesday that embattled candidate Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) will remain in his race.

Blumenthal is running for retiring Sen. Chris Dodd's (D-Conn.) seat this fall and had a strong lead in the polls. But the New York Times reported Monday night that he misrepresented his service record, claiming that he served overseas in the Vietnam War even though records show he never did.

The allegations are considered extremely damaging for Blumenthal's candidacy, but Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) said that the Connecticut attorney general would remain in the race.

"I am sure that he will continue to stay in the Senate race and we will continue to support him," he told reporters at a press conference on Capitol Hill. "I will allow the attorney general to explain and make his own case. By the end of the day, he knows all the facts, he knows all the circumstances."

Blumenthal's campaign has called the report an "outrageous distortion" but the Times is standing by its story. 

Democrats were originally happy that Blumenthal stepped in for Dodd. They feared that Dodd, the chairman of the Banking Committee, would have a tough time winning reelection due to his alleged involvement in the Countrywide Mortgage scandal.

The New Jersey senator did not say if he has spoken with Blumenthal and refrained from criticizing him.

"I think first of all, that Attorney General Blumenthal has been an incredible advocate for veterans," he said. "I think he has corrected the record in the past and that his actions speak as to where his heart is and his actions."

Menendez suggested that Blumenthal's Republican opponents, former World Wrestling Entertainment CEO Linda McMahon and former Rep. Rob Simmons, could be in trouble themselves. 

"Look, the reality is we have not gotten to the full vetting of the Republican candidate," he said. "There is plenty to talk about in that respect."

McMahon's critics have highlighted unseemly events during her time running the professional wrestling circuit, including allegations that players took performance enhancing drugs. 

Simmons served in a special operations unit in Vietnam during the war.

Cross-posted to the Briefing Room 

Sen. Joe Lieberman has good relationships with the major candidates on both sides of the aisle in the Connecticut race.