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Results: AL, MS, HI
7:47 PM PT (David Nir): FOX is calling Mississippi for Santorum.
7:50 PM PT (David Nir): And now CNN has calls MS for Santo as well. Quite the night!
7:52 PM PT (David Nir): 58% for Bonner (AL-01), 57% for Bachus (AL-06), 57% for Nunnelee (MS-01)—none of these are good numbers for incumbent GOP Reps. Some people take the mistaken view that "anti-incumbent sentiment" is only a meaningful force if incumbents lose. But weak primary wins in the 50s are a sign that something's going on out there, and while these guys may have escaped, the next batch of incumbents may not be so lucky.
7:57 PM PT (David Nir): In AL-06 (R), state Sen. Scott Beason is conceding to Rep. Spencer Bachus. Alabama elects senators in the off years, so Beason gets to keep his seat... for now. But the fact that he lost his hometown tonight paints a big target on his back for 2014.
8:00 PM PT (Steve Singiser): For those just coming home, or sidling up to your computer, Rick Santorum has claimed both of the Deep South primaries tonight, with a sizable win in Alabama coupled with a tighter win in Mississippi. The banner headline of the night, though: Mitt Romney looks increasingly likely to come in third in both primaries. He is 4900 votes behind Newt Gingrich in Alabama, and 2800 votes behind him in Mississippi. As much as the Romney campaign tries to reset the goalposts (aided and abetted by some uproariously bad political analysis in various media outlets), bear in mind two things: (1) Romney wildly outspent everyone, yet again; (2) Romney was calling "his own shot", so to speak, even as recently as today. Romney might have tried to pass it off as "an away game" last week, but then he went all-in. Trying to give him a pass now is analytical malpractice.