Tonight, we'll be liveblogging primary election results in Nebraska, Idaho, and Oregon. Polls in Nebraska have just closed, while Idaho and Oregon will close operations in one hour (at 10pm ET). For our handy guide to all of the key races,
click here.
Results: Nebraska | Idaho | Oregon
6:05 PM PT: The Nebraska Secretary of State's website seems to have the early jump on the Associated Press' tally. Senate race results are available here, and so far, Jon Bruning holds a 40-34 advantage over Deb Fischer with 26 precincts reporting.
6:20 PM PT: Over in NE-02, Democrat John Ewing leads his primary competitor, state Sen. Glen Howard, by a 63-37 margin in the early vote. In the Republican primary, Lee Terry leads a crowded field with an underwhelming 59%.
6:27 PM PT: With 91 precincts reporting according to the SoS, Bruning is sitting on a 40-34 lead over Fischer. Don Stenberg is well behind at 22%.
6:32 PM PT (jeffmd): Potentially significant: lots of early votes so far, and Deb Fischer is narrowly leading in the 800-pound (12,000-vote) gorilla of them -- Douglas County. Bruning has a big lead in the other two big counties, though, Omaha-area Sarpy County and Lincoln-area Lancaster County.
Though, given the late swing to Fischer, one would expect early votes to be a bit more Bruning-friendly.
6:32 PM PT: Shocker: The AP has called the Democratic Senate primary in Nebraska for Bob Kerrey. Kerrey is currently sitting on an 84-10 lead over Chuck Hassebrook, who dropped out of the race and endorsed Kerrey months ago.
6:40 PM PT (jeffmd): What's going on with the AP today? It shows 45 more precincts reporting than the SoS, but with many fewer votes. Also, it shows 398 fewer precincts than the SoS (155/1387 instead of 110/1785).
6:49 PM PT: Bruning's lead has now closed to just over 400 votes (38-37) with 170 precincts reporting.
6:51 PM PT: A big vote dump restores Bruning's lead: With 241 precincts reporting, Bruning leads Fischer by 41-32.
6:53 PM PT (jeffmd): Sarpy County (Bellevue, Papillion, suburban Omaha) is almost fully reporting, and Bruning is sporting a pretty 44-31 lead there. Wonder how that bodes for Omaha itself (Douglas County), which is currently 43-28 Bruning as well.
7:04 PM PT: We're up to 283 precincts reporting (per the SoS), and Bruning is holding onto a 40-33 lead over Fischer.
7:06 PM PT (David Nir): All three states with primaries tonight have one feature in common: They're split between two time zones. In Nebraska, though, all polls close at the same actual hour regardless of time zone, whereas in Idaho and Oregon, polls close one hour later in the trailing time zone. That means polls have just closed in Idaho, where the majority of population lives in the Mountain Time zone.
7:09 PM PT: With 343 precincts in, Fischer has inched up slightly, now trailing Bruning by 40-34. Meanwhile, in NE-02, Ewing leads Howard by 63-37 with 54 of 243 precincts in.
7:12 PM PT: We can wrap up NE-02 now -- the AP has called the Democratic nomination for Douglas County Treasurer John Ewing. He'll face first class doofus Lee Terry in November.
7:14 PM PT: Oh, and I should've mentioned: the AP has also called the GOP primary in NE-02 for incumbent Lee Terry. He's currently leading the field with 61% of the vote.
7:18 PM PT (David Nir): While we're waiting for Idaho results to flow in, there's this:
A Boise woman says she's gearing her congressional campaign back up following a March 16 arrest on aggravated assault charges.
Cynthia Clinkingbeard is accused of threatening employees at an office supply store with a handgun. Clinkingbeard updated the Idaho Statesman on her campaign Friday, calling her legal case "a bit of a fly in the ointment."
Unfortunately, she's running in the Democratic primary.
7:23 PM PT: So the Associated Press now seems to be ahead of the SoS in terms of raw votes: They have Bruning leading Fischer by 29,543 to 28,209 (or 1%).
7:31 PM PT: With 52% reporting per the AP, Deb Fischer has taken the lead for the first time all night, leading Bruning by just over 750 votes.
7:35 PM PT: 56% reporting now, and Fischer has grown her lead to about 1500 votes.
7:37 PM PT: Time for some new thread, guys.