Tonight, we'll be liveblogging primary election results in Nebraska, Idaho, and Oregon. For our handy guide to all of the key races,
click here.
Results: Nebraska | Idaho | Oregon
7:48 PM PT (Steve Singiser): We are now up to 60 percent reporting, and Deb Fischer keeps expanding her lead over Jon Bruning. The margin is now 2000 votes. Notably, since everyone assumes that western Nebraska is Fischer's best territory, NE-03 is showing the fewest percent of precincts reporting (50 percent).
7:57 PM PT (Steve Singiser): The Nebraska SoS has been dancing ahead and behind of the AP in their vote totals, but either way, the essentials remain the same. About two-thirds of the vote are in, and the lead for Deb Fischer over Jon Bruning is now north of 3000 votes.
7:59 PM PT (Steve Singiser): Heh: No sooner do I hit "send" on the update, and another big update pops up from AP. They now have 71 percent reporting, and Fischer's lead keeps growing. She now leads Bruning by 4700 votes, or 4 percent. Bruning needs a big shot in the arm, or this thing could be done.
8:04 PM PT (Steve Singiser): We have our first votes trickling in from the Gem State, and Idaho might be giving us a headline. Veteran House incumbent Mike Simpson is leading Republican Some Dude Chick Heileson, but it is reasonably close. Simpson currently is notching 59.8 percent of the vote, with about 2800 votes counted.
8:06 PM PT: Idaho's Secretary of State will be reporting their own results here. They're already beating the AP to the punch -- check out ID-02, where GOP Rep. Mike Simpson only leads nutbag Chick "Constitution of the Soviets" Heileson by a 62-38 margin.
8:06 PM PT (Steve Singiser): Polls in Oregon closed at the top of the hour, and the "vote by mail" system they employ usually means returns come in at a snappy pace. For those interested, here is the link to the Oregon SoS. Some votes have already been recorded there, though not too many thus far.
8:18 PM PT (Steve Singiser): And, in Nebraska, the only remaining question has been answered: the AP projects that Deb Fischer has won the Republican Party's primary for the U.S. Senate. It was about six weeks ago that she was a distant third behind Don Stenberg and frontrunner Jon Bruning. Despite late polls (including one from PPP that seems to have nailed the margin) that hinted at it, this is still a stunning outcome.
8:21 PM PT (David Nir):
That's now two failed Senate bids for Jon Bruning. Funny, he's turning into... Don Stenberg
— @DKElections via Echofon
8:36 PM PT (David Jarman): Let's hit some of the Oregon results. In OR-04, Peter DeFazio is beating Matthew Robinson (son of his GOP opponent in November, Art Robinson) 90-10, which seems like a pretty wide margin even by the standards of Some Dude primary challenges. In OR-05, it looks like Kurt Schrader will face off against "Not That" Fred Thompson, the random teabagger who lost the 2010 GOP primary to Scott Bruun; he's leading his primary with 66%.
In HD-48's Dem primary, netroots-backed challenger Jeff Reardon is demolishing conservaDem Mike Schaufler, 66-34. In the AG Dem primary, Ellen Rosenblum has a similar margin over Dwight Holton, 63-37. As for the Portland mayoral race, it's Charlie Hales at 39, Jefferson Smith at 29, and Eileen Brady at 24, much as the polls predicted.
8:40 PM PT (Steve Singiser): Back in Idaho, it looks like those early returns hinting at a competitive primary in ID-02 were a tease: GOP Rep. Mike Simpson now leads his primary opponent 70-30. GOP Rep. Raul Labrador (ID-01) is also cruising (82-18). On the Democratic side, the candidates favored to win (Jimmy Farris in ID-01, and state sen. Nicole LeFavour in ID-02) are currently leading.
8:47 PM PT (Steve Singiser): For those waiting with a sense of urgency, the final federal race in Nebraska has now been called. Korey Reiman has dispatched Robert Way, winning the Democratic primary in NE-01 (63-37). Meanwhile, the final margin in that GOP Senate primary in the Cornhusker State looks like it will be five points (41-36).
8:59 PM PT (Steve Singiser): Meanwhile, as we noted earlier, Oregon's vote-by-mail system means they count 'em fast in the Northwest. Two watched races have already been called. In OR-04, the master scheme of the Oregon Family Robinson came up a bit short. GOP nominee Art Robinson's son, Matthew, challenged Democratic Rep. Pete DeFazio in the Democratic primary. Yeah, that move needs some work—DeFazio won 90-10. Meanwhile, in that much watched Democratic primary for Attorney General, Ellen Rosenblum had defeated Dwight Holton (63-37). That pivotal Democratic primary in HD-48, meanwhile, has not been called, but progressive challenger Jeff Reardon is smacking state Rep. Mike Schaufler (66-34).
9:04 PM PT (Steve Singiser):
9:14 PM PT (Steve Singiser): The only uncalled House primary in Idaho is the Democratic primary in ID-01, where former NFL wideout Jimmy Farris is clinging to a 55-45 lead over the recently jailed (see upthread) Cynthia Clinkingbeard. That does not bode well for November, when the winner faces freshman Republican Raul Labrador. Labrador has been declared a winner by AP, as has ID-02 incumbent Republican Mike Simpson and his Democratic challenger for November, state senator Nicole LeFavour.
9:30 PM PT (Steve Singiser): According to the county websites, both Multnomah and Washington (where a tiny sliver of Portland is located) Counties are reporting all precincts in. And it looks like Charlie Hales (38 percent) and Jefferson Smith (29 percent) have made the runoff. Eileen Brady (24 percent) runs third.
9:33 PM PT (Steve Singiser): Worth noting: the Multnomah County elections office says they will update again at 10:30 PM.
9:35 PM PT (David Jarman): One more point of interest in Oregon: the Republican primary in SD-27. This Bend-area seat is GOP-leaning, and its sorta-moderate state Senator, Republican Chris Telfer (who the state Treasurer race a couple years ago), is getting swamped in the primary from a challenge from the right. Tim Knopp is no out-of-nowhere outsider with a tricorner hat and a heavily-thumbed pocket constitution, though... he's the former leader of the Republican caucus in the state House. (Meanwhile, in the Dem primary in HD-48, no call yet, but Jeff Reardon looks very likely to knock out conservaDem incumbent Mike Schaufler, which would be important if there's another 30-30 split next cycle.)
9:37 PM PT (David Jarman): Ah, barely a minute goes by since the last update, and both Knopp and Reardon get the AP calls in those two legislative primaries. Portland's mayoral race is the only outstanding question mark, and even there the only question seems to be whether Eileen Brady can overtake Jefferson Smith for 2nd place (which she probably can't).
9:42 PM PT (Steve Singiser): By our count, there's only two races that are not in lockdown mode. One is that Democratic primary in ID-01, where NFLer Jimmy Farris is locked in an inexplicably close battle with Cynthia Clinkingbeard (now down to 53-47). The other is the Portland mayoral race, though that might be closer to done than we think. An update is due there at 10:30. We'll check back in if the fundamental calculus in either race changes. For now, however, the crew here at Daily Kos Elections are calling it (provisionally) a night. Thanks for staying up with us!