Oh, No! Election Day is Tuesday, November 2nd, 2010...

Well, I'm all for Republicans, but I would have been okay with Lincoln.

Back to Virginia and the 5th District. In Charlottesville/Albemarle as of 4 pm (9 hours after polls opened) it is looking to me as if about 11% of folks who might have voted Republican in 2008 have turned out for the Republican primary so far, with 3 hours to go.
That is strictly a back of the envelope calculation on my part.
One precinct in the city had 18 voters in 9 hours.

kinda early to tell but it's beginning look like Johnboy's low turnout observation is holding true everywhere. while I don't have final numbers, Statewide New Mexico, Herrera estimates the total number to be around 9 percent. (the new mexico primary was a week ago but I didn't find final numbers)

I go to various lectures at UVA on things relating to politics and economics. I can score a really decent free lunch by filling one on the many empty chairs and appearing to be interested.
They/we were talking, hypothetically of course, about the notion of mandatory voting (a la Aus).
Which is better: an apathetic or an ill-informed electorate? I argued for the former.

The view from the UK. I thought you might be interested in the coverage, RJB:



http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/richard-adams-blog/2010/jun/08/primary-california-nevada-republican-democrat-live

Thanks, msolga, for the link to the Guardian. I am following several U.S. media outlets but will be asleep before the California races are called.
In the Arkansas Democratic Senate primary, with 8% of the votes in, Lincoln leads Halter 53% to 47%. I am surprised.
The South Carolina race mentioned in the Guardian blog was so totally bizarre that I deliberately steered clear of it.
Here in my 5th District of Virginia, Robert Hurt won the Repub primary. I went to his website which was very unspecific. He seems to favor freedom and prosperity.

44% of the precincts in in Arkansas:
Lincoln: 70,561 (51%)
Halter: 67,527 (49%)
10:13 pm ET

So, he's got something against motherhood, apple pie, and the American flag. Hmmm.

Flash! 11:03 pm ET.
ARKANSAS:
Lincoln: 114,518 (52%)
Halter: 106,595 (48%)
82% of precincts in.
Lincoln declared the winner.
That surprises me.

yeah, me too.

Maybe there's a change in public perception of just what unions expect for their endorsements and support.

I thought Halter was the union-backed candidate. Anyway, weren't they both facing a double digit deficit against the (R), Boozeman?

I'm surprised as well.

Halter's people are going to bitch about the fact that all the polling places in his best districts got closed down.

Cycloptichorn

what a welcome change that would be.

You are exactly right. I'm suspecting that the Union Label cost Halter an important percentage of the vote, in spite of the money they spent.

Regarding Boozeman, so what? We either get Lincoln or we get a Republican. How can we lose? Um, I don't know if you picked up on this or not, but I am not a Democrat.

I like Blanche, too. Now that she's won, she won't be turning down that union money, I'm thinking.

Following dailykos on election returns....hilarious!

Here's a good one (referring to Lincoln):

"On the bright side...a candidate that Obama backed has finally won".

http://www.dailykos.com/comments/2010/6/8/2313/01859/30#c30

Yes, you are right on both counts, Irishk. The incumbent, Blanche Lincoln (D), after an earlier primary in which no one got to 50%, faced off today against Bill Halter (D), the Lt Gov.
Halter got the nod from unions, but you must realize that Arkansas is in the deep south where unions are not at all as strong as they are in the north.
I would argue that the battle here was about the Dem party drifting too far towards the middle or perhaps even to the right of the middle then some Dems want. Arkansas was a bit of a proxy for that debate. And the leftish wing lost. That is the nuance here.
The Repubs will easily gain a Senate seat in Arkansas in November.

Whoopi giving props and shout-outs to all the women who won in yesterday's primaries:

From this morning's The View:

"The women are rockin' it! I think they're saying we're sick of seeing men mess this up!"

FLORIDA SENATE (6/7):
Rasmussen is out with a new poll of Likely Voters.
Marco Rubio (R): 37%
Charlie Crist (I): 37%
Kendrick Meek (D): 15%
Unsure: 11%
A month ago, Rubio was shown as leading by 8 points.
Quinnipiac, in a poll covering roughly the same period of time, has Crist at 37% vs Rubio at 33%. That poll, though, was of Registered Voters.
In a new twist, billionaire businessman Jeff Greene (D) is entering the race, challenging Meek for the nomination. That is the last thing Meek needs.
Rasmussen comes up with these numbers with Meek out and Greene in:
Marco Rubio (R): 37%
Charlie Crist (I): 41%
Jeff Greene (D): 13%
Unsure: 10%

Governor Crist has, of course, been very visible in the last six weeks due to the oil spill. 60% of voters approve of the job he has been doing as Gov.
Rubio and Crist (who defected from the Repub party) are both being somewhat damaged by an unfolding financial scandal in the state Repub party. But only a half of voters are paying attention to the story.
This race is listed by everyone I follow as being a toss up. I see it as leaning ever so slightly towards Crist. My thinking is that Dems will eventually decide that defeating Rubio trumps voting for a candidate with no chance of winning.

The debates should be interesting