Another incumbent just got the boot.
Seven-term Michigan Democrat Rep. Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick--mother of disgraced ex-Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick--lost in an upset defeat in Tuesday's primary.
The loss made her the sixth incumbent lawmaker and fourth in the House to be snubbed by a frustrated electorate this year. [See a Slideshow of Hot Senate and House Races to Watch This Fall.]
State Sen. Hansen Clarke beat the veteran lawmaker, stressing the legal woes surrounding her son, who resigned in 2008 after pleading guilty to obstruction of justice.
"This is the final curtain: the ending of the Kilpatrick dynasty," Detroit political consultant Eric Foster told the Detroit Free Press. "I don't think we've ever seen this epic of a total collapse. Voters swept out the whole family."
Michigan voters also chose political newbie and former Gateway CEO Rick Snyder as the Republican nominee in the bid for the state's highest office, with term-limited Democratic Gov. Jennifer Granholm set to depart as head of the unemployment-plagued state. Lansing Mayor Virg Bernero won the Democratic nomination.
The other primary races in Kansas and Missouri were more predictable.
Two-term Sen. Sam Brownback easily secured the GOP nomination in Kansas' race for governor. Rep. Jerry Moran won the GOP primary for Senate in Kansas.
Moran's primary win virtually assures him a Senate seat -- Kansas hasn't elected a Democratic senator since the 1930s.
In Missouri, seven-term GOP Rep. Roy Blunt will take on Democratic Secretary of State Robin Carnahan in the Senate race.
Overall, the year's races have been somewhat unpredictable as Tea Party hopefuls have gained momentum.
Before Kilpatrick, five incumbents lost in the 2010 midterm elections. That includes Sens. Robert Bennett (R-Utah), and Arlen Specter (D-Penn.), and Reps. Alan Mollohan (D-W.Va.), Parker Griffith (R-Ala.), and Bob Inglis (R-S.C.), also lost in their primary bids.
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Edwin of CO 11:38PM August 04, 2010
Sally of OH 11:10PM August 04, 2010
Capitalist Pig of DC 6:56PM August 04, 2010