Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and challenger Sharron Angle faced off in their first – and only – debate last night. Polls show Reid and Angle running virtually neck and neck.
Ian Mylchreest, Senior Producer for KNPR's State of the Union, joins us with a re-cap of the debate. Mylchreest says the contest isn't as much about Angle's popularity as it is about Reid's unpopularity. Takeaway Washington correspondent Todd Zwillich has been watching the race from Capitol Hill.
Our partners at the BBC traveled to Searchlight, Nevada to speak with voters about the upcoming election for the U.S. Senate. Incumbent Senator Harry Reid is facing off against Tea Party-backed Sharon Angle. As in some other races across the country, Democrats are facing an uphill battle, trying to distance their candidate from Washington and the Obama agenda.
The Senate still has a few things to do before it goes on August recess. From the "spill bill" to Elena Kagan, Takeaway Washington correspondent, Todd Zwillich has the latest from Capitol Hill.
In the latest test of the power of party establishments and anti-incumbent fervor, eleven states held primary races last night. In Arkansas, Democratic Sen. Blanche Lincoln narrowly defeated a challenge from Lt. Gov. Bill Halter, who had the support of organized labor. In California, two female former CEO's won commanding victories. Former eBay CEO, Meg Whitman took the Republican gubernatorial primary against Steve Poizner, the state's insurance commissioner. Whitman will go on to challenge Jerry Brown, the current state attorney general and former governor. And in California's Senate primary, former Hewlett-Packard CEO, Carly Fiorina won against former Congressman Tom Campbell. Fiorina will face Sen. Barbara Boxer in the fall. California has not sent a Republican to the U.S. Senate since 1988.
Today's primaries may feel local, but they are getting a national push. Sarah Palin visited South Carolina on behalf of gubernatorial candidate, Nikki Haley. Palin's appearance catapulted the candidate to the head of the polls. Nevada's Senate primary is also a Tea Party election, according to Takeaway Washington correspondent, Todd Zwillich. There, Tea Party candidate Sharron Angle seems positioned to win the primary, which will pit her against Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. This bodes well for Reid as Tea Party candidates have a hard time winning national elections.
UPDATED: 8:35 p.m.
Alex Goldmark here on the holiday night shift.
Tomorrow we'll continue our ongoing effort to understand as many ripple effects of the Haitian earthquake as possible. We will hear from two doctors, one of them Haitian-American, about the strains and stresses on the medical community and the medical workers administering necessary care in the battered country.
On an uplifting note, it is Mardi Gras time. We'll get Grammy award winning musician Terence Blanchard to tell us about his favorite carnival time music. Good listening will abound.
We touched a nerve yesterday when we looked into the significance of Nevada Senator Harry Reid's comment over President Obama's dialect and level of skin tone.
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