A look at Tuesday’s primaries and runoffs in 12 states, from California to Georgia

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Tuesday’s primaries and runoffs in 12 states

Voters in 12 states cast ballots Tuesday in contests that preserved, for now, the career of a Senate incumbent in Arkansas, pushed a nasty gubernatorial primary in South Carolina into a runoff, and decided the matchups for high-stakes races in Nevada and California. A look at the contests:

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ARKANSAS

Two-term Sen. Blanche Lincoln, a centrist Democrat, clung to a slim lead against Lt. Gov. Bill Halter. The two were forced into a runoff for the party nomination after neither captured 50 percent of the vote in the May 18 primary. Unions and other outside groups have spent millions in the state to influence the outcome.

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CALIFORNIA

An investment exceeding $70 million of her own money paid off as Republican billionaire Meg Whitman won the Republican nomination for governor. The most expensive primary in California history saw Whitman, former chief executive of eBay, spend more than $81 million total, overwhelming the $25 million spent by her defeated opponent, state Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner.

Attorney General Jerry Brown, who was governor in the 1970s and 1980s, easily won the Democratic nomination for his old post.

Carly Fiorina, a former Hewlett Packard Co. chief executive, used a late splurge of her own money to win the Republican nomination for senator. She defeated former U.S. Rep. Tom Campbell and state Assemblyman Chuck DeVore, a tea party favorite, after taking conservative stances against abortion and gay marriage. Fiorina will face Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer.

In Southern California’s 36th District, Democratic Rep. Jane Harman, who belongs to the Blue Dog group of conservative Democrats, fended off a challenge from Marcy Winograd, co-founder of the Los Angeles chapter of Progressive Democrats of America.

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NEVADA

Gov. Jim Gibbons could be the first sitting governor to lose a nominating contest in the state in 100 years. He’s had a tumultuous first term that included a nasty public divorce and allegations of infidelity. Polls have found Gibbons trailing GOP front-runner Brian Sandoval by double digits.

Republicans chose Sharron Angle, a tea party favorite, to try ousting Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, a Democrat, this fall. The former legislator and teacher won the nomination over former Nevada GOP Chairwoman Sue Lowden and Las Vegas businessman Danny Tarkanian, who said Angle’s views would be too extreme to attract votes from pivotal independents in November.

Reid’s son, Rory, won the Democratic nomination for governor.

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SOUTH CAROLINA

Republican state Rep. Nikki Haley will face Rep. Gresham Barrett in a runoff election in two weeks for the GOP nomination to succeed term-limited Gov. Mark Sanford after a nasty race among four contenders. Haley, who won the endorsement of former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, denied charges of infidelity and finished just shy of the majority needed to win the nomination outright. Barrett, a third-term House member, finished well behind Haley and was backed by former Vice President Dick Cheney.

The winner of the GOP runoff will oppose State Sen. Vincent Sheheen, who won the Democratic gubernatorial nomination.

In a surprise, Alvin Greene, 32, an unemployed veteran who raised no money, won the Democratic nomination to oppose Sen. Jim DeMint this fall. South Carolina Republican Rep. Bob Inglis, a six-term veteran, was forced into a June 22 runoff against conservative Trey Gowdy, a local prosecutor.

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IOWA

Former Gov. Terry Branstad will try to get his old job back after besting two rivals and winning the Republican nomination for governor. Branstad, who served four terms as governor in the 1980s and 1990s, raised far more money than his competitors.

Democrats chose longtime party activist Roxanne Conlin to oppose Republican Sen. Charles Grassley this fall.

MAINE

Paul LePage, a career businessman who won tea party support, bested six rivals and captured the Republican nomination for governor. The Waterville mayor said his victory shows Maine residents want smaller government and more fiscal responsibility.

The primary races for governor are wide open, with no clear front-runners to replace term-limited Democratic Gov. John Baldacci. A seven-way Republican primary includes tea party favorite Paul LePage. Businesswoman Rosa Scarcelli has staked out the right and the outsider’s role in the four-way Democratic race. The other three are government insiders — Senate President Libby Mitchell, former Attorney General Steve Rowe and Pat McGowan, a former legislator who also served in Baldacci’s Cabinet.

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NORTH DAKOTA

Republican Gov. John Hoeven was unopposed in his party’s primary and will be the GOP candidate and heavy favorite for the Senate seat being vacated by retiring Democratic Sen. Byron Dorgan. Republicans nominated Rick Berg to oppose veteran Democratic Rep. Earl Pomeroy for his post.

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SOUTH DAKOTA

Five Republican candidates are competing for their party’s nomination to succeed term-limited Gov. Mike Rounds. Rounds has endorsed the state’s Lt. Gov. Dennis Daugaard, who was considered the front-runner throughout the campaign. Senate Democratic Leader Scott Heidepriem was unopposed for his party’s nomination.

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VIRGINIA

Republicans picked State Sen. Robert Hurt to challenge Democratic Rep. Tom Perriello for Virginia’s 5th Congressional District out of a field of seven GOP hopefuls. Conservative independent Jeff Clark will also be on the November ballot, complicating Republican chances of reclaiming the seat the freshman Democrat won narrowly two years ago.

Republican Rep. Rob Wittman of Virginia’s 1st Congressional District easily survived a challenge from Catherine Crabill, who had tea party backing.

GEORGIA

In north Georgia, Tom Graves’ support from the Atlanta Tea Party Patriots helped power him to a victory over Lee Hawkins, another conservative, in a runoff to fill a vacant House seat in a heavily Republican district. Rep. Nathan Deal resigned to run for governor.

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NEW JERSEY

Former NFL player Jon Runyan, endorsed by tea party supporters, won the Republican nomination for New Jersey’s 3rd Congressional District. All seven incumbent House members who faced challenges won their party’s renomination.

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MONTANA

Republican Rep. Denny Rehberg won his party’s nomination for a sixth term, overcoming one rival who was more conservative and another who challenged him from the left.