Primaries being decided in 3 states, including pivotal Senate race in Washington

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Primaries being decided in 3 states

OLYMPIA, Wash. — Democratic Sen. Patty Murray looked to move a step closer toward a fourth term Tuesday in a race that Republicans believe they can win in an election year when anti-establishment sentiment is running high.

Murray and Republican challenger Dino Rossi led in early returns and were poised to face off in November in what could be a crucial election in the battle for control of the Senate. They already have been campaigning against each other in anticipation of a fall matchup, and President Barack Obama came to the state Tuesday to raise money for Murray.

Washington is one of three states holding elections Tuesday. Wyoming was deciding a gubernatorial primary in the race to replace popular Democratic Gov. Dave Freudenthal, and Democrats in a legislative district along the California coast were hoping to lock up a state Senate seat in a closely watched special election that has attracted the interest of the president.

If the Democratic candidate wins the open seat, it would bring the party within one vote of the two-thirds majority they need in the Senate to approve budgets and tax increases. That possibility prompted the endorsement from the president, who says the ability of Republican state lawmakers to block the spending plans of majority Democrats is equivalent to the roadblocks he has faced in Congress. California Democrats are a couple of votes away from a two-thirds majority in the Assembly.

In Washington, the Senate race is a “top two” primary, meaning the candidates with the highest vote totals will move on to face each other in November. That is likely to be Murray and Rossi, a real estate investor who narrowly lost bids for the governor’s office in 2004 and 2008.

Murray has long been a fierce advocate for bringing federal dollars home to Washington, and Rossi has been taking her to task for those efforts as he taps into voter rage over the $13 trillion national debt.

Complicating Rossi’s path a bit is GOP hopeful Clint Didier, a former NFL tight end for the Washington Redskins who has the backing of tea party activists and Sarah Palin. He is popular among conservatives but will have a tough time drawing enough votes to get into the top two in the primary.

In Wyoming, Republicans are likely to reclaim a Democrat-held governor’s seat. Freudenthal is term-limited, and Democrats were unable to field a strong candidate to replace him, meaning the winner of the GOP primary will be the big favorite in the general election.

The four leading candidates are Matt Mead, a former U.S. attorney for Wyoming; Ron Micheli, a former director of the Wyoming Department of Agriculture and longtime member of the state House; state auditor Rita Meyer; and Colin Simpson, whose father and grandfather both represented Wyoming in the U.S. Senate.

The winner will face Wyoming Democratic Party chairwoman Leslie Petersen, who won her party’s nomination.