Venezuela's opposition picks Chavez's challenger [View all]

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http://news.yahoo.com/venezuelas-opposition-picks-chavezs-challenger-030000337.html;_ylt=Atsd2.q4JDiHP9k7dbTdHfVvaA8F;_ylu=X3oDMTNkbGhsMzgwBG1pdAMEcGtnA2M4MWYzYTQ2LTUwMjctM2RiYy1hNmViLTgyNTlkNGZkMzAyYwRwb3MDMQRzZWMDbG5fTGF0QW1fZ2FsBHZlcgNjNWQ1MzA3NS01NjQ5LTExZTEtYmJmZi0wN2VmNzY4YTNhNjc-;_ylv=3

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Youthful state governor Henrique Capriles won Venezuela's first-ever opposition presidential primary Sunday by a wide margin, emerging as the single candidate who will try to end President Hugo Chavez's 13 years in power.

Capriles, the 39-year-old governor of Miranda state who describes himself as a center-left progressive, faces a tough task in ousting Chavez, a charismatic campaigner with a loyal following and the full powers of the state to back his candidacy in Oct. 7 elections.

Opposition election chief Teresa Albanes announced the preliminary results, saying that Capriles won about 62 percent of the vote, beating Zulia state Gov. Pablo Perez by a margin of more than 30 percentage points.

Chavez's opponents lined up to vote in many areas, surpassing most expectations with a turnout of about 2.9 million ballots cast out of Venezuela's 18 million registered voters.