KY-SEN: Looks like it will be Conway versus Paul.

[jefferson_dem]

U.S. Senate - GOP Primary
May 18, 2010 - 07:32PM ET
Kentucky - 813 of 3575 Precincts Reporting - 23%
Name Party Votes Vote %
Paul , Rand GOP 45,725 58%
Grayson , Trey GOP 29,502 37%
Johnson , Bill GOP 1,389 2%
Stephenson , John GOP 1,205 2%
Martin , Gurley GOP 588 1%
Scribner , Jon GOP 509 1

U.S. Senate - Dem Primary
May 18, 2010 - 07:32PM ET
Kentucky - 838 of 3575 Precincts Reporting - 23%
Name Party Votes Vote %
Conway , Jack Dem 59,963 51%
Mongiardo , Daniel Dem 43,865 37%
Price , Darlene Dem 6,246 5%
Sweeney , Maurice Dem 5,343 5%
Buckmaster , James Dem 3,070 3

http://www.courier-journal.com/

[Liberal_Stalwart71]

1. What do we know about this Conway person? Good Democrat? n/t

[rpannier]

4. Went to his web site

He seems like a younger version of Evan Bayh
But, not being from Kentucky I don't claim to be an expert

[Liberal_Stalwart71]

8. The only Kentucky politician that I know who is a Democrat and a good one at that is

John Yarmouth from Louisville. I had the pleasure of speaking to him at length around the time of the health care reform debate. And he was fired up, liberal and passionate. As a former journalist, he was livid at the Democrats for allowing the Republicans to control the debate with their lies. We talked for nearly an hour and I loved every minute of it.

[BluegrassDem]

19. He's progressive

He supported the health care bill. He does oppose cap and trade, but KY is a coal state after all. Conway's base is the same as Obama's base. He's popular amongst the urbanites, minorities, youth, and women. This guy is a REAL Democrat. Don't worry.

[rpannier]

21. You'd know better than I

So, I will be donating to his campaign

[PVnRT]

23. Not sure if I'd label him a full progressive

However, he's certainly no Evan Bayh, who I've heard some compare him to. He will be a much more reliable voice for our side in the Senate, and he certainly does not exhibit the hostility towards the left that people like Bayh or Blanch Lincoln have.

[rpannier]

2. Odds Paul will be the next Senator are what?

I'm not from KY, so I don't know

Will his brand of Libertarianism play well

[Bumblebee]

12. look how many more democrats voted... tell me again who is more jazzed up?

[jezebel]

3. Doesn't it seem suprising there are more voters in the Dem primary than the Rep?

Considering this is a deep red state and we keep hearing about Democratic voter apathy, am I missing something?

[rpannier]

5. Is KY an open voting state

If it is, maybe people crossed over???

[jezebel]

7. wouldn't they care more about their own primary though? Weird. nt

[rpannier]

9. Kentucky is Closed Primary

Went and checked
Kentucky is closed
So, your question is quite interesting

[JohnnyLib2]

17. No, not open.

Traditionally Democrats outnumber Rs and still do. But, KY Democrats are basically quite (Bible belt) conservative.

[PVnRT]

18. No

In fact, you have to be registered for your party months ahead of time.

[Renew Deal]

25. There are more registered Dems than reps in KY.

:shrug:

[Hippo_Tron]

6. MSNBC called it for Paul

[vaberella]

24. But this is the primary right not the official vote?! n/t

[jefferson_dem]

10. DNC Chair Kaine:

"...ordinary Americans are unlikely to be receptive to extreme candidates like Rand Paul."

[jefferson_dem]

11. Jim (always needs a breath) DeMint:

"Rand's victory is part of an American awakening that is taking place across the country"

[Imajika]

13. So many more Democrats appear to have voted..

Doesn't that seem odd? The media and polling is telling us Republicans are more enthusiastic, yet more Democrats got out and voted.

Interesting.

[bigwillq]

15. There's more registered Ds in Kentucky (nt)

[onenote]

22. yep. Turnout percentage was almost identical for both parties

around 33 percent of the registered voters showed up for both parties. Democrats have a lot more registered voters (1.6 million v. 1 million) so in terms of absolute numbers, its not a surprise that more Democrats voted.

[jefferson_dem]

14. Rand Paul Wins in Kentucky; Dems Gloat -— By David Corn

Rand Paul Wins in Kentucky; Dems Gloat
— By David Corn

| Tue May. 18, 2010 5:21 PM PDT.The first news of Mini-Super-Tuesday

Election Night was not surprising: Rand Paul—son of libertarian Ron and a Tea Party fave—won the Republican Senate primary in Kentucky, whupping Secretary of State Trey Grayson, the candidate handpicked by Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell. Paul's victory will fuel two narratives: voters are really pissed off at establishment politicians and the Tea Partiers can indeed turn their cranky outrage into electoral juice. That second point is true at least in the small pool of Kentucky GOP primary voters. What remains a question is whether TP Fever infects independent voters and can affect general elections.

If so, the Democrats will not be happy. But on Tuesday night, the Ds were gleefully hailing Rand Paul's win as an embarrassing blow to McConnell. Before the results were final, Democratic Party chief Tim Kaine issued a statement:

Today, Kentucky Republicans selected Rand Paul as their Senate nominee, handing Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell a stunning loss. In a show of weakness for the Minority Leader, and in a race that symbolized the fight over the heart and soul of the Republican Party, Rand Paul overcame McConnell’s handpicked candidate by a large margin. Unfortunately for Republicans, ordinary Americans are unlikely to be receptive to extreme candidates like Rand Paul in the general election this November.

Rand Paul’s positions fail to resonate beyond the far-right Republican segment of the electorate that supported him tonight. Middle-class Kentucky voters want to elect a Senator with clear ideas about how to create jobs and opportunities for Kentucky families. But Rand Paul is more interested in talking about abolishing the Department of Education and disbanding the Federal Reserve than about supporting economic recovery.

As a result, Democrats are now in a better position to win Kentucky’s open Senate seat.

Perhaps. Is Rand Paul merely riding a Tea Party-only wave or one of larger dimension? Kaine—and everyone else—will have to wait until November to find out.

http://motherjones.com/mojo/2010/05/rand-paul-wins-kentucky-dems-gloat

[Arkana]

16. Well, Corn is right about Paul's win being an embarrassment to the GOP

establishment and a severe blow to Mitch McConnell.

Jack Conway's looking like the guy for us in KY--I'd suggest we start getting him set up.

[saltpoint]

20. I think getting strongly behind the Conway campaign is a smart idea,

especially in view of the fact that his November opponent is an unstable kook.