Specter Defeat Signals a Wave Against Incumbents

By JEFF ZELENY and CARL HULSE

WASHINGTON — Senator Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania, who left the Republican Party a year ago in hopes of salvaging a 30-year career, was rejected on Tuesday by Democratic primary voters, with Representative Joe Sestak winning the party's nomination on an anti-incumbent wave that is defining the midterm elections.

In Kentucky, Rand Paul, the most visible symbol of the Tea Party movement, easily won the Republican Senate primary and delivered a significant blow to the Republican establishment. His 24-point victory over Trey Grayson, who was supported by the most powerful Republican on Capitol Hill, Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, underscored the anti-Washington sentiment echoing across the country.

The outcomes of both contests, along with a Democratic primary in Arkansas that pushed Senator Blanche Lincoln into a runoff election in June, illustrated anew the serious threats both parties face from candidates who are able to portray themselves as outsiders and eager to shake up the system.

"I have a message, a message from the Tea Party, a message that is loud and clear and does not mince words," Mr. Paul said in his victory speech in Bowling Green, Ky. "We have come to take our government back."

In a bright spot for Democrats on Tuesday, the party retained the seat of the late Representative John P. Murtha in southwestern Pennsylvania.

The outcome, in a district that Senator John F. Kerry carried for the Democrats in the 2004 presidential race and Senator John McCain for the Republicans four years later, gave Democrats confidence that they can hold off Republicans in hotly contested regions, despite the difficult political climate for them and President Obama.

It was the biggest primary day so far in the midterm election year, as voters in Arkansas, Pennsylvania and Oregon selected Congressional candidates for the fall, providing fresh opportunities for Republicans and Democrats to vent their anger over the size of government, the federal budget deficit and many policies of the Obama administration.

The primary elections on Tuesday helped set the stage for a turbulent five-month campaign, with Republicans hoping to wrest control of the House and Senate from Democrats and win several governors' races across the country.

The results were sobering for both parties, amounting to a rejection of candidates selected and backed by leaders in Washington who found themselves out of step with their electorates.

rest at http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/19/us/politics/19elect.html?emc=na