Opinion: Primary Results Toss Conventional Election Wisdom Out the Window

(June 9) -- Tuesday's election results threw out the existing conventional wisdom about how voters are just so frustrated with what's happening in Washington that they're going to throw out everyone there.

It remains to be seen, though, whether tea party activists will get in line and march alongside traditional Republicans in November, or whether they will instead cause headaches for the establishment and field independent candidates. But what looks increasingly likely is that there could be a significant shift in the political gender balance, which would certainly be a change from the status quo.

Other observations from the primaries:

Other Views on the Primaries

The GOP moves right, but Dems show they are a broad-based party -- William A. Galston, Brookings Institution.
A Super Tuesday for Tea Party and women -- Brian Darling, Heritage Foundation.

Women Win: Women were the biggest winners of the Super Tuesday primaries. Blanche Lincoln held on to the Democratic Senate spot in Arkansas; Roxanne Conlin is the Democrat who will face Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley in November; Elizabeth Mitchell became the Democratic nominee for governor in Maine; tea party favorite Sharron Angle won the GOP Senate primary in Nevada; and Meg Whitman and Carly Fiorina are now the GOP nominees for California's gubernatorial and Senate races, respectively.

Racism Loses: In 2000, Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz. lost the GOP presidential primary after Bush supporters pushed a racist smear campaign about his daughter. Ten years later, it was refreshing to see that South Carolina Republicans rejected more racist attacks in the gubernatorial primary, giving Rep. Nikki Haley the most votes and a spot in a run-off against Rep. Gresham Barrett. The big loser in that four-way contest was Lt. Gov. Andre Bauer, who attracted widespread ridicule in January for comparing people receiving government assistance to "stray animals." His supporters continued this tradition of classiness by calling Haley a "raghead" and accusing her of having extramarital affairs.

Tea Party Drawbacks: While Republican leaders learned that women will be a force to be reckoned with in November, they also learned the drawbacks of heavily promoting the tea party movement. While tea party favorites lost in California, South Carolina and Virginia's 5th Congressional District, the far-right Angle won in Nevada, much to the delight of the Democrat, Sen. Harry Reid, who viewed her as the weakest of his possible opponents. Splits in Republican opinion also mean that both candidates in the gubernatorial and 4th Congressional District races in South Carolina are heading to run-offs that will prolong Republican divisiveness.

Amanda Terkel is deputy research director at the Center for American Progress Action Fund and managing editor of ThinkProgress.org.

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