Incumbents win easily across U.S.

Incumbent governors and senators nationwide easily turned back challenges Tuesday as seven states besides Washington conducted primary elections.

In the nation’s capital, former Mayor Marion Barry – infamous for being caught on an FBI video smoking crack cocaine during his third term – won the Democratic nomination to a City Council seat in his second comeback since his drug conviction. In the strongly Democratic city, a fall victory is virtually guaranteed.

The last big day of primaries before November also had a handful of contested House seats, with votes Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington and Wisconsin.

In New England, five-term Democratic Sen. Patrick Leahy of Vermont easily won his nomination, as did two-term GOP Sen. Judd Gregg of New Hampshire. So did first-term GOP governors James Douglas of Vermont and Craig Benson of New Hampshire.

In contested House races, longtime GOP Rep. Sherwood Boehlert of New York beat back a conservative challenger who nearly defeated him two years ago in a largely Republican upstate district. In a Democratic district in Brooklyn, Rep. Major Owens easily won a three-way primary against two well-known City Council members.

In Wisconsin, three Democrats and two Republicans vied to succeed Rep. Jerry Kleczka, a Democratic from Milwaukee who is retiring after 20 years. Both of the primaries had black candidates; Wisconsin has never elected a black member of Congress.

In two states considered battlegrounds for the presidential race, Republican hopefuls were competing to challenge sitting Democratic senators, contests that are receiving national attention and money because of the GOP’s narrow 51-48 control of the Senate.

In Wisconsin, Republicans made the war on terror and their support for President Bush central to their campaigns.

Former Army Ranger Tim Michels – one of four Republicans vying for the chance to unseat Wisconsin’s two-term Democratic Sen. Russ Feingold – ran an ad that featured the World Trade Center on fire. He was leading in early returns.

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