Hatch, Rangel Beat Back Primary Challenges

Tea Party rival falls hard to Orrin in Utah
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Jun 26, 2012 11:28 PM CDT
Updated Jun 27, 2012 12:03 AM CDT
Hatch, Rangel Beat Back Primary Challenges
Rep. Charles Rangel shakes hands with a poll worker as he arrives to vote in the Democratic primary.   (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)

The Tea Party failed to claim another victim in Utah after Sen. Orrin Hatch easily won the state's Republican primary. Hatch—facing his first primary challenge since taking office in 1976—beat former state Sen. Dan Liljenquist after spending close to $10 million on advertising, and building one of the biggest campaign operations Utah has ever seen, reports AP. Mitt Romney, to nobody's surprise, scored upwards of 90% in Utah's Republican presidential primary, the final primary before the convention.

In New York, Rep. Charles Rangel survived a tough re-election fight to win the Democratic primary, despite concerns about his age and ethics, reports Politico. The 82-year-old Harlem politician, who was censured by the House 18 months ago for ethics violations, was more than 5 points ahead of state Sen. Adriano Espaillat with 85% of precincts reporting. In another House race in New York, state lawmaker Hakeem Jeffries scored a resounding win over New York City Councilman Charles Barron, a former Black Panther who received a controversial endorsement from David Duke. (More Election 2012 stories.)

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