(Newser)
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Former four-term Wisconsin Gov. Tommy Thompson has fought off a trio of conservative challengers to win the state's GOP Senate primary. Thompson, George W. Bush's secretary of health and human services, will compete against Democratic Rep. Tammy Baldwin in a race that could determine control of the Senate. Thompson's rivals tried to use his history of taking moderate positions against him, but GOP voters agreed that his centrism made him the most likely to defeat Baldwin, who aims to become the first openly gay senator, notes the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
In Connecticut, meanwhile, former wrestling exec Linda McMahon crushed her rival in the Republican primary, setting up a showdown with Rep. Chris Murphy for the Senate seat being vacated by Joe Lieberman. And in Florida, veteran GOP Rep. John Mica defeated freshman Rep. Sandy Adams in a race that pitted them against each other because of redistricting. Adams lost despite having the support of Sarah Palin and much of the Tea Party. And it looks like there has been an upset in another Florida race, where 12-term Rep. Cliff Stearns is trailing Tea Party challenger Ted Yoho in their Republican primary, reports the AP. Yoho, a political novice, ran an anti-incumbent campaign with one ad depicting politicians in suits eating alongside pigs in a trough.
