Primaries 2010: Progressives Win Big Edition

There's so much talk flying around about last night's primaries that I would be remiss if I didn't add my $0.02.

The main theme of the headlines is "Establishment loses big," "Dem and GOP Incumbents Go Down." This is true, but I agree with what Cenk Uygur (commentator on The Young Turks, a spectacular progressive internet talk show) says: the establishment lost, but Progressives won. Who cares about losses by "Establishment" Democratic candidates who are so far from progressive, it's hard to even claim them as Dems? Their losses are a win for the party. It seems to me that Democrats are working to use their voice as a party and are willing to fire candidates who aren't representing the party's values and goals, and from where I'm standing, that's a very good sign.

On to the results roundup:

Pretend-Democrat Arlen Specter is out in Pennsylvania, replaced by Joe Sestak. Anti-Progressive "Democrat" Blanche Lincoln faces a runoff in Arkansas, and the AFL-CIO, for one, says the runoff will not be a problem for challenger Bill Halter. Back to Pennsylvania, where Democrats will hold on to the late Representative John Murtha's seat, won by Mark Critz in a special election last night.

Not quite the "Republican Sweep" that the GOP had talked up, eh? Well, a sweep maybe, but not in the direction they had hoped.

And finally, in a follow-up to the NC primaries and now runoff, third-place candidate Ken Lewis is endorsing Elaine Marshall. This is great for the Marshall campaign, as Lewis brings a nice chunk of votes from the Triangle area. The main focus of the Marshall campaign should now, I think, be getting out the vote on June 22 so that we can defeat Burr soundly.

And by the way, my favorite place to track polling, primary results, and general elections-specific news is the Swing State Project. Check out their post about yesterday's primaries for more detailed results and analysis, but if you're not into that sort of thing, no worries. You can always check back here for more quick and dirty distilled politics.