|
 With border security issues high on the political agenda, Ducey
held a convincing lead of 37 percent in the six-way race after most
of the ballots had been counted. His closest rival, ex-mayor Scott
Smith, took some 22 percent of the vote.
"We set out on this primary battle promising to give this race the
best effort we could," Ducey told an enthusiastic crowd gathered at
a downtown Phoenix hotel.
"Tonight our best effort has given us victory," he said.
Smith, who had been backed by Brewer and was considered more
moderate than Ducey, conceded the race hours after polls closed.
Christine Jones, 46, a former internet hosting company executive,
finished third.
The Arizona governor's race was the highest profile battle among a
series of state primary contests being held on Tuesday that also
included votes in Florida, Vermont and Oklahoma.
Ducey will face Democrat Fred Duval, a former member of the state
Board of Regents, in the Nov. 6 general election.
"Now the real race begins," said the staunchly anti-abortion Ducey,
50, a former chief executive of ice cream company Cold Stone
Creamery, whose supporters include Tea Party favorite Texas Senator
Ted Cruz and hardline Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio.
With the vote decided, Brewer joined Ducey on the victory platform,
despite having backed Smith, praising his candidacy in an effort to
unify the party for the race ahead.
He campaigned on rejuvenating the state's economy, improving
education and shaking free of federal constraints. While calling for
better border security, he avoided demands for comprehensive
immigration reform and providing a path to citizenship for
undocumented immigrants that might alienate some voters. OTHER
BATTLES
Another key Arizona race was a tight Republican contest to
challenge incumbent Democrat Ann Kirkpatrick in a competitive U.S.
Congressional race. That race remained too close to call late on
Tuesday.
[to top of second column] |
Arizona Democrats also chose a successor to U.S. Representative Ed
Pastor, who is retiring after 11 terms from a heavily Latino
district where there is no Republican candidate and no strong third
party candidate.
Former State lawmaker and military veteran Ruben Gallego took the
seat over long-time county and city politician Mary Rose Wilcox, who
conceded the race late on Tuesday.
In Florida, Charlie Crist won the Democratic nomination for
governor, taking almost 75 percent of the vote and setting the stage
for a nationally watched governor's race against incumbent Governor
Rick Scott, who cruised toward victory on Tuesday.
In Vermont, Republican Scott Milne looked poised to face incumbent
Democratic Governor Peter Shumlin in November, with both
establishing commanding leads after nearly 90 percent of voting
precincts had reported unofficial results.
In Oklahoma, Democratic State Senator Connie Johnson edged
challenger Jim Rogers in a runoff election 58 percent to 42 percent,
with all precincts reporting unofficial results, according to the
Oklahoma State Election Board.
Johnson will face U.S. Congressman James Lankford in a U.S. Senate
contest to replace outgoing Senator Tom Coburn.
(Additional reporting by Letitia Stein in Tampa, Florida; Writing by
Eric M. Johnson; Editing by Crispian Balmer)
[© 2014 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2014 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
 |
