Flake claims victory in Arizona Republican Senate primary

PHOENIX (Reuters) - Conservative U.S. Representative Jeff Flake claimed victory on Tuesday in a Republican primary election to pick a replacement for Jon Kyl, the U.S. Senator for Arizona who is stepping down at the end of the year.

Flake, the front runner by a wide margin in polls, announced he had beaten his feisty rival Wil Cardon as the Arizona Secretary of State's office reported Flake was 49 points ahead with 477 of 1,667 precincts reporting.

The six-term congressman now faces Democrat Richard Carmona, a former U.S. Surgeon General and decorated Vietnam War veteran originally from New York, to contest a seat that Republicans need if they are to have a chance to take control of the Senate in the November election.

"There couldn't be a starker difference between myself and our opponent in the general election ... Richard Carmona was handpicked by President (Barack) Obama to run here in Arizona," Flake told cheering supporters at his home in the east Phoenix Valley.

"We cannot allow someone who agrees lock, stock and barrel with the whole Obama agenda to become senator from Arizona. We've got to have an Arizonan who believes in limited government, economic freedom and individual responsibility," he said.

The U.S. Senate contest in Arizona is the highest-profile race among state primaries on Tuesday that include votes in Vermont and Alaska, as well as a runoff election in Oklahoma.

In Vermont, businessman John MacGovern overwhelmingly defeated challenger Brooke Paige to win the Republican primary for U.S. Senate. He will go up against heavily favored U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders in the general election.

Voters in Oklahoma picked Republican Markwayne Mullin, a plumbing company owner, over legislator George Faught by a comfortable margin in a U.S. House race.

Kyl, a senior party leader, announced in February he would not seek a fourth six-year term in office. Both he and Arizona's other U.S. senator, John McCain, endorsed Flake in the race, which started out fiery but cooled as successive polls gave him a widening lead.

Cardon, who oversees his family's portfolio of real estate investments, came out early with a costly advertising blitz casting Flake as a Washington insider who favored tax increases and was soft on illegal immigration. However, Cardon had reduced his spending in recent weeks.

Flake, 49, campaigned on what he said was a "proven track record" of voting to reduce the size of government and cutting taxes and spending.

Cardon, 41, spent nearly $8.8 million of his own money through the August 8 candidate-filing period in a bid to make his mark with voters as an outsider and businessman with experience.

A poll last Friday by the Western Representation political action committee had Flake leading Cardon by 64 to 16 percent.

Republicans already have a majority in the U.S. House of Representatives and must hold onto open seats such as Arizona's and gain four in other states to take control of the Senate.

In another hotly contested Arizona primary, two Republican incumbents went toe-to-toe in a battle for the chance to be on the ballot for a U.S. House seat in the November 6 general election.

Ben Quayle, son of former Vice President Dan Quayle, took on David Schweikert, in an expected tight contest brought about by the once-a-decade redistricting.

It is one of 11 such House contests between incumbents nationwide this year, and the result has yet to be called.

(Additional reporting by Lily Kuo in New York; Editing by Greg McCune and Cynthia Osterman)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/flake-claims-victory-arizona-republican-senate-primary-040532934.html

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