Veteran senator loses, Tea Party candidate wins in U.S. primaries

WASHINGTON, May 18 (Xinhua) -- U.S. voters on Tuesday voted in party primaries for November's mid-term elections in three states, rejecting an incumbent's bid for reelection in Pennsylvania, and delivered victory for a candidate supported by the Tea Party movement in Kentucky.

Voters rejected Senator Arlen Specter's bid for reelection in Pennsylvania's Democratic Primary. Specter, who defected from the Republican Party last year, was backed by the White House. He lost to U.S. Representative Joe Sestak supported by the party's most liberal voters.

Voters delivered victory for Rand Paul in Republican Senate primary in the state of Kentucky. According to projections, Paul, son of former presidential aspirant Ron Paul, trounced Trey Grayson, handpicked by Republican Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, who is also from Kentucky.

Just like Grayson, mainstream candidates elsewhere face tough challenges. Incumbent Democratic Senator Blanche Lincoln was far from secure in the yet to be counted primary in Arkansas Tuesday.

Before Tuesday's polls, two long-serving lawmakers, Republican Senator Bob Bennett from Utah and Democratic Representative Alan Mollohan from West Virginia, fell from grace with voters in their states' party primaries.

Also in Pennsylvania, voters in a House district are choosing a successor to their late Representative John Murtha, who died in February. CNN projected Tuesday night Mark Critz, a Democrat, won the election against Republican Tim Burns.

The primaries were seen by many to offer clues to the November mid-term election, in which President Barack Obama's party is expected to lose seats in the Congress. Local media interpreted the results of Tuesday as an indicator of voters' anger toward Washington.

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