Arkansas Sen. Blanche Lincoln pulled out a narrow victory in the Democratic primary against a liberal challenger on a night when voters across the U.S. showed both the power and limits of this year's anti-establishment tide.

Eleven states held primaries Tuesday, the busiest day so far in a nomination season stretching from February to September in advance of the Nov. 2 general elections. In California, former eBay Inc. Chief Executive Meg Whitman handily won the Republican nomination for governor against state Insurance Commissioner...