Arkansas Lt. Gov. Bill Halter's success in fighting the incumbent to a virtual draw is a win for groups like the Service Employees International Union and MoveOn.org. Lincoln will face Halter in runoff

LITTLE ROCK — Powered by national liberal interest groups and an anti-incumbent fervor that's sweeping the country, Lt. Gov. Bill Halter pushed Sen. Blanche Lincoln into a runoff Tuesday night, holding the two-term Democratic incumbent to under 50 percent of the vote after an expensive and ugly two-and-a-half-month campaign.

Halter's ability to fight Lincoln to a virtual draw and force her into a showdown in three weeks is a win for groups like the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) and MoveOn.org that poured millions of dollars and thousands of hours into his insurgent bid and represents another striking rejection of incumbency.


With nearly 85 percent of the vote counted, Lincoln held a narrow lead over Halter of just a few thousand votes. And the impact of the lesser known but more conservative third candidate proved pivotal: D.C. Morrison, who supported the Fair Tax, lambasted Obama administration policies and scored laughs at debates by poking fun at his long-shot odds, captured 14 percent.

"Tonight, people in Washington are getting mighty nervous about what is happening in Arkansas. And they ought to be. Arkansans are on the march to another victory. Three weeks, two candidates, one choice for change!," Halter said at his election party at the Peabody Hotel, located less than a mile from Lincoln's headquarters.

"Today, we’ve put the political insiders and special interests on the ropes. And three weeks from tonight, we’re going to knock them out," he said to cheers.

Meanwhile on the Republican side, Rep. John Boozman, the popular congressman from Northwest Arkansas, was able to avoid a runoff, easily disposing of Lincoln's 2004 opponent, Jim Holt, as well as state senator Gilbert Baker in a crowded eight-candidate Senate primary field.

The results free up Boozman to move right into a general election campaign, where polls show he already holds an advantage, while Lincoln and Halter do battle for another 21 days in a contest that is likely to harden raw feelings in their fractured party.

"I am confident that Arkansas is one of our party's strongest pick-up opportunities this November," boasted National Republican Senatorial Committee chair John Cornyn in a statement.

In a fiery speech to supporters at the Holiday Inn in downtown Little Rock, Lincoln claimed a popular vote victory and insisted that "I have been part of the solution in Washington, I have not been part of the problem."

She also asked Halter to change the tone of what's expected to be rough and tumble runoff campaign. "I want to call on Bill Halter to end all of his negative ads and I will too," Lincoln said. She described herself as the underdog in the race, chiding the national media for writing off her prospects weeks ago.

"Guess what? They got another thing coming," she said.

"This campaign is not about the outside groups who are trying desperately who are trying to exert their influence here. It is about us as Arkansans," she said. "The people of Arkansas have spoken. We want to control our own destiny and we will."

"We have proved by winning the popular vote that we cannot be written off and we won't be. The next three weeks are going to prove us right," she added.

Lincoln's punchy, pointed speech could not dispel the dour looks on the faces of some of her staffers, who seemed shocked that Halter proved to be so competitive with the chair of the Senate Agricultural committee.

Halter's campaign initially grew out of anger about Lincoln's opposition to so-called "card check" legislation that would make it easier for unions to organize and her strong aversion to the public option during the health care debate. But as the campaign progressed, the former Social Security administrator took a more populist tact, turning the campaign into a referendum on Lincoln's time in Washington and her ties to special interests.

But it was Halter who received support from Washington groups, and they immediately promised to double-down their efforts on his behalf in the run-off.

"Halter gave voters a clear choice between someone who fights for working families of Arkansas or a D.C. insider like Lincoln who is in the pocket of Wall Street and big business," said the AFL-CIO's Josh Goldstein.

The union, which claims to have made 60,000 phone calls on behalf of Halter's candidacy and dropped 200,000 leaflets, said it had already began voter contact efforts.

Added SEIU president Mary Kay: "What Senator Lincoln learned tonight and what elected leaders all around this country should note is that the days of 'business as usual' are over. And what hardworking women and men all around this nation are seeing tonight is that they can hold politicians accountable for the promises they make and break."

SEIU national political director Jon Youngdahl told POLITICO that Halter was in a prime position to pick off Morrison's voters. "They want to see change happen in D.C. on job creation and holding Wall Street accountable and are frustrated by the lack of progress," he said.

In House races, Republicans nominated their favored candidates in three Democratic-held districts they’re hoping to contest, but will have to wait until next month’s runoffs to learn who their Democratic opponents will be for the seats held by retiring Reps. Marion Berry (D-Ark.) and Vic Snyder (D-Ark.).

Former U.S. Attorney Tim Griffin, the GOP’s favored recruit in Snyder’s Little Rock district, tallied 61 percent of the vote against a Republican challenger who criticized his background working as a political operative for former President George W. Bush. Griffin will face either state senator Joyce Elliott or state House Speaker Robbie Wills, who are squaring off in next month’s Democratic runoff.

Berry was able to help his chief of staff, Chad Causey, finish in second place in the Democratic primary – good enough to force a runoff against conservative former state senator Tim Wooldridge. The winner will face Republican businessman Rick Crawford, in a rural, conservative district where voters are predominantly Democrat, but gave John McCain a 21-point margin of victory in 2008.

Republicans aren’t quite as bullish about their chances of unseating veteran Blue Dog Mike Ross, but are hoping former Beth Anne Rankin, who served as an aide to former Gov. Mike Huckabee. can pull off an upset. Rankin defeated local tea party activist Glenn Gallas by a 10-point margin.

And in the House seat being vacated by Boozman, Rogers Mayor Steve Womack handily outpaced a crowded Republican field and faces a runoff against either state senator Cecile Bledsoe or Gunner DeLay. The winner will be the heavy favorite in the race.

Josh Kraushaar contributed to this report.