Establishment 3, Far Right 0

Three primaries were held in competitive states yesterday. It appears that most of the media hype around insurgent right-wing Republicans was just that--hype. Recognized "establishment" candidates won pretty easily over Tea Party-backed opponents in the following states:

Close-Up: The Bill Clinton Effect

Vulnerable Democrats across the country are distancing themselves from President Obama, even as his disapproval rating continues to fall nationally. In some places that distancing takes the form of hand-waving the president's relevance to the election, as Sen. Mark Begich of Alaska has done by taking the line of "mend it, don't end it" on the Affordable Care Act. In other places, like Louisiana, it takes the form of outright chastising the president's agenda, as Sen. Mary Landrieu has taken to doing, especially on his energy policy.

And then there's Kentucky. In February, former President and Democratic "Explainer-in-Chief" Bill Clinton hit the campaign trail in support of Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes, whose family has a long relationship with the Clintons. It's a boon to Sec. Grimes, who can campaign on the popularity of a former president, rather than campaign against the unpopularity of a current president. Among the Democratic establishment, Clinton commands better fundraising capacity than any other Democrat in the country, save for possibly President Obama himself. Unlike many Democrats these days, Clinton is still popular in the South, as he is across the nation. And if the psycholinguists at NC State are to be believed, even his accent can help with Southern voters. (Sec. Grimes's accent is still noticeable, although not nearly as recognizable as Clinton's.)

Lundergan, Carter, Nunn: What's in a Name?

In the South, 2014 is a "name" election. The trick to telling is by counting how many candidates are introduced Viking-style, as "[name], son/daughter of famous state politician". And especially in the South, there are a quite a few candidates who, at least early in their candidacies, got this treatment:

• "Alison Lundergan Grimes, daughter of former Kentucky Democratic Party chairman Jerry Lundergan...."
• "Michelle Nunn, daughter of former Senator Sam Nunn...."
• "Jason Carter, grandson of the former president and Georgia governor...."

Don't be surprised, by the way, if the candidates' actual qualifications are tacked on as an afterthought: "Oh, by the way, Grimes is also Secretary of State of Kentucky. Shoulda mentioned that."