colorado senator michael bennet finally knows what winning a race feels like. >> tonight is your victory, and i thank you. >> reporter: appointed to the senate but never elected to any office, bennet had appeared to be in trouble, but beat back an aggressive rival. >> washington needs a lot less finger pointing and name calling, and a lot more problem solving. >> reporter: defeated challenger andrew romanoff said now it's all about november. >> it is the time for us to heal. it is the time for us to be united. it is the time for us to advance the cause that we share. >> reporter: winning on the republican side, career prosecutor ken buck. who had said this on the trail. >> why should you vote for me? because i do not wear high heels. >> reporter: former lieutenant governor jane norton was the establishment choice, but the tea party picked buck.

michael bennet defeated andrew romanoff. it is a little more than an hour. >> good morning everyone. welcome to our unity day. the democrats rose in the state of colorado. it is my great pleasure this morning to introduce to you one of the best chairmaen at the democratic party. he cut his teeth doing a grass- roots work. he is here to serve as in this country. please, welcome the chairmen of the national democratic party, tim kaine. >> thank you. hello, colorado. this is great. thank you very much. it is an honor to be back in colorado. i use to come here in the summers for fun. you put on a great convention in 2008. everytime i get here, i have warm feelings. the yourself a round of applause. [applause] i am excited to be here because of so much good work that has been done by colorado democrat. we have so many great representatives. you will hear from a number of them. i will try to be brief. what you as a party have is a strong reputation for showing unity. here are two day -- [applause] two days after a challenging elec

michael bennet defeated andrew romanoff. it is a little more than an hour. >> good morning everyone. welcome to our unity day. the democrats rose in the state of colorado. it is my great pleasure this morning to introduce to you one of the best chairmaen at the democratic party. he cut his teeth doing a grass- roots work. he is here to serve as in this country. please, welcome the chairmen of the national democratic party, tim kaine. >> thank you. hello, colorado. this is great. thank you very much. it is an honor to be back in colorado. i use to come here in the summers for fun. you put on a great convention in

>> reporter: obama backs michael bennet. a loss for bennet could be an embarrassment for obama. >> oh, my gosh. >> reporter: it's a political smackdown in connecticut. >> i approve this message because it's time for something different. >> reporter: former world wrestling entertainment ceo linda mcmahon hopes to trade the ring for the senate. >> what i hear when i'm around in the state is not they're not concerned with soap opera story line. >> reporter: the conservative is expected to advance to november likely pitting her against connecticut attorney general richard blumenthal. in georgia -- >> are you ready to elect a pro-life pro-second amendment commonsense constitutional conservative that will might like a momma grizzly for you. >> reporter: sarah palin supports karen handel. the biggest prize this primary day, pinning political power in your corner. voters in florida from two weeks

night and did he draw any message from michael bennet's victory? >> the president called him not long after the race was called. the president had trouble out there -- had traveled out there to help him gain support and raise money. the president was proud to lend his name -- i think he appeared over the course of last weekend, get out the vote mailings, television ads, and the president for dissipated in senator bennet's town hall. we talked about what comprised voter turnout in the democratic primary. in first time and nearly first- time voters coming out, coming back out again to participate

pits obama's favorite candidate michael bennet against a challenger who also has powerful friends. >> president bill clinton calls andrew romanoff one of the best legislative leaders in america. >> reporter: andrew romanoff, endorsed by bill clinton, narrowed a huge lead held by obama's man. in some ways it's clinton versus obama, the rematch. only this time obama is the establishment and bill clinton is backing the insurgent. >> hi, this is bill clinton. i'm supporting andrew romanoff for the u.s. senate. >> reporter: a loss for bennet would be an embarrassment for obama. in georgia today the gubernatorial primaries are testing the strength of republicans at the national level. newt gingrich and mike huckabee have been campaigning for nathan deal while sarah palin is throwing her support to karen handel. >> are you ready to elect a pro-life, pro-second amendment, commonsense, constitutional conservative who will fight like a mama grizzly for you? >> reporter: if her candidate wins, she's guaranteed to be seen as the mama grizzly bear of her party headed into the

michael bennet took 54% of the vote. >> so, to the pundits and the talking heads, i have a simple message. welcome to colorado. >> reporter: bennet's rival, andrew romanoff, not only had is support of former president bill clinton, he was the beneficiary of liberal disaffection with obama. but in the end, the obama machine came through. >> this is a pretty good wednesday in the white house. >> reporter: in republican races, voters tilted to the tea party, and democrats say that will help them in november. in georgia, nathan deal narrowly beat sarah palin's hand-picked candidate for governor. in connecticut, a former world wrestling executive, linda mcmahon, won the senate nomination. and in colorado, tea party candidate ken buck easily won the senate primary. >> now they're electing conditions in their primaries that are probably too conservative to win. >> reporter: but democrats are not counting their blessings just yet. republicans have high hopes of winning back the house. >> if they want to see last night as a good night, they ought to savor it, because there

democrats had a good night with michael bennet. >> the republican primary voters are really, really angry. ithere is anger out there, the epicenter of it is the base of the republican party. they threw overboard the more established candidates that had the backing of the u.s. chamber of commerce and leaders in washington, and instead nominated outsiders, and newcomers, and very strong conservatives who have got some flaws. decrats are hoping that they can exploit those flaws and eke out factors that might of been hard and not even possible. >> is that wishful thinking? >> i don't think it is wishful thinking. peter hart, a democratic pollster, says that is the jet tblue election. everybody is frustrated and headed for the emergency exits. [laughter] the four consensus, establishment candidate choices and four republicans -- i don't think there's any question that there would be competitive in the race is now. instead, they chose people that were far to the rit, like sharron angle in nevada, who wants to abolish social security, or privatize social security, get rid of the social security,

we're talking about the colorado democratic senate primary in which senator michael bennet was the winner. mr. obama had backed him. he was his win and last democrats breathing easier that the base is ready to rally around the president's policies. in another high-profile race linda mcmahon won. more about that and other races from t.j. winick. in ken connect she laid the smackdown on rob sirmens. she poured more than $26 million of her own fortune into her campaign. >> i am honored to be your republican nominee for the united states senate for connecticut. >> reporter: in the georgia gop gubernatorial runoff, former congressman nathan deal squared off against secretary of state karen handel. >> we are very encouraged by the numbers. we hope that they will hold. but i justted to come out and say thank you to all of you for all that you've done. this has been a great night to have for us. >> reporter: the contest had turned into a proxy race for 2012 republican presidential candidates. handel was endorsed by mitt romney and sarah palin. deal had newt gingrich and mike huckabee on his side.

four states held primaries tuesday and we begin in colorado where incumbent michael bennet won the democratic state's primary. and the backing of president obama. bucking an anti-establishment trend, he defeated andrew romanoff, who was endorsed by former president clinton. he was a denver school superintendent when he was appointed to his seat nearly two years ago. >> it was just a week ago the political pundits and the washington oddsmakers started counting us out of this race. so, to the pundits and the talking heads, i have a simple message, welcome to colorado. >> bennet will face ken buck in november. >>> in connecticut, former wrestling executive linda mcmahon easily defeated two other candidates to capture the republican senate nomination. mcmahon spent more than $20 medical of her own money on the campaign. she hopes to capture the seat held by retiring senator chris dodd. >> people ask me every day, linda, why did you decide to run for the united states senate? and i can tell you, it is because i had a great fear that the american dream was in the greatest jeopardy that it has ever

they backed michael bennet, and they needed a win here over andrew romanoff, the bill clinton-endorsed candidate. i do think there is an ability for barack obama , a chance for him to show i have some political mojo don't count me out. i'm not on the mat. but that's within the context of a deemt primary fight. that's very different than the general election contest, and that's why you heard michael bennet on that morning show this morning not saying, hey, here's the date i'd like to invite barack obama back to colorado this fall. he started keeping his distance because now he has to appeal to the broader electorate in colorado where barack obama 's not nearly as popular as he is inside the primary election. >> lehrer: is it conceivable he could get away with, that turning his back on obama now? >> i don't think necessarily he will turn his back. he vote forward the health care bill--. >> lehrer: he will just be very busy. >> he will just be very busy. the president will have other playings to be. >> lehrer: on the republican side in the senate race. >> this is the other big stheem, i t

in colorado yesterday, incumbent senator michael bennet fended off a primary challenge from former state house speaker andrew romanoff, who had president clinton's endorsement. bennet's victory provided a welcome boost to president obama, who had thrown his political muscle behind the senator. come november bennet will face prosecutor ken buck, the winner of a tight republican primary. >>> in connecticut, former wrestling executive linda mcmahon easily won the republican senate nomination after pouring tens of millions of her own dollars into the race. mcmahon will face and challenge democratic state attorney general richard blumenthal this fall. >>> and in the republican runoff for georgia governor, former congressman nathan deal is leading former secretary of state karen handel, but that race is too close to call. >>> defying advice from lawyers to keep quiet, new york congressman charles rangel took to the house floor yesterday, making it clear that when it comes to charges against him, he's not going without a fight. a defensive rangel said he's not resigning, despite 13 ethics charg

the highest profile race of the night was easily colorado, senator michael bennet bested former statebennet, appointed to the seat, was branded the establishment candidate even though this was his first time on a ballot. in his corner, the endorser in chief, president obama. romanoff ran as the outsider. despite his years in state politics. romanoff had the backing of former president bill clinton. bennet avoided becoming the third sitting senator this year to lose in a primary. >>> investigators have reached the remote plane crash site in alaska where former senator ted stevens was killed. >> they say the aircraft hit a mountain with such force it left a 300-foot gash on the slope. abc's don guevara is following the investigation. >> reporter: nine people were on board that plane. it is believed that four of them survived. and those survivors had to wait overnight until search and rescue arrived. the plane crashed near dillingham, a remote part of southern alaska, more than 300 miles from anchorage. the crash killed former alaska senator ted stevens. former nasa administrator sean o'

michael bennets has president obama's endorsement. >> he's been a breath of fresh air. >> reporter: while his competitor, andrew romanoff, scored president clinton's support. in the republican primary, jane horton is vying against tea party favorite ken bach. minnesota holds a gubernatorial primary while a senate seat is up for grabs in connecticut. richard blumenthal awaits the winner of the connecticut gop primary between rob simmons and linden mcmahon. and in georgia, sarah palin's star power will be put to the test. >> are you ready to bring it on? >> reporter: her pick in the republican primary for governor, karen handel, is pitted against former congressman nathan deal. some experts say the key to today's primaries is actually who shows up. democrats will be paying close attention to see if republican momentum is holding. a recent pew research study shows gop enthusiasm is at a 16 year high. 77% of republicans say they will definitely vote this year compared to 65% of democrats. a big motivating factor, the economy. >> on the national landscape, there is one single issue. and that's

he also campaigned for michael bennet, who won in colorado this week. there was a story that said this was a good week for the president. >> i think it was a good win, it is an anomaly. their track record ahead of colorado was dismal, especially when you look at pennsylvania with arlen specter and joe sestak. i think they're hoping this is not an anomaly. david axelrod told me this is proof there is not going to be away the election. this election -- every election is specific to the state and district they are being run in. it is hopeful thinking. they do not want to see a wave election. if the trend holds true, it will be a rough november for democrats. >> i would agree with that. the president's approval rating is a big problem. he is down to about 43% in the gallup poll right now. when presidents are below 50% in the ratings, historically, they lose about 36 seats in the house. republicans need 40 seats to take back the majority. the president is facing disapproval ratings on almost every issue. that is a problem when he heads to the campaign trail.

the democratic state race in colorado went to the senator, michael bennet and the president's pick whoses were killed. they're at the scene trying to der determine what went wrong. weather may have played a role. four survivors including former nasa chief sean o'keefe are hospitalized in an rages. >>> a former idea american idol" star was found after overdosing. they're calling it a suicide attempt. her manager said she was overwhelmed by a lawsuit accusing her of breaking up a couple a marriage. >>> now, baseball. what started as a friendly tap on the shin pads in cincinnati quickly got out of hand. the reds and cardinals cleared the benches. there's been bad blood between those teams as one of the reds labeled the cards a bunch of complainers. you can expect the league to hand out fines and he suspensions, as well. that's the news at 8:07. time for the weather. there's road rage air rage and now baseball rage. >> gang, give a big hello. go ahead. come on, juju. i don't feel it. let's leave it. coming on. >> the boys break it up guys. break it up. >> exactly. let's leave it all away som

michael bennet, the sitting senator, one of several appointed senators in trouble this year in an election bid is backed by the white house. the president calls him a breath of fresh air in washington, a city of hot air, but his opponent, andrew romanoff, is backed by bill clinton. so you've got a real battle of endorsements going on there. and on the republican side, you have ken buck, who is a tea party candidate against former lieutenant governor jan norton, who has john mccain behind her and the governor of arizona, the controversial governor of arizona, behind her. but she's having a lot of trouble from ken buck who says, at least he doesn't wear high heels. how that goes with voters, i don't know. >> not a bad line. we'll see if it's another day for outsiders. cokie roberts, thanks very much. >> what's wrong with high heels anyway? >> we'll find out tomorrow. >>> coming up, actress mia farrow takes the stand testifying about supermodel naomi campbell's diamonds. they're telling two different stories, so which one of them is telling the truth? >>> and your pet's food could be making y

i have differences when michael bennet comes to the broader analysis. -- with the michael when it comes to this broader analysis. there are elements of the iranian government [inaudible] they may feel forced to sit at the negotiating table. are they willing to go all the way? you have other factors as well. some are actually benefiting from sanctions. they have enriched themselves tremendously as a result. i think it goes beyond that. even when you have a case in which two countries actually may have a common interest in being able to avert a disaster and be able to find solutions, and the absence of trust and confidence , one should not be surprised if they felail. it is in the context that this article actually has some interesting ideas. we have had diplomacy. it is not as methodical as it has been in the past the due be --past. we had two meetings. there were a couple of messages. after that, we entered into the sanctions phase. it should be mentioned that the primary reason as to why diplomacy did not succeed is because of what happened in iran with the fraudulent elections, and hu

colorado -- did the president watch the returns last night and did he draw any message from michael bennet's victory? >> the president called him not long after the race was called. the president had trouble out there -- had traveled out there to help him gain support and raise money. the president was proud to lend his name -- i think he appeared over the course of last weekend, get out the vote mailings, television ads, and the president for dissipated in senator bennet's town hall. we talked about what comprised voter turnout in the democratic primary. in first time and nearly first- time voters coming out, coming back out again to participate in an important primary -- i think it is hard to take away from the results of last night whether in colorado, connecticut, or in georgia, in some cases gubernatorial races and in other cases federal races, that the democratic party did not have a big night. senator bennet will now go up against someone who thinks that social security is a bad policy and that we should do away with our involvement in a student loan program that allows thousands to s

colorado senator michael bennet is the nominee. ds karen handelgu narrowly in georgia. we're watching races and connecticut. this added it will face the republican in november. she spoke recently. this is courtesy of w.cctx in hartford. >> and i love you. [laughter] i think some of my most fondest memories of this campaign trail will be little ones like that. showing up spontaneously and doing those things. the really warms my heart because i am a sucker for kids. [laughter] a lot to thank all of you for being here tonight, and a special thanks to my family, some of whom could not be here. my friends here, my tireless staff, and to all the volunteers, all the many of you, all of you. because certainly without the efforts all, all of our volunteers, i would not be standing here tonight having completed a two rounds of the three we have to go. i also want to thank my opponent cahow -- my opponents who ran a terrific races and their loyal supporters were their hearts out for candidates in whom they really believed. this was a very competitive, compassionate, and heartfelt