Sen. Thad Cochran (R-MS) “has won the GOP nomination for U.S. Senate for the seventh time, squeaking past challenger Chris McDaniel (R) in a runoff Tuesday,” the Jackson Clarion Ledger reports.

“But McDaniel didn’t concede Tuesday night and in a speech to supporters referenced ‘dozens of irregularities’ in voting Tuesday and indicated he would challenge the results over Democrats voting in the Republican primary.”

Nate Cohn: “The Cochran campaign’s efforts to appeal to Democratic-leaning black voters appeared to succeed. The increase in turnout was largest in heavily black counties, particularly in the Mississippi Delta. Over all, turnout rose by 43% in the counties where black voters make up more than 65% of eligible voters.”

National Journal: “Over 347,000 voters cast ballots in the runoff, a higher total than in the primary — marking the first time in 30 years that has happened in any Senate race.”

Rick Hasen: What’s next for McDaniel?

Jill Lawrence: “The answer is obvious. Of course she’s out of touch. She’s one of the most powerful and important people in America. The real miracle was that she managed to appear ‘in touch’ in 2007 and 2008.”

“Faced with the choice of a far-right candidate or a more moderate mainstream pick, Colorado Republicans chose the latter Tuesday, selecting former Congressman Bob Beauprez as the party’s gubernatorial nominee,” the Denver Post reports.

“The dairy farmer-turned-banker-turned-buffalo rancher got into the GOP contest late as Republicans worried they didn’t have a viable candidate to defeat Democratic Gov. John Hickenlooper in November. Now the party believes it has a fighting chance of unseating an incumbent whose popularity has teeter-tottered much of the past year.”

Rep. Charles Rangel (R-NY), “seeking a 23rd term, held a slim lead in a fierce battle early Wednesday with State Senator Adriano Espaillat (D) in their primary election contest, a rematch that was largely fought along ethnic and generational lines,” the New York Times reports.

New York Post: “And woe to those who had ditched Charlie. Earlier Tuesday, a confident Rangel said that the political and labor leaders who abandoned him during the race ‘made one hell of a mistake’ — ­implying that he might not be willing to forgive and forget.”

Anthony Brown (D) claimed victory in the Democratic nomination for governor in Maryland after early returns suggested a landslide win, the Baltimore Sun reports.

In the Republican race, Larry Hogan (R) accepted the GOP nomination.

“The primary victories set the stage for a spirited general election contest to succeed term-limited Gov. Martin O’Malley, who praised Brown as ‘a true American success story.'”

Rep. James Lankford (R-OK) avoided a Republican primary runoff for Oklahoma’s open U.S. Senate seat, while Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-OK) easily won the GOP nomination Tuesday in his bid to keep the state’s other seat for a fourth term, the Oklahoman reports.

“This year’s election is the first time in modern history that both of Oklahoma’s U.S. Senate seats are on the ballot at the same time. Besides the full six-year term for Inhofe’s post, the state’s other Senate seat became open when U.S. Sen. Tom Coburn announced in January that he was foregoing his final two years in office after a recurrence of cancer.”

Curt Clawson (R) won the special election to replace former Rep. Trey Radel (R-FL) in Florida’s 19th District — “an outcome long expected in this heavily Republican district on the state’s Gulf Coast,” Roll Call reports.

“She’d probably get shot at the state line.”

— Arkansas Republican party official Johnny Rhoda, quoted by U.S. News, on Hillary Clinton’s future political prospects in her adopted home state.

David Letterman riffs off Hillary Clinton’s insistence that her family is not “well off.”

[Read more…]

Allison Kopicki: “Only 21% of Americans now say they support the Tea Party movement… But public support isn’t what gives the Tea Party its influence.”

“Interest in the 2014 election runs high among Tea Party supporters… 81% of voters who support the Tea Party say they will definitely vote in the 2014 election, compared with 67% of voters who don’t support the Tea Party.”

“Among Tea Party voters who identify as Republican and independents who lean Republican, 41% said they had been paying ‘a lot’ of attention to the 2014 election, compared with 25% of non-Tea Party Republican-leaning voters. And these Republican Tea Party voters are 15 points more likely to say they are very or somewhat enthusiastic about voting in this November’s elections for Congress than non-Tea Party Republican voters.”

First Read: “While McDaniel is the odds-on favorite to win tonight’s GOP Senate runoff in Mississippi, it’s worth pointing out that Cochran has crushed him in fundraising and spending. It’s not even close. Here are the statistics per NBC’s Natalie Cucchiara: As of June 4, Cochran had $407,574 in cash on hand, while McDaniel had $60,157. In contributions from June 4-23, Cochran raked in nearly $1.25 million vs. $181,000 for McDaniel. So if Cochran does indeed lose, it won’t be due to money. McDaniel’s campaign has been almost entirely bankrolled by outside groups.”