Webb wins Virginia's Senate primary race

RICHMOND, Va. — James Webb, a former Reagan administration Navy secretary who left the Republican Party over the Iraq war, won the Democratic nomination Tuesday for the right to take on GOP Sen. George Allen in the fall.

Webb defeated lobbyist and longtime Democratic Party activist Harris Miller after a bruising primary campaign. With all but one precinct reporting, Webb had 53.5 percent of the votes, compared with 46.5 percent for Miller. Allen had no GOP challenger.

Four other states held elections Tuesday, including primaries for governor in Maine and South Carolina; a Democratic runoff for the nomination for lieutenant governor in Arkansas; and referendums on constitutional amendments in North Dakota.

Both Democratic candidates in Virginia sought to tie Allen tightly to Bush, particularly over Iraq. But Webb was seen by some as having particular credibility on military issues because of his background as a decorated Marine lieutenant in Vietnam and later as Navy secretary.

Democratic Party strategists calculated that Webb offered the only chance to mount a credible challenge to Allen in the fall, when Democrats hope to win six seats to gain control of the Senate.

In South Carolina, Republican Gov. Mark Sanford easily defeated a newcomer for the nomination for another term. In the Democratic primary, state Sen. Tommy Moore beat Florence Mayor Frank Willis.

In Maine, two little-known Democrats competed for the chance to take on two-term Republican Sen. Olympia Snowe, who had no GOP challenger.

Maine had a three-way Republican primary for governor. On the Democratic side, Gov. John Baldacci easily beat a little-known computer specialist.

In Arkansas, former Clinton administration official Bill Halter defeated state Sen. Tim Wooldridge in a runoff to determine the Democratic nominee for lieutenant governor. Halter faces Republican state Sen. Jim Holt this fall.

In North Dakota, voters approved two constitutional amendments: one to remove gender, age and residency references in the constitution's definition of state militia, the other to give the Legislature more authority to regulate how corporate shareholders vote for boards of directors.