Newspapers Publish Results Of Congressional Primary Races

Main Category: Abortion
Article Date: 13 Jun 2008 - 7:00 PDT

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Two newspapers recently published articles related to abortion and congressional primary elections in South Carolina and Virginia. Summaries appear below.

~ South Carolina: Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) on Tuesday won the Republican primary for his seat over Buddy Witherspoon, a former member of the Republican National Committee, the AP/Fort Mill Times reports. Graham received 67% of the vote, compared with 33% for Witherspoon (Davenport, AP/Fort Mill Times, 6/10). Witherspoon had touted his opposition to abortion rights and accused Graham of being "joined at the hip" with Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain (Ariz.). Graham ran campaign advertisements focusing on his opposition to abortion rights. He recently said that he and McCain have not always followed the Republican stance on how judges are confirmed, immigration, Social Security and the war in Iraq (Daily Women's Health Policy Report, 6/10). After the election, Witherspoon said he does not plan to endorse Graham or McCain in the next few weeks (AP/Fort Mill Times, 6/10). Engineer Bob Conley, who also opposes abortion rights, appeared to win the Democratic primary for the seat by less than 1,000 votes over attorney Michael Cone. There will be an automatic recount of the vote because Conley's margin of victory was so narrow. Conley, who ran unsuccessfully for the Indiana House as a Republican, said he switched parties years ago over frustration of GOP policies on Iraq, trade and immigration, adding that his conservative positions on social issues are not unique to Republicans. Conley and Cone spent less than $25,000 combined during the primary campaign (Davenport, AP/WRAL, 6/11).

~ Virginia: Former Rep. Leslie Byrne lost the Democratic primary for Virginia's 11th Congressional District seat Tuesday to Gerald Connolly, chair of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, the Washington Post reports. Throughout the campaign, Byrne emphasized her long-standing commitment to issues such as abortion rights and health care reform (Gardner, Washington Post, 6/11). The National Organization for Women, which endorsed Byrne, criticized Connolly in April for sending out a mailer that included a photograph of an abortion-rights rally and NOW placards. Connolly had said that the purpose of the mailer was to state his support for abortion rights and women's rights and that the picture was intended to illustrate an abortion-rights rally (Daily Women's Health Policy Report, 4/29). Joe Fox, Byrne's campaign manager, said Byrne has endorsed Connolly and has offered her help. According to the Post, Connolly, who won almost 58% of the primary vote, will face Republican business executive Keith Fimian in the fall election. The seat is currently held by retiring Rep. Tom Davis (R) (Washington Post, 6/11).

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