Election 2010: Challengers to Incumbents - 'Bring it on!'

New challengers in Election 2010 are preparing for the battle ahead. In the wake of Tuesday's primaries, one thing is clear - this is the year for Republican women.

WASHINGTON, DC (Catholic Online) - While only a few primaries contained a sense of drama in Tuesday's election across twelve states, the match-ups that are emerging confirm the hard fought campaigns that lie ahead.

In the most significant primary in this series, incumbent Arkansas Senator Blanche Lincoln survived an attempted overthrow by Lt. Governor Bill Halter. Backed by Labor Unions, Halter lost in a nail-biter that counted on the leverage of former President Bill Clinton to give Lincoln an edge 52 to 48 percent.

In a major shake-up, incumbent Republican Governor Jim Gibbons, who has been facing personal problems including divorce, didn't survive the primary, losing to former Federal Judge Brian Sandoval. His opponent, who won handily on Tuesday, will be Rory Reid, son of the Senate Majority leader Harry Reid and chairman of the Clark County Commission.

Another incumbent, Bob Inglis, Representative from South Carolina's 4th District, placed second with only 27 percent of the vote and faces a runoff against Trey Gowdy, who received 39 percent.

The other tight South Carolina race pitted newcomer Nikki Haley against three contenders for the Republican gubernatorial nomination. Surviving a major assault through allegations of infidelity, Haley out-poled her nearest rival, Gresham Barrett, by more than 2 to 1. Falling short of the 50 percent mark, the two will face each other one more time in a runoff.

California Republicans gave the nod to two businesswomen, both Silicon Valley CEO's, to face Democratic challenges from former governor Jerry Brown for his old job and from long-time Senator Barbara Boxer.

Carly Fiorina, the former head of Hewlett Packard and a cancer survivor, said she is ready and eager to take on Boxer, indicating that it is time for a real change in who represents the people of California.

Meg Whitman, the former head of eBay, will face former Governor Jerry Brown in the gubernatorial race. In her acceptance speech, Whitman warned, "Career politicians ... be warned, because you now face your worst nightmare, two businesswomen from California!"

After trailing early in the evening, Sharron Angle emerged as the challenger for Harry Reid's senatorial bid. Sue Lowden, who had been the front-runner through much of the campaign, ended up with only 26 percent of the vote to Angle's 40 percent.

Garnering almost three-fourths of the primary votes on the Democratic side, the Reid campaign camp said Angle's nomination will make his re-election much easier in the fall.

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