No offense to those of you who are here to watch the Republican presidential primaries in Connecticut, Delaware, New York, and Rhode Island, but Pennsylvania is the main event tonight. The Pennsylvania Republican Senate primary might be the marquee event, but the drama is mostly on the Dem side, where there are hot primaries in PA-12 (between pitted-together members Jason Altmire and Mark Critz) and PA-17 (between Tim Holden and challenger Matt Cartwright). Polls close shortly, at 8 pm Eastern.
Results: AP | PA SoS
5:31 PM PT: While we wait for anything out of Pennsylvania, let's check in on the Prez-only states. Major media outlets already reporting that Connecticut and Rhode Island have been called for Mitt Romney. No call in Delaware, but Newt Gingrich isn't winning the state's two "southern" counties (Kent and Sussex), so he's not likely to win even a single county tonight anywhere.
5:41 PM PT: OK, we've got 0.1% reporting in Pennsylvania, and nothing at all in the key House primaries. In the PA-Sen primary Tom Smith is well ahead of the rest of the GOP field, at 39%, with Steve Welch and Sam Rohrer each at 21%. Meanwhile, Delaware has been called for Mitt Romney, who's sitting at 57%.
5:52 PM PT: For the moment, the SoS office, who shows 0.7% reporting, is ahead of the AP in Pennsylvania. We've got our first votes showing in PA-12 and PA-17. In the 12th, Jason Altmire's way ahead (69-31), and in the 17th, Matt Cartwright's way ahead (74-26). However, the votes reported are from their stronghold counties (Allegheny and Lackawanna, respectively), so that'll recede as we get a broader sample.
5:55 PM PT: Statewide in Pennsylvania, Tom Smith (who dominated the airwaves compared to his small-dollar opponents) is adding to his lead in the GOP Senate primary, now at 43 with Rohrer next at 25. The AG primary for the Dems may be shaping up to be the most exciting race tonight, with Kathleen Kane barely leading Patrick Murphy for now: 50.4-49.6. (And in case you're wondering about the Prez primary in Pennsylvania, it's Romney at 55, with the undead candidacy of Rick Santorum in 2nd at 19, ahead of allegedly human candidates Ron Paul (16) and Newt Gingrich (11).)
6:01 PM PT: OK, now we're up to 5% reporting statewide, as things finally get out of first gear. Kane's putting some distance on Murphy, turning that into a 60-40 lead. Tom Smith's still in front in PA-Sen (R), leading Sam Rohrer 42-22. Jason Altmire continues to dominate in PA-12, up 71-29 over Mark Critz. In PA-17, Matt Cartwright leads Tim Holden 75-25 (again, thanks to a lot of Lackawanna Co. votes, which are probably also boosting Kane in the AG race).
6:02 PM PT: CNN has declared Mitt Romney the winner of the Presidential primary in Pennsylvania. Polls also just closed in New York, so expect a call there soon too. As for those Pennsylvania House races, expect a wait on those...
6:06 PM PT: Wow, we just got a bigass ballot drop from Cambria County, Mark Critz's home turf. He won those precincts 89-11! That actually pushes him into the lead overall in PA-12, 55-45 total over Altmire, though I doubt that'll last.
6:09 PM PT: If you're wondering about Republican House primaries, Tim Murphy has easily rebuffed the FreedomWorks-fueled challenge from Evan Feinberg, though not by as comical a margin as his internal poll showed: he's up 67-33 in PA-18. And in the open seat PA-04, state Rep. Scott Perry seems to be in control, at 63% amidst a clown car (7) of Republicans.
6:12 PM PT: As I predicted, that Mark Critz lead had a lifespan like a mayfly. Altmire's back in the lead now, 54-47, in PA-12, apparently with more Allegheny Co. precincts reporting. (That's w/ 13% reporting in that particular district.) Nothing's reported yet in Westmoreland Co., which is between the two Rep.'s strongholds, and will probably serve as the tiebreaker.
6:14 PM PT: Huh, this is interesting, a little further down in the weeds in PA-15's Dem primary. Attorney Jackson Eaton, to whom the DCCC seemed to take a liking, is losing the primary to Rick Daugherty, 59-41. Daugherty is a county party chair for the Dems, so maybe not a surprise, if he's better-connected locally. Also, there's a close race in the Dem primary in PA-11 (to take on Lou Barletta), where attorney Bill Vinsko leads activist Gene Stilp 50.4-49.6.
6:18 PM PT: Up to 15% reporting statewide. Tom Smith continues to run away with it in the R primary for PA-Sen, at 43 to Sam Rohrer's 21. In the Dem primary for AG, it's 56 Kane, 44 Murphy (pretty consistent with the 9-pt lead in the internal poll she released and that Murphy didn't rebut).
6:22 PM PT: Looks like another big ballot dump from Cambria County, as Mark Critz just shot back into the lead (w/ 17% reporting in PA-12), up 60-40. Again, don't expect that to hold, as the Altmire-friendlier parts of the district mostly haven't reported yet.
6:26 PM PT: We've gotten some Schuylkill County votes (his stronghold), but they don't seem to be helping Tim Holden very much. He's winning his home county 86-14, but he's losing the much more populous Lackawanna County to Matt Cartwright 78-22. With 17% reporting, Cartwright leads 75-25 overall. Hard to see how Holden turns that around.
6:29 PM PT: Ooops, things got closer in PA-17, but not saving-Holden's-butt close. He's only trailing Cartwright by 63-37 now (with 22% reporting).
6:41 PM PT: 34% are in, statewide, so things are starting to get baked in. In the AG primary, it's still Kane 57, Murphy 43. I don't know how much of the credit to assign to Bill Clinton (who endorsed and stumped for Kane, rather than Murphy, an early Obama endorser in '08), but that had to have mattered. As far as the PA-Sen R primary goes, in the battle of dueling rich guys, rich guy A (Tom Smith) is likely to win, at 41. Rich guy B (Steve Welch) is in an embarrasing 3rd place at 20, behind Sam Rohrer's 22.
6:44 PM PT: Hmm, I'm starting to wonder if Mark Critz might pull it off (probably not). He's still leading 56-44 overall, and up 57-42 in the probably decisive Westmoreland Co., which has started to report. However, I suspect Altmire will eventually win, as there are currently around the same number of votes reported from Allegheny and Cambria Cos,. meaning that, given the population disparity, we're probably waiting on a lot more Allegheny Co. votes. (Plus, Altmire-friendly Beaver Co. hasn't reported anything.)
6:57 PM PT: 56% reporting now, and things are getting much closer in both PA-12 and PA-17. It's 50.5 for Critz, 49.5 for Altmire, with most of Allegheny Co. reporting. (Altmire will need Beaver Co. to put him over the top.) In the 17th, it's 56-44 for Cartwright, still solid but closer than his 70%+ earlier. (Looks like a lot more Schuylkill Co. votes came in.)
7:03 PM PT: The festivities continue in Liveblog Thread #2.