The Latest: Bob Krist wins Nebraska Democratic governor nod

The Latest: Bob Krist wins Nebraska Democratic governor nod

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Latest on Tuesday's primary elections (all times local):

10 p.m.

Nebraska state Sen. Bob Krist of Omaha has won the Democratic nomination to run for the seat held by incumbent Republican Gov. Pete Ricketts.

Krist defeated two other Democratic candidates in Tuesday's primary election. The veteran state lawmaker campaigned on promises that he would take a less partisan approach to state government than Ricketts.

Krist had been a Republican but switched his affiliation to nonpartisan in September when announcing his bid for governor. He reregistered as a Democrat in February because of legal barriers in his bid to qualify for the ballot as an independent.

The two other Democrats who ran were Vanessa Ward, a pastor and community activist from Omaha, and Tyler Davis, a University of Nebraska at Omaha instructor.

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9:50 p.m.

Lincoln City Councilwoman and grocery store executive Jane Raybould has won the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate in Nebraska.

Raybould defeated three Democratic challengers in Tuesday's primary race for the seat held by Republican Sen. Deb Fischer, who is running for re-election. Raybould faces an uphill general election battle in GOP-dominated Nebraska.

Fischer won election in 2012 by nearly 16 percentage points.

Raybould has served on the Lincoln City Council since 2015 and helps run her family's grocery store chain. She ran unsuccessfully for lieutenant governor in 2014 as part of Democrat Chuck Hassebrook's gubernatorial campaign.

The other Democratic hopefuls who ran were retired farmer, attorney and judge Frank Svoboda of Lincoln; retired Fremont real estate broker Larry Marvin; and Chris Janicek, the owner of an Omaha specialty cake business.

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9:45 p.m.

Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts has easily won the Republican nomination to seek a second term in November.

Ricketts enters the general election with more than $1.3 million in campaign cash at his disposal for the general election, far outpacing all other gubernatorial candidates. His only GOP challenger in Tuesday's primary didn't raise or spend enough to trigger a reporting requirement.

Ricketts defeated Krystal Gabel of Omaha, a technical writer who advocates for medical marijuana and industrial hemp. Gabel previously volunteered for the Nebraska Green Party and the Legal Cannabis Now Party.

Ricketts has already started airing television ads to tout his previous efforts to lower property taxes.

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9:40 p.m.

A four-term congressman who is a staunch supporter of President Donald Trump has won the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate in Pennsylvania.

U.S. Rep. Lou Barletta had paid little attention to his Republican rival, state Rep. Jim Christiana, during the primary campaign leading up to Tuesday. Instead, he focused his attacks on the candidate he is looking to unseat in the fall, two-term Democratic Sen. Bob Casey.

Barletta is a former small-city mayor who first got national notice for attempting to pass local laws to combat illegal immigration.

Barletta endorsed Trump for president. Trump asked Barletta to run for Senate and is expected to campaign for him.

Casey is the son of a former Pennsylvania governor and is among 10 Democratic senators seeking re-election in states won by Trump.

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9:30 p.m.

Sen. Deb Fischer of Nebraska has won the Republican nomination in her bid for a second term in office.

Fischer defeated four GOP challengers in Tuesday's primary election and will be the strong favorite to win re-election in deep-red Nebraska.

Some of Fischer's primary opponents had argued she wasn't conservative enough, but Fischer received endorsements from a majority of the state's elected Republican officials, as well as major farm and business groups. Before being elected to the Senate, she was a rancher and state legislator.

President Donald Trump had tweeted earlier Tuesday: "Nebraska - make sure you get out to the polls and VOTE for Deb Fischer today!"

She defeated retired Omaha math professor Jack Heidel; writer and retired air conditioning technician Dennis Frank Macek; former finance manager Jeffrey Lynn Stein; and Lincoln businessman Todd Watson.

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8:40 p.m.

Polls have closed across Pennsylvania, one of four states holding primary elections Tuesday.

In Pennsylvania, 84 candidates are vying for nominations in 18 U.S. House districts following the state's court-ordered redrawing of congressional maps. The new districts are expected to give Democrats their best shot in years of picking up seats long held by Republicans.

Republicans are also choosing their party's challengers to Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf and to U.S. Sen. Bob Casey, setting the stage for what is expected to be a hotly contested general election two years after Pennsylvania helped deliver the White House to Donald Trump.

Idaho, Nebraska and Oregon are also holding primaries Tuesday.

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12:10 a.m.

A redrawn congressional map in Pennsylvania just three months ago has left candidates scrambling as four states prepare to hold primaries.

In Pennsylvania, primary voters will decide the fate of President Donald Trump's pick for U.S. Senate. Idaho, Nebraska and Oregon are also holding primaries Tuesday.

Congressman Raul Labrador is one of three GOP candidates for governor in Idaho, a state so heavily Republican that the primary goes a long way to determining the general election.

Ten Republicans are vying for Oregon's gubernatorial nomination — the most in more than a century. The interest among candidates belies the uphill climb for the party in the Democratic-leaning state.

In Nebraska, Omaha-area Democrats will have options for the first time in the state's lone urban House district, where two liberals are running.