Senator Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) and Rep. Charlie Rangel (D-NY) won their primary elections Tuesday, providing the exception to a recent political trend toward ousting long-time Washington incumbents.
Hatch won easily in the GOP-dominant Utah, beating out former Utah state Sen. Dan Liljenquist 67 to 33 percent with 100 percent of the precincts reporting. The six-term senator, who says this will be his last term in office, is now the longest-serving Republican senator in U.S. history.
"Thanks to all who supported me yesterday with their vote - now on to Nov[ember]!" Hatch tweeted Wednesday morning.
In November, Senator Hatch will face former state senator Scott Howell. If the Republicans win back the Senate in November, Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney has tapped Hatch to become the Chairman of the highly-influential Finance Committee.
Rep. Rangel, who sits at the opposite end of the ideological spectrum from Hatch, also won out against numerous challengers to win his Tuesday primary.
"Words cannot describe my overwhelming gratitude to the voters of the 13th congressional district of our great State for believing in me," Rangel said in a statement Wednesday. "I welcome this special privilege to serve the people of the Bronx and those in Upper Manhattan whom I have had the honor to represent in Congress in the past. I will not let them down."
The 42-year Congressional veteran was censured by Congress in 2010 for 11 counts of ethics violations. Rangel called the censure "highly political" but accepted the rebuke from Congress, the first doled out in three decades and the 23rd in history.
"In my heart I truly feel good," Rangel said after the censure reading in December 2010. "A lot of it has to do with the fact that I know in my heart that I am not going to be judged by this Congress, but I am going to be judged by my life.''
With 84 percent of the precincts reporting, Rangel narrowly won the primary with 45 percent of the votes in New York's 13th district. He beat out four other Democratic challengers, one of whom, state Sen. Adriano Espaillat, won 40 percent.
This year's primary represents the second consecutive election season in which Rangel has faced a competitive race. Other than the censure, Rangel faced recurrent health problems and a recent redistricting which placed many more Latino voters into his constituent pool.
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