Nevada: Gibbons Loses Renomination, Angle Wins GOP’s Senate Nod

There were no surprises out of Nevada’s primary election Tuesday, as scandal-plagued Gov. Jim Gibbons lost the GOP nomination for a second term and Tea Party favorite Sharron Angle (R) won the right to challenge Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D).

The Associated Press called the Republican gubernatorial primary late Tuesday for former U.S. District Court Judge Brian Sandoval, who beat Gibbons 56-27 percent.

The AP called the GOP Senate contest early Wednesday for Angle, who beat former state Sen. Sue Lowden 40-26 percent. Businessman Danny Tarkanian came in third with 23 percent.

The result in both contests was widely expected, as we noted earlier. Recent polls had consistently showed Sandoval and Angle leading in their respective races.

Gibbons won 48-44 percent in 2006 against now-Rep. Dina Titus (D). Since taking office, he has faced multiple scandals, prompting the group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington to name him as one of the 11 worst governors in the U.S. for 2010.

Lowden had started off the GOP Senate race as the frontrunner. She later fell behind after a series of campaign gaffes, the most notorious of which involved her suggestion that people pay for health care with chickens. These missteps later prompted a supporter to name her “Suicidal Sue.”

Updated at 12:09 p.m. on June 9.