It's Davis, Tuke & Lankford in primaries
HUNTSVILLE — Lincoln Davis and Bob Tuke were winners district- and state-wide in their respective Democratic primaries Thursday for Congress and the U.S. Senate.
Davis won in both Scott County and throughout the 4th Congressional District, while Tuke won statewide after a dismal showing locally.
Monty Lankford won the Republican Congressional primary.
Davis, a two-term Congressman who is flirting with a possible gubernatorial campaign in 2010, easily defeated his challenger, Bert Mason, in Scott County, receiving more than 90% of the votes cast. Davis received 729 votes locally, while Mason received 64 votes.
District-wide, Davis easily defeated Mason, and will face Republican Monty Lankford in the November general election. Lankford received more than 60% of the votes cast district-wide to win the GOP nomination. He was opposed by Kent Greenough and Don Strong. In Scott County, Lankford received 437 votes — 73.8% — to Greenough’s 84 and Strong’s 70 votes.
In the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate, Nashville attorney Bob Tuke won the nomination, despite being on the wrong end of lopsided returns in Scott County. Tuke, a former Marine, relied on victories in vote-heavy Davidson and surrounding counties closer to his home to win the nomination over his closest challenger, former Knox County Clerk Mike Padgett.
In Scott County, Gary G. Davis — who had twice before sought the Democratic nomination for Senate but surprised state party officials with a strong showing in Thursday’s primary — led the vote with 138, or 30.4% of the ballots cast. Mark E. Clayton received 116 votes locally, while Padgett received 98, Kenneth Eaton received 41, Tuke received 29, and Leonard D. Ladner received 26.
Tuke will square off against incumbent Lamar Alexander in November. Alexander was unopposed in the Republican primary.
In the race for state representative, incumbent Leslie Winningham was unopposed in the Democratic primary, and received 765 votes in his home county. Winningham will also be unopposed in the November general election.
In the race to replace retiring state senator Tommy Kilby, Democrat Becky Ruppe and Republican Ken Yager won their respective primaries without opposition. Ruppe, the current mayor of Morgan County, received 562 courtesy votes in Scott County. Yager, a former county executive in Roane County, received 511 votes locally.