Midterm updates | Rand Paul notches GOP Senate primary win

Frankfort (KY), May 18 (AP): Republican US Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky has won his party's nomination in his quest for a third ter.

By : PTI | Updated at : 18 May 2022 05:09 AM (IST)

Frankfort (KY), May 18 (AP): Republican US Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky has won his party's nomination in his quest for a third term.

The libertarian-leaning Paul coasted to victory over five little-known challengers in the GOP Senate primary in Kentucky. Paul is a former presidential candidate who has gained a national voice in supporting limited government and a restrained foreign policy.

Kentucky hasn't elected a Democrat to the US Senate since Wendell Ford in 1992.

Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Kentucky, Idaho and Oregon are holding primary elections Tuesday. Former President Donald Trump put his endorsement record on the line in two key Republican primaries for open US Senate seats in Pennsylvania and North Carolina. Voters in three states — Pennsylvania, Idaho and Oregon — are picking their nominees for governor.

HERE'S WHAT ELSE YOU SHOULD KNOW: — Election 2022: Pennsylvania, North Carolina hold key races — 2022 Midterms: What to watch as 5 states hold primaries — Pennsylvania governor's race divides Republicans, unites Democrats — North Carolina Rep. Madison Cawthorn faces voters after missteps — Oregon Democrat at risk as 5 states hold US House primaries — Idaho governor faces Trump-backed challenger in GOP primary Follow all AP stories on the midterm elections at https://apnews.com/hub/2022-midterm-elections.

___ OTHER DEVELOPMENTS: HARRISBURG, Pa. — Pennsylvania Lt. Gov. John Fetterman, the leading contender in Tuesday's Democratic primary for US Senate, said his pacemaker surgery was successful and he is “on track for a full recovery” after suffering a stroke last week.

The 52-year-old Fetterman has said his stroke was caused by atrial fibrillation, a type of irregular heartbeat that's potentially serious but treatable. He tweeted an update after surgery Tuesday, saying “We got the all-clear that it was successful.” Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf's office said Pennsylvania's top-ranking state senator, Sen. Jake Corman, will take over as acting lieutenant governor while Fetterman recovers. Corman, a Republican, serves as the Senate's president pro tempore. Fetterman can reassume his duties and powers four days after his office informs state lawmakers that he is not disabled.

Corman had been running in the GOP primary for governor but ended his campaign last week.

Fetterman is facing three other candidates in the race for the Democratic nomination for Pennsylvania's open Senate seat. Republican Sen. Pat Toomey is retiring.

___ HARRISBURG, Pa. — Printing mistakes will force local election officials in Pennsylvania and Oregon to redo thousands of mailed ballots, a laborious process that could delay results for some closely contested races in Tuesday's primaries.

In Pennsylvania, where GOP primaries for governor and US Senate are drawing national attention, officials in Republican-leaning Lancaster County said the company that printed its mailed ballots included the wrong ID code, which is preventing scanning machines from reading them. The glitch will force election workers to hand-mark fresh ballots.

In Oregon, where all registered voters receive a mailed ballot, officials in one politically pivotal county are dealing with a similar problem. About half the ballots sent to voters in Clackamas County, included a blurry bar code that cannot be read by ballot-scanning machines. Teams are duplicating every ballot so they can be scanned.

___ BRADDOCK, Pa. — Pennsylvania Lt. Gov. John Fetterman, the leading contender in Tuesday's Democratic primary for US Senate, is getting a pacemaker following last week's stroke.

His campaign said Tuesday that Fetterman was “about to undergo a standard procedure” to get a pacemaker with a defibrillator. Campaign officials say the pacemaker will “protect his heart and address the underlying cause of his stroke.” Fetterman has said his stroke was caused by atrial fibrillation, a type of irregular heartbeat that's potentially serious but treatable.

The stroke put him in the hospital in the campaign's closing days. The 52-year-old says he's expected to make a full recovery.

Fetterman is facing three other candidates in the race for the Democratic nomination for Pennsylvania's open Senate seat. Republican Sen. Pat Toomey is retiring. (AP) VN VN

(This story is published as part of the auto-generated syndicate wire feed. No editing has been done in the headline or the body by ABP Live.)