The “mama grizzlies” running in Tuesday’s GOP primaries are primed to prove that Sarah Palin’s still got a magic touch.
Much has been made of losses by several Palin-endorsed candidates in recent votes: Angela McGlowan lost her Republican bid for a Mississippi congressional seat last week; Vaughn Ward in Idaho failed to win the GOP nomination for a House seat in his state two weeks ago and Tim Burns in Pennsylvania lost a special election last month.
But the former Alaska governor aims to get her groove back Tuesday when 12 states head to the polls for primary elections and several of her “mama grizzlies” — or women endorsed by the former governor — appear on the ballot.
In South Carolina, gubernatorial candidate Nikki Haley has had Palin’s full support throughout a tough few weeks of allegations that Haley has had extramarital affairs. Polls still show Haley leading her GOP challengers. Palin’s endorsement — before the allegations surfaced — helped propel Haley to front-runner status.
In California, Palin-backed Senate candidate Carly Fiorina is ahead of the pack. A poll released Saturday shows Fiorina at 37 percent, compared to 22 percent for competitor Tom Campbell and 19 percent for Chuck DeVore.
Palin has also endorsed Arkansas state Sen. Cecile Bledsoe who is a GOP run-off with Rogers Mayor Steve Womack for the state’s 3rd District House seat.
Palin has not endorsed any candidate to take on Democratic Sen. Harry Reid in Nevada. But it wouldn’t be hard to imagine her making Tea Party favorite Sharron Angle a “mama grizzly” if she prevails in her primary against Sue Lowden and Danny Tarkanian on Tuesday, as polls show to likely be the case. Palin’s brother and father endorsed Tarkanian, and in an interview with The Daily Caller, her brother suggested she stayed out of the race because there are a number of conservative candidates in the contest.
Other races to keep an eye on include the Arkansas Democratic run-off between Sen. Blanche Lincoln and Bill Halter, and contests also in Iowa, Maine, Montana, New Jersey, North Dakota, South Dakota, Virginia and Georgia.
