Progressive Elaine Marshall wins Democratic senatorial nomination in North Carolina

This is exciting news:

Elaine Marshall, brushing aside the support that Democratic Party leaders had lent to a rival, comfortably triumphed Tuesday in her second attempt to win her second U.S. Senate primary.

The veteran politician who has served as North Carolina's secretary of state for more than a decade defeated former Army prosecutor Cal Cunningham in the runoff, eight years after a similar nomination bid came up short. She will face Republican Sen. Richard Burr in November.

As of 8 PM Pacific Time, results were:

United States Senate, North Carolina (Democratic nomination)
Elaine Marshall: 60% (94,672 votes)
Cal Cunningham: 40% (63,290 votes)

Marshall and Cunningham were the two finalists in the Democratic senatorial primary held on May 4th. The results of that election were:

Marcus W. Williams: 8.46% (35,984 votes)
Ann Worthy: 3.92% (16,655 votes)
Elaine Marshall: 36.35% (154,605 votes)
Ken Lewis: 17.05% (72,510 votes)
Susan Harris: 6.99% (29,738 votes)
Cal Cunningham: 27.24% (115,851)

Marshall's campaign enjoyed strong grassroots and netroots support, winning endorsements from Blue America, Democracy for America and MoveOn. Marshall also had the backing of prominent local elected officials in North Carolina and well-known civil rights leaders. The results clearly show that she waged a strong and compelling campaign, and is the Democrat who has the best chance of taking out Republican Richard Burr in November. (Public Policy Polling asserts that surveys of voters back this up, by the way).

The DSCC, which had backed Cunningham, was quick to congratulate Marshall on her triumph. Senator Bob Menendez released the following statement:

Congratulations to Elaine Marshall on her primary victory. She is a proven reformer who has taken on the special interests in her state, and has cracked down on lobbyist activity, insurance company abuses, and excess on Wall Street.

Both Elaine and Cal Cunningham deserve credit for running spirited, aggressive campaigns. Tomorrow, we begin the general election and the choice for North Carolinians could not be any starker.

Voters will face a choice between a Democrat who has focused on creating jobs and the needs of North Carolina’s middle class and a Republican who puts partisanship ahead of doing what’s right. This November will be an opportunity for voters to hold their Senator accountable for years of looking out for the special interests and elect someone who will fight for them everyday in Washington.

This is sure a nice way to bounce back after Bill Halter's loss in Arkansas. The national media are hardly taking notice — McChrystal's comments in Rolling Stone are all the pundits seem to want to talk about — but it's another victory for the movement over the establishment. We can't have enough of those.