Reps. Ron Paul and Dennis Kucinich glided to victories in their House races yesterday, despite some tense moments earlier this year when it looked like the two long-shot presidential candidates would lose their seats to primary challengers. Both abandoned their presidential ambitions – temporarily, Paul promised – to tend to voters back home. In Texas, Republican Paul easily defeated his primary opponent, Chris Peden, a certified public accountant and city councilman from Friendswood, south of Houston. Peden had campaigned partly on the notion that Paul’s run for the White House made him a celebrity with zealous followers but hadn’t done anything to improve what Peden called his effectual lawmaking. With all but two precincts counted in his reliably Republican district, Paul had 70% of the vote to Peden’s 30%. He has no Democratic challenger.
In Ohio, Democrat Kucinich topped his main primary opponent, Cleveland Councilman Joe Cimperman, who similarly defined Kucinich as an absentee congressman with a poor record on major legislation. With more than a third of the vote counted, Kucinich had 52% of the vote while Cimperman collected nearly 33%. Kucinich is heavily favored to win the general election contest against former Republican State Rep. Jim Trakas. His Web site leads with this line against Kucinich: “Congressman Kucinich has gotten so sidetracked pursuing other pleasures, that we have been abandoned here at home.”