WASHINGTON (AP) -- The candidate backed by establishment Republicans as well as former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin has taken the lead over a tea-party favorite in New Hampshire's Republican Senate primary.
Former Attorney General Kelly Ayotte edged ahead of Ovide Lamontagne as returns piled up after midnight. Her lead was roughly 1,000 votes with results tallied from three-quarters of the state's precincts. She had trailed early on.
Lamontagne is a former chairman of the state Board of Education.
The winner will face Democratic Rep. Paul Hodes, who is giving up his seat in the House to run for the Senate.
In Delaware, Christine O'Donnell rode a surge of support from tea party activists to victory in that state's Republican Senate primary Tuesday night, dealing yet another setback to the GOP establishment.
O'Donnell defeated nine-term Rep. Mike Castle, a fixture in Delaware politics for a generation and a political moderate
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