In the clear light of dawn, anything new to observe among you?

It’s on to fall.

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John Edwards’ impressive margin in the House District 38 race is encouraging for Democrats. Former Huckabee administration secrecy enabler Kelly Eichler relied on her hard-working PTA and neighborhood cohorts to blanket the Heights and win an easy victory over an invisible Republican opponent in her primary.

The fall will be a different matter and a presidential election in the bargain, but it’s worth noting that well more than double the number of voters participated in the Democratic primary in this race compared with the GOP primary — 2,959 to 1,299. There was no more to be gained by choosing the Democratic ballot here than a runaway  primary victory for the sitting county judge, so it’s a fairly decent measure of the relative political composition of the district.

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In the hours after I quit last night, it became clear that Sen. Jim Luker of Wynne had easily won re-election. He’s one of the brightest lights in the Senate. Jim McLean’s triumph over Sen. Jack Critcher’s wife in Batesville was a biggie. The defeat of a Boozman for a House seat in Bentonville and of a Hutchinson clan member for a judgeship in NWA might be another signal of an end of a dynastic era in Arkansas Republicanism.

Sen. Dave Bisbee led the ticket for Benton County judge but will be in a runoff with Bill Adams, who undoubtedly will continue to be supported by a non-aligned, secretly funded 527 organization. Whatever happens, the Bisbee clan can’t claim Benton Boss Hogdom. Wife Linda Bisbee lost her race for state House to Duncan Baird. Tim Summers, derided as a RINO for once having served as the last elected Democratic official in the county before switching parties, nonethless beat true-red GOPer Vickey Boozman, wife of the late fomrer state senator and Health Department director.

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Aggravation: The Pulaski precinct results are available, though at this hour only in the 2008 archives in a cumbersome precinct-by-precint format. Here’s the home page.

SHOCKER: Gunner DeLay, currently a prosecutor in Fort Smith, a former senator and general GOP big wig, was clobbered 55-45 in a race for district judge against City Prosecutor Claire Borengasser. DeLay had the support of virtually every big-name attorney in Fort Smith, from Brad Jesson on the left to Joey McCutcheon on the right.

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Any other nuggets worthy of notice?

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