Mich., Mo., Kan. cast primary votes

Primary voters in Michigan appeared to be booting a veteran congresswoman Tuesday and primary races also were being decided in Missouri and Kansas.

In Michigan, seven-term U.S. Rep. Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick looked to be on her way out. The Detroit News said with more than half the votes counted, state Sen. Hansen Clarke was leading 48 percent to 39 percent in the heavily Democratic district.

In the state's gubernatorial race, Ann Arbor businessman Rick Snyder beat U.S. Rep. Pete Hoekstra and three other Republicans in the GOP primary, the News and the Detroit Free Press said. Lansing Mayor Virg Bernero won on the Democratic side.

The two will face off in November to succeed Jennifer Granholm, who cannot seek another term under Michigan law.

In Missouri, Republicans believe they have a shot at knocking off veteran Democratic Rep. Ike Skelton in November, but voters in the 4th Congressional District Tuesday first had to winnow a nine-person field down to one. Front-runners were state Sen. Bill Stouffer and former state Rep. Vicky Hartzler, who challenged each other's conservative credentials while painting Skelton as a liberal.

Skelton has been winning the Republican-leaning district because of his reputation as a military expert and social conservative who keeps in touch with his constituents. But Republicans hope voter anger at Washington and incumbents in general will make 2010 the year they defeat Skelton, first elected in 1976.

In the marquee congressional race for Missouri in November, Republican U.S. Rep. Roy Blunt led Democratic Secretary of State Robin Carnahan for the U.S. Senate, a Post-Dispatch-KMOV-TV, St. Louis, poll indicated. Both were expected to breeze through their party primaries to square off in the general election to replace retiring Sen. Christopher "Kit" Bond, a Republican. The recent poll indicated Blunt was backed by 48 percent of the respondents while 42 percent said they favored Carnahan and the remaining 10 percent were undecided.

Armchair pundits may be salivating over a Blunt-Carnahan race in the fall, but one of Blunt's primary challengers -- Tea Party backed candidate Chuck Purgason -- had a television ad that had its genesis on YouTube and features "Joe the Plumber," aka Joe Wurzelbacher, the blue-collar Ohio guy whose questioning of President Barack Obama during the 2008 presidential race propelled him to instant fame, the Post-Dispatch said.

Also on Tuesday's ballot in Missouri was a measure asking whether Missourians should be able to opt out of the health insurance mandate in the new healthcare law. Early returns indicated the measure would pass easily. Legal experts said the question of whether Missourians can opt out of the federal health insurance mandate would be settled in court.