State Sen. Deb Fischer has won the Republican primary for U.S. Senate in Nebraska, making her the odds-on favorite to replace Ben Nelson. What you will hear: Sarah Palin endorsed a Mama Grizzly and pushed her over the top. The larger backstory: Fischer benefitted from a yearlong, bloody, stupid primary between state Attorney General Jon Bruning and Treasurer Don Stenberg. The former, working his way up the greasy pole for years, had spooked Chuck Hagel out of running for re-election in 2008, then gotten chased out of the primary by then-Agriculture Sec. Mike Johanns. The latter had lined up conservative support — Jim DeMint, Rick Santorum, Erick Erickson. The two of them tore chunks out of each other, leaving Fischer alone. So it goes with the three-way race.
via Slate Blogs http://www.slate.com/blogs/weigel/2012/05/16/nebraska_prepare_yourself_for_stories_about_sarah_palin_kingmaker.html