Humiliating loss for Maryanne Rudding in Wellington Senate race

LONGBLADE, Well. -- A former state attorney general is licking her wounds after a humiliating defeat in Wellington's Senate primary race.

Maryann Rudding (N), was expected to win the NAT's nomination for Senate.

As a former attorney general, Rudding, 54, has high name recognition, connections with party leaders in the state and nationally, and has proven she can win a statewide race.

But Wellington's Nationalist voters delivered a blow to Rudding last week, when they picked former NAT Senate nominee Jane Paulson over Rudding.

Paulson won by just a hair of the vote: 51.2% to Rudding's 48.8%, respectively.

And Paulson has previously ran for Senate, back in 2020, so she enjoys high name recognition and campaign connections too.

However, Rudding was the favorite in the race, and she enjoyed support from most of Wellington's top Nationalist figures.

It was a painful loss for the one-term attorney general, who lost reelection to that post in 2022.

"It's a tough night," said Rudding at her primary election night celebration in Longblade in the state's far northeast corner. "We were hoping for a different result, but we have to respect the will of Wellington's Nationalist voters."

Further south in McCune County in the central part of the state, Paulson thanked the voters for delivering a narrow but decisive vote.

"From the bottom of my heart, I want to say thank you to all the voters who ticked my name on the ballot," said Paulson, 44, a businesswoman and entrepreneur. "Now we have to unite together so we can take back this Senate seat and bring common-sense Wellington values to the Senate."

The two women were competing for a chance to challenge incumbent Conservative Senator Lindsey Bronure, who is up for reelection this year.

"Lindsey Bronure is a rubber stamp for Jon Ralston," said Paulson during a primary debate sponsored by a local Lions Club in Arrowhead County. "We need someone who will vote independently and not be spineless to pressure from the political parties."

Rudding expressed similar sentiment, telling the audience that Bronure "mindlessly votes for whatever her party bosses tell her to vote for."

The two NAT candidates largely agreed on policy. They both hold similar positions and views. The race mainly came down to a generational gap, as younger voters favored Paulson and older voters backed Rudding.

There was also division in the party between the establishment and the grassroots.

Grassroots voters strongly turned out for Paulson, while the establishment and party leaders backed Rudding.

Still, although she enjoyed the grassroots support at the local level, Paulson says she would be a "moderate voice of reason" if elected to the Senate.

"I think we need senators who listen to everyone, who listen to every side of the issue, and who then vote according to what's right for their state," said Paulson. "I plan to be an independent-minded senator, if elected."

The Bronure campaign congratulated Paulson on her win, posting a congratulatory note on Bronure's social media channels.

But the campaign quickly shifted to attacking Paulson for her "radical NAT values."

"Jane Paulson is a nice person, she's attractive and well-educated. But she's really a female version of Nadan Saralo," said Bronure campaign Deputy Director Derek Todd.

"Jane Paulson is a hard-left liberal. She will vote in step with Nadan Saralo, with Debbie Madronas, Grace Kemp, Paul LeBouse, Deborah Kay, all those hard-left senators. She will be Wellington's version of Deborah Kay," said Todd, referring to the controversial left-wing senator from Damoign.

While the campaigns' rhetoric flies, the truth is the race against Bronure will be an uphill climb for Paulson.

Bronure is also young and attractive, and her conservative voting record is more in-step with the conservative tilt of the Prairie State.

Additionally, this year's election looks to strongly favor the CNS, as Nationalists are defending more seats and the national mood is in Conservatives' favor.

Bronure has also avoided any major scandals or gaffes, and unlike Paulson, Bronure has never lost an election before.

"Jane Paulson is a loser. Literally a loser. I don't mean that in a rude way, I'm just saying, she literally lost in 2020 to Claire Renatti. She's a has-been. She's trying again this time, but she will lose again," said conservative radio host Mark Bruce, who hosts a daily program in Starksmin.

In 2020, Paulson lost to Conservative Sen. Claire Renatti in a close race by a 47.9% - 49.7% margin, respectively.