AP: White takes on Terry's fiscal record

Margery Beck, Associated Press
May 12, 2010

Incumbent Lee Terry secured the GOP nomination Tuesday and will have a chance to win a seventh term representing Nebraska's 2nd District in Congress.

With all precincts reporting, Terry had about 63 percent of the vote in the GOP primary to defeat challenger Matt Sakalosky, who had billed himself as the tea party candidate.

Reached Tuesday night, Sakalosky said he'll throw his support to Terry in the general election.

"We said in the very beginning that the primary is the time that you have a discussion within the party," Sakalosky said. "But after tonight, we're going to close ranks as a party."

Terry now looks to the November general election, in which he will face Democratic state Sen. Tom White. White is looking to give Democrats what they've been seeking for a dozen years: a win in the 2nd District.

White said he's encouraged that one of every three Republican votes Tuesday was for Terry's opponent _ which some attributed to tea party voters fed up with Washington.

White said he believes he can draw support from tea party supporters who favor smaller government, lower taxes and less spending.

"I've always been much more fiscally conservative than Mr. Terry," said White, a state senator from Omaha. "When his party and his president were in power for six years ... he voted time after time for record deficits and budget-busting, pork-laden boondoggles."