Tea Party Conversation: 67.4%
Mike Lee is serving up strong Tea over in Utah. His convention coup against incumbent Republican Senator Bob Bennett was a classic Tea Party victory—a triumph of passionate supporters in a closed contest, with a dose of RINO-hunting for good measure. Bennett was tagged by his opponents as a pork-lover—but an added bit of anger came from his "collaboration" with Oregon Democrat Ron Wyden on health-care reform. The 38-year-old Lee—a former clerk for Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito—enjoyed the support of conservative Senator Jim DeMint and the Dick Armey’s FreedomWorks PAC. Lee faces political newcomer Sam Granato, chairman of the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control in the general election—but in Utah, winning the GOP nomination is akin to winning the general. Looks like Mike Lee will be bringing Tea Party power to the Senate in 2011.
Tea Party Conversation: 63.3%
This is the epic Tea Party battle between the establishment and the insurgent. It is also a proxy war for Sarah Palin’s influence on her home turf. The Murkowski family has run the Alaskan GOP for decades, securing loyalties by bringing home the bacon. This approach to governing offends Tea Party supporters, and in a stunning upset, the Palin-backed social and fiscal conservative Joe Miller defeated the incumbent Murkowski, dissing her as representing the "center-right—but she won’t stay dead. Instead, she’s embarked on a quixotic write-in candidacy that has party loyalists wringing their hands. If anyone can be the first senator since Strom Thurmond to win a write-in campaign (Democrat Scott McAdams has very little chance) in could be Lisa Murkowski. This is an intra-party Tea Party showdown that’s going late into Election Night.
Tea Party Conversation: 61.0%
Rhode Island is hardly considered a hotbed of conservative intrigue. But the retirement of Patrick Kennedy from the House has created a rare opening to represent Providence in Congress. And the popular mayor of Providence, Democrat David Cicilline, is running for the seat. Why the Tea Party buzz? Well, it could be because Cicilline is openly gay—a fact incidental to his job performance but the subject of some national fascination, both pro and con. The Tea Party also has surprising strength in Rhode Island, out-polling Republicans in a recent state poll of party identification. Cicilline is leading Republican State Representative John Loughlin by double digits.
Tea Party Conversation: 58.1%
Say what you want about Crazy Carl – and I’ve said
plenty – he’s shaken up the race for governor in New York State. Beginning with his defeat of the assumed party nominee, Rick Lazio, the Buffalo –based businessman has been hitting Tea Party themes in a state where both the Tea Party and GOP are not strong but anger is rising. But his “I’m mad as hell and not going to take it any more” campaign has ignited some national as well as local debate.
Tea Party Conversation: 56.4%
The Tea Party has apparently taken a keen interest in this open House seat once held by John Quincy Adams. The Cape Cod-based district, vacated by Representative Bill Delahunt after more than a decade, is considered reliably liberal, but conservative Jeffrey Perry has benefited from massive Tea Party support, including volunteers who are reportedly filling local the motels in advance of the election. He’s hoping to pull off another Scott Brown style upset, made possible by the fact that independents outnumber Democrats or Republicans in the Bay State. And while Perry has proclaimed “I go to Tea Party meetings. I’m not trying to separate myself from the grassroots Tea Party movement,” he also declared his independence to a degree when he dismissed Sarah Palin as “an entertainer.”
Tea Party Conversation: 55.9%
Tea Party Conversation: 55.9%
This race is neck-and-neck between independent Lincoln Chafee and Democrat Frank Caprio with Republican John Robitaille trailing a distant third. So why the Tea Party interest? It could be because Lincoln Chafee—a former Republican senator—is a hated figure among the far-right. As a pro-choice, pro-environment Republican, he was the target of repeated RINO hunts. Despite a 61 percent approval rating, he ultimately lost his seat in the Democratic wave of ’06. Now, he’s declared his independence, with both conservative populists and local Democrats in opposition. A win would make national news and deliver Rhode Island its first independent governor.
Tea Party Conversation: 55%
This is a marquee Senate race by any measure, and will be seen as a key test of Tea Party strength. Rand Paul comes from Tea Party royalty—his father being Texas’ legendary libertarian Congressman Ron Paul. He defeated Mitch McConnell’s hand-picked Senate candidate riding a national Tea Party wave—now he’s facing Attorney General Jack Conway, who has been surging in recent polls.
Tea Party Conversation: 53.8%
“Live Free or Die” might as well be the Tea Party slogan, so New Hampshire is a hotbed of libertarian-minded support. This Senate race pits the appointed Attorney General Kelly Ayotte against Congressman Paul Hodes. She narrowly survived a Tea Party-backed challenger but now appears to be surging as part of Sarah Palin’s “Mama Grizzly” corps. Given New Hampshire’s first-in-the-nation primary, this Senate race has national implications.
Tea Party Conversation: 52.9%
This is the House seat that gave us last year’s Dede Scozzafava RINO-hunting fiasco, which elected Democrat Bill Owens to Congress in a district that had been solid Republican since 1872. Conservative Tea Party candidate Doug Hoffman failed to win the primary this year as well—now Owens faces Matt Doheny.
Tea Party Conversation: 52.5%
This was Mike Castle’s seat until he gave it up to run for Senate and lost to Christine O’Donnell. That national news-making fiasco brought national Tea Party attention to this normally sleepy state-wide House seat. The GOP nominee is Glen Urquhart, a conservative real-estate developer who defeated the establishment candidate thanks to Tea Party support. He is facing the former Lieutenant Governor John Carney in the general election. With O’Donnell becoming a lightning rod and getting crushed in polls, Urquhart is trying hard not to get caught in that undertow.
Tea Party Conversation: 52.4%
With Rand Paul getting so much national Tea Party attention, he’s helped lift the GOP prospects of taking back the 3rd Congressional District, which comprises much of Louisville. Conservative Todd Lally has rallied the Tea Party faithful with his military record and great ads like the following K-Tel spinoff against incumbent John Yarmouth. It’s definitely worth watching:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_hMoG3kvwW4
Tea Party Conversation: 52.1%
The Tea Party movement reflects Western conservative values (albeit more Barry Goldwater than Dick Cheney) and freshman Democrat Betsy Markey is looking vulnerable against Republican Cory Gardner. While Republicans have managed to cannibalize their gubernatorial race, with Dan Maes and Tom Tancredo running against Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper, Markey’s district looks like a winnable outlet for their anger.
Tea Party Conversation: 50.7%
No Republican has won this Deep South seat since after the Civil War, but this is the year that could be changing. GOP candidate Mo Brooks has been firing up supporters with his “Fire Pelosi” bus tour and Democrat standard-bearer Steve Raby is on the defensive. With plenty of Tea Party enthusiasm backing Brooks, this final Southern Democrat domino could fall.
Tea Party Conversation: 50.5%
The name Michele Bachmann is all you need some days to spark a vigorous debate. The founder of the Tea Party Caucus is a magnet for publicity, mouthing Wingnut claims that fire up her base and alternately infuriate and delight her opponents. Despite raising millions of dollars from conservative activist groups, she’s getting a tough run in a Republican year from Democrat Tarryl Clark. This is a conservative district, but Minnesotans have an allergy to right-wing extremists who embarrass their state.
Tea Party Conversation: 50.2%
The Tea Party Express’ $250,000 donation to Christine O’Donnell, despite her only getting $5,000 in state donations the previous month, helped give the two-time Senate race loser the momentum she needed to defeat Mike Castle. A steady drumbeat of self-inflicted scandals and absurdities later, O’Donnell has fallen in the polls to Democrat Chris Coons’ candidacy, which is surging mostly due to the fact that he’s not Christine O’Donnell. But while O’Donnell’s association with the Tea Party may be a negative in her state, she’s been able to raise even more national money by becoming a cause—and taking negative attention away from candidates like Sharron Angle, who remain competitive.
