Tea partiers won some and lost some last night, but their influence
was strong enough to make a statement: the movement has made a
difference.
Christine O’Donnell and Sharron Angle lost by healthy margins, but
Marco Rubio, Rand Paul, and others won big. Voters from
Pennsylvania to Wisconsin elected politicians with a distinctly
conservative bent — one that was clearly influenced by the tea party.
“This is an organic movement. I don’t think that they can be
characterized as anything other than having had a very dramatic
effect,” said Rep. Steve King, (R-Iowa), who won his election handily
last night and has emerged as a national tea party favorite.
In Pennsylvania, Pat Toomey eked out a lead that was hard-fought and
late-breaking; returns showed him behind his competitor until
midnight. He was widely characterized as being “too conservative” for
Pennsylvania, which is generally a more moderate purple state. He tried to downplay
that reputation as the campaign came to a close.
“It is important to note that tonight’s victory was not a partisan
victory,” said Toomey, in his victory speech. “I could not have won
with only Republican votes. It was because of Republicans and
Democrats and Independents that we are celebrating here tonight… I
will be a Senator for all Pennsylvanians.”
Marco Rubio has tempered his early primary message as well, and
managed to earn widespread appeal among those who don’t even associate
with the tea party. But it’s clear the tea party put him in office.
His early appeal to conservative media and his impeccable grassroots
outreach was made possible because of the movement, which came about
at just the same time that Rubio hit the national scene.
Sean Duffy and Allen West were two House races that emphasized tea
party support; Duffy solidified tea party support in Wisconsin’s 7th
district after a fractious primary — the same can almost be said of
Republican Senator-Elect Ron Johnson, at the top of the Wisconsin
ticket. Allen West won because of grassroots support in Florida; his
defeat of Democrat Ron Klein in Florida’s 22nd district was a push
towards the right that will be an interesting fit for independent
Sunshine State voters.
If Joe Miller and Ken Buck win their yet-undecided contests in Alaska
and Colorado, the tea party’s emphasis will be even more pronounced.