The Richmond Times-Dispatch suggested in an article a couple of days ago that Tea Partiers are splitting the vote in some hot Virginia races.
The anti-establishment mood among Republicans in congressional nominating contests does not appear to be manifesting itself in Virginia.
When Republican voters go to the polls in five primaries June 8, the establishment candidates appear to be the favorites. That’s, in part, because tea party and other anti-establishment groups are finding that there is weakness in numbers.
So many candidates are seeking the GOP nominations in the 2nd and 5th congressional districts that the candidates favored by insiders appear likely to win, even without garnering a majority of votes.
Around the country Tuesday, voters in both parties shook up the status quo in state primaries. Sen. Arlen Specter, D-Pa., lost his bid for renomination, and Sen. Blanche L. Lincoln, D-Ark., is headed to a runoff.
In Kentucky, Rand Paul, backed by tea-party activists, won the Republican U.S. Senate nomination by defeating Trey Grayson, the handpicked candidate of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.
But in Southside Virginia’s 5th District, because six Republican candidates are splitting votes, state Sen. Robert Hurt of Pittsylvania County is in an enviable position, said Isaac Wood of the University of Virginia’s Center for Politics.
Read on, there is lots more.
I’m probably politically naive but I see all these primary battles as a good thing. Presumably when the dust settles all the Tea Party folks will back the most conservative candidate in the general election and still be able to beat the likes of vulnerable Rep.Tom Perriello. And, as Tea Partiers continue their political enthusiasm after November their activism will hopefully serve to keep the winner more honest.
Ann Corcoran
Judy K. Warner
