Anti-Incumbent Fever? Tea Party Landslide? Think Again
March 3, 2010 at 10:16 AM Leave a comment
The talking heads keep telling us that (1) every incumbent in Washington had better watch their back, and (2) the Tea Party movement is going to bring big change in November.
Bearing that in mind, I found this revealing article about the primary in Texas yesterday, particularly this about the incumbents there:
Yet the same anti-Washington sentiment that fueled Perry’s success failed to surge down the ballot as every House incumbent on the ballot won re-nomination without even the bother of a runoff.
Even as Perry successfully tapped into the raw anger toward Washington, other Tea Party-inspired candidates found little success.
Debra Medina, the third GOP gubernatorial contender and the most authentic outsider in the contest, garnered only about 19 percent of the vote.
Further down the ballot, the results were even more telling.
No incumbent GOP House member in the Texas delegation caught a scare, much less lost, against a grassroots conservative challenger.
While 86-year-old Rep. Ralph Hall had the closest contest, he still bested his nearest challenger, a self-proclaimed “Tea Party Republican,” by a two-to-one margin.
So while the media is beating the drums for a big fight high ratings, what they’re saying isn’t necessarily playing out in real life.
Entry filed under: 2010 Election. Tags: .
Trackback this post | Subscribe to the comments via RSS Feed