Old dogs do have to learn new tricks. The trick for John McCain was how to make certain that he didn’t lose the Arizona Republican Primary to a Tea Party endorsed candidate, J.D. Hayworth. Other individuals had candidates like McCain had. Luckily, John McCain was pretty good at making sure his campaign went through. Hayworth lost and can’t run again for six years. The Tea Party stuff is what everyone wants to learn about. That is why the Alaska Senate race and Florida Senate race are so closely watched.
McCain beats Tea Party
Senator John McCain was defeated within the last presidential election as a republican. He had to fight in this primary. Former congressman J.D. Hayworth, a Republican and Tea Party darling, was gunning for his Senate seat, along with many other anti-incumbent candidates. Hayworth ended up showing his hostility toward the Washington establishment. This didn’t help him at all. McCain received about 60 percent of the vote and Hayworth only 30 percent. CNN reports that McCain spent $20 million on campaigning and changed his ideas on immigration. Democrats don’t stand a chance this year.
Sunshine State Senate
The Florida election results 2010 should prove interesting. Running as an independent is Governor Charlie Crist. Running under republican is Tea Party Marco Rubio that is also a member of Florida legislature. The Democratic primary just concluded, and Representative Kendrick Meek upset billionaire Jeff Greene. Greene paid for his campaign out of pocket.
Alaska elections
The home state of Sarah Palin also has a closely viewed election for the U.S. Senate. Longtime incumbent Lisa Murkowski faces a challenge within the Republican primary from Jeff Miller, a Tea Party affiliated candidate who also has an endorsement from Sarah Palin. Miller leads by just a very miniscule amount. Success was shown in the primaries for the Tea Party. Of course, November will show how deep that success is.
Additional reading
CNN
cnn.com/2010/POLITICS/08/25/tuesday.primaries/index.html?hpt=T2
