Politics

TheDC Election Outlook: The latest buzz in the Tea Party races

Alex Pappas Political Reporter
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WILMINGTON, Del.— Of the midterm races with interesting Tea Party components, here’s the latest buzz with about 24 hours to go until the polls open:

Tea Party Express is feeling good

“I feel great about Nevada. I feel good about Alaska,” Tea Party Express chairwoman Amy Kremer told The Daily Caller in an interview before a Sunday afternoon rally here in Delaware.

The Tea Party Express played major roles in the primaries in all three states — Nevada, Alaska and Delaware. In all three states, the organization endorsed a lesser-known Tea Party candidate challenging a more establishment candidate, and in all three instances, those insurgent Tea Party candidates shocked political observers and won.

—In Nevada, Republican Sharron Angle is leading Democratic Sen. Harry Reid by 4 points in the most recent polls. Nevada political columnist Jon Ralston, however, predicted on Sunday that Reid will overcome that and win on Tuesday.

—In Alaska, the race is still Republican Joe Miller’s to lose, though recent polls show a much closer race than ever expected against write-in candidate Sen. Lisa Murkoswi and Democrat Scott McAdams. Over the weekend, Miller’s campaign published audio of employees from Anchorage CBS affiliate KTVA discussing a story idea of finding a sex offender who supports Miller’s campaign. It was widely denounced by conservatives as an example of the media unfairly targeting Republicans.

—In Delaware, Republican Christine O’Donnell also spent the afternoon beating up on the press at the Tea Party Express rally. At that event, she announced that her campaign plans to air 30-minute televised specials between now and Election Day. “If you only know Christine O’Donnell from the distortions of the mainstream media, you need to watch this television special for an unfiltered look at who she is and where she stands on the issues that matter to Delaware’s voters,” her campaign said in a later release.

The Christine O’Donnell special, according to her campaign, will air on cable TV in New Castle County at 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. on Monday and Tuesday.

Polls still show O’Donnell down. Her Real Clear Politics average shows her losing by 14 points.

With 2010 almost over, what’s in store for the Tea Party Express in 2012?

“We are not thinking about it,” Kremer said. “Just trying to get through Tuesday.”

She did go on to say, however, about the 2012 presidential race: “The Tea Party movement will be strong and I’m sure we’ll be very involved.”

Tea Party Patriots planning election day rally in D.C.

Leaders of the Tea Party Patriots organization on election night will gather at 5:30 p.m. to plant Gadsden, Tea Party Patriots and American flags on the grounds of the Capitol to “reclaim the Capitol in the name of the citizens of the United States,” according to a release.