# How many senate races did the tea party cost/win the GOP **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [November 3, 2010, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-senate-races-did-the-tea-party-cost-win-the-gop/559343 "2010-11-03T16:38:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2010, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-senate-races-did-the-tea-party-cost-win-the-gop/559343/1 "2010-11-03T16:38:53Z")
They cost them Delware with O’Donnell. Alaska will still be GOP (either murkowski or Miller). However McAdams didn’t have a chance before the 3 way race. Bennet just won against Buck in Colorado. Reid won against Angle when he was set to lose before she was nominated. It seems the GOP lost at least 3 senate races because tea party candidates made the GOP less appealing to voters. Are there races where the establishment GOP candidate was going to lose the senate race but the tea party candidate won? Would Kentucky still have gone GOP if Paul hadn’t won the nomination? Would Wisconsin still be a Feingold state if the tea party candidate hadn’t won? Rubio won anyway in his 3 way race. So the battle between the tea party & GOP didn’t make a difference anymore than it did in Alaska. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2010, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-senate-races-did-the-tea-party-cost-win-the-gop/559343/2 "2010-11-03T16:57:12Z")
Indeed, Crist actually split the Democratic vote in Florida, instead of the Republican vote. ---
**Author:** ![Jas09](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d07c76/32.png) [@Jas09](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jas09)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2010, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-senate-races-did-the-tea-party-cost-win-the-gop/559343/3 "2010-11-03T16:59:44Z")
See, the answer on the up-side is very difficult. It’s not that the more extreme TP candidates did better than a traditional GOP candidate (in, say, KY). It’s two things: 1. GOP turnout was very good across the board, at least in part due to the TP movement 2. Independents across the board re-considered the GOP brand, at least in part due to TP presence Additionally, to a tea-party member, having Rand Paul in KY rather than a regular GOPer is completely worth not having Mike Castle in DE. ---
**Author:** ![What\_the](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f4b2a3/32.png) [@What\_the](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_the)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2010, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-senate-races-did-the-tea-party-cost-win-the-gop/559343/4 "2010-11-03T17:02:21Z")
Lots of focus on the Tea Party…what’s this, the 15th thread? Pretty interesting that a truly grass roots group that began less than two years ago is getting this much attention. Prediction… Lib hatred will increase over the next two years and the Teabaggers (might as well egg you all on) will only be more influential. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2010, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-senate-races-did-the-tea-party-cost-win-the-gop/559343/5 "2010-11-03T17:21:01Z")
Well, I suppose I _could_ have started a thread entitled “What Effect Will the Republican Party Have On The Election?” I’ll remember for next time. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2010, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-senate-races-did-the-tea-party-cost-win-the-gop/559343/6 "2010-11-03T17:23:28Z")
Spinoff of [this thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=578412) and [this thread.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=584132) We’ve been hearing Tea Party, Tea Party, Tea Party all year. Well, the [Tea Party candidates got mixed results.](http://www.boston.com/news/politics/articles/2010/11/03/tea_party_brews_mixed_results/) They got some in, but lost the GOP some seats that must have seemed in the bag for them, like Nevada and Delaware. If the Tea Party had never existed, would the GOP still have had an “enthusiasm gap” to win on? I’m thinking yes, as voter dissatisfaction was based mainly on the unemployment rate, not deficits or health care; and that would have been the same. ---
**Author:** ![Meatros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Meatros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meatros)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2010, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-senate-races-did-the-tea-party-cost-win-the-gop/559343/7 "2010-11-03T17:25:25Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > If the Tea Party had never existed, would the GOP still have had an “enthusiasm gap” to win on? I’m thinking yes, as voter dissatisfaction was based mainly on the unemployment rate, not deficits or health care; and that would have been the same. I think the GOP would still have done well, but _not_ quite as well as they did. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2010, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-senate-races-did-the-tea-party-cost-win-the-gop/559343/8 "2010-11-03T17:35:06Z")
> [@](#): > > Pretty interesting that a truly grass roots group that began less than two years ago is getting this much attention. Nah, the grassroots groups aren’t getting hardly any attention; the Tea Party is pushing them out of the limelight. ---
**Author:** ![Lobohan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobohan/32/79_2.png) [@Lobohan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobohan)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2010, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-senate-races-did-the-tea-party-cost-win-the-gop/559343/9 "2010-11-03T17:41:43Z")
> [@What\_the](#): > > Pretty interesting that a truly grass roots group that began less than two years ago is getting this much attention. The Tea Party isn’t grass roots. It’s run largely by Republican operatives. Also it has bland platitudes instead of actual ideas. “Reducing the size of government” is laudable. But you need to say exactly what you’re going to cut. No tea party candidate will actually say anything about what they’re going to cut. Most don’t seem to understand that cutting non-military discretionary spending can’t balance the budget. Anyone who thinks the Tea Party is grass-roots is simply nibbling the wangs of the Koche brothers and Dick Armey and thinking it’s linguica. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2010, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-senate-races-did-the-tea-party-cost-win-the-gop/559343/10 "2010-11-03T17:47:09Z")
Also a spinoff of [this](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=584157) thread, I guess . . . But I’m not just talking about the Senate, I’m talking about **all** the elections, federal and state. ---
**Author:** ![Fotheringay-Phipps](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/d9b06d/32.png) [@Fotheringay-Phipps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fotheringay-Phipps)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2010, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-senate-races-did-the-tea-party-cost-win-the-gop/559343/11 "2010-11-03T17:50:45Z")
The flip side is that Spector would have beaten Toomey. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2010, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-senate-races-did-the-tea-party-cost-win-the-gop/559343/12 "2010-11-03T17:56:42Z")
Merged duplicate threads. **twickster** , Election forum mod ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2010, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-senate-races-did-the-tea-party-cost-win-the-gop/559343/13 "2010-11-03T17:56:56Z")
delete ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2010, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-senate-races-did-the-tea-party-cost-win-the-gop/559343/14 "2010-11-03T18:15:00Z")
> [@What\_the](#): > > Lots of focus on the Tea Party…what’s this, the 15th thread? > > Pretty interesting that a truly grass roots group that began less than two years ago is getting this much attention. > > Prediction… Lib hatred will increase over the next two years and the Teabaggers (might as well egg you all on) will only be more influential. My impression is w/o the tea party the GOP would’ve won 3 more senate seats than they did. They might not have won in MA in the special election though. W/o the Rubio/crist issue Crist would be the senator right now, so that is a wash. This thread was about the senate, because if the GOP had won an extra 3 seats the senate might be tied at 50/50. FWIW, I don’t hate the tea party. I actually like them. I think they are going to bring down the GOP from the inside by pushing everyone but the most conservative 30% of the public out of the GOP. But since the GOP has no real plans or tools to shrink government or reduce the deficit, what happens to the tea party movement in 2012 and 2014? ---
**Author:** ![Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/f04885/32.png) [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qin_Shi_Huangdi)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2010, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-senate-races-did-the-tea-party-cost-win-the-gop/559343/15 "2010-11-04T01:10:10Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > Indeed, Crist actually split the Democratic vote in Florida, instead of the Republican vote. Thank God for Charlie Crist then! ---
**Author:** ![DigitalC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ebca7d/32.png) [@DigitalC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DigitalC)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2010, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-senate-races-did-the-tea-party-cost-win-the-gop/559343/16 "2010-11-04T02:07:53Z")
I think without the Tea Party the Republican gains in the House would have been much smaller but they would have taken the Senate for sure. Overall that seems like a negative. ---
**Author:** ![Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/f04885/32.png) [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qin_Shi_Huangdi)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2010, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-senate-races-did-the-tea-party-cost-win-the-gop/559343/17 "2010-11-04T02:15:44Z")
Mark Levin’s whining about how Lindsey Graham and John McCain aren’t conservative enough. LOL. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![DoctorJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctorj/32/2904_2.png) [@DoctorJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DoctorJ)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2010, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-senate-races-did-the-tea-party-cost-win-the-gop/559343/18 "2010-11-04T14:33:35Z")
> [@](#): > > Would Kentucky still have gone GOP if Paul hadn’t won the nomination? Yes. Trey Grayson would have beaten Jack Conway handily. He might not have had the national support that allowed Paul’s ads to dwarf Conway’s they way they did, but Conway’s operation (and the KY Dems in general) would have been just as incompetent and would have found some way to screw it up. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2010, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-senate-races-did-the-tea-party-cost-win-the-gop/559343/19 "2010-11-04T16:24:00Z")
> [@Wesley\_Clark](#): > > My impression is w/o the tea party the GOP would’ve won 3 more senate seats than they did. They might not have won in MA in the special election though. W/o the Rubio/crist issue Crist would be the senator right now, so that is a wash. You are ignoring the high probability that the TP movement increased turnout among conservatives. We’re talking about the movement as a whole, not just its candidates. ---
**Author:** ![DigitalC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ebca7d/32.png) [@DigitalC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DigitalC)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2010, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-senate-races-did-the-tea-party-cost-win-the-gop/559343/20 "2010-11-04T17:26:45Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > You are ignoring the high probability that the TP movement increased turnout among conservatives. We’re talking about the movement as a whole, not just its candidates. Right, but the Republican gains were so big that even with slightly less enthusiasm they would have taken the House without much trouble. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-senate-races-did-the-tea-party-cost-win-the-gop/559343.md?page=2)