The Tea Party has exploded on the national scene, but its results this year in Virginia have been more muted.
So-called “establishment” candidates Robert Hurt and Scott Rigell emerged from crowded primary pools in the 5th and 2nd districts, respectively, to win Republican nominations for Congress.
Rigell defeated the Tea Party-supported Ben Loyola in the 2nd District but has since agreed to sign a “Tea Party Pledge” to voters, which has helped to dispel some reservations about him, said Jamie Radtke, chairman of the Virginia Tea Party Patriots Federation.
Meanwhile, in the 5th District, Hurt has refused to appear at three debates with U.S. Rep. Tom Perriello, D-Va., and independent candidate Jeffrey Clark, who has ties to the Tea Party.
“The Tea Party has been powerful enough to splinter the Republican Party in Virginia’s 2nd and 5th districts — backing conservative alternatives to Republican candidates — and nominating an extremist in Keith Fimian who is almost as far out of the mainstream for Fairfax as Christine O’Donnell is in Delaware,” said Jesse Ferguson, a spokesman for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.
Nevertheless, the Virginia Tea Party Federation is planning to introduce a package of legislative proposals for next year’s General Assembly session at its convention next month, Radtke said.
The group helped push for passage of the Virginia Health Care Freedom Act, she said. The act is one of the bases for Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli’s lawsuit over the federal health care law.
Garren Shipley, a spokesman for the Republican Party of Virginia, welcomed the prospect of Tea Party influence within GOP ranks.
“Any time there’s a group of highly motivated, self-organizing voters that believe in lower taxes, limited government, constitutional restraint and fiscal responsibility, candidates who share those same beliefs are going to benefit,” he said.
