Tea Party Endorsed Candidates Dominate Election 2014

Tea Party leaders are celebrating their victories at the polls. An examination of the results of the 2014 general elections by the Institute for Research and Education on Human Rights reveals that Tea Party endorsed candidates continued to outperform at the ballot box this year. National Tea Party groups, most notably FreedomWorks and Tea Party Patriots, endorsed 80 candidates for federal office in yesterday’s general election. Tea Party endorsed candidates ended up winning 58 of those races—a 73% winning percentage.

The House

Despite all the talk of the “establishment” successfully beating back Tea Party challenges earlier in the year, Tea Party endorsed candidates for the House of Representatives won 41 and lost just 18 races during the primaries—a 69% winning percentage. While it received scant attention this year, Tea Party victories in the primaries gave them a significant footing heading into November.

In the general election, of the 59 Tea Party endorsed candidates in 30 different states, 48 won while only eleven lost – an 81% success rate. Of the eleven that lost, several lost to fellow Republicans. For instance, Tea Party favorite Clint Didier in Washington State’s 4th Congressional District race who was defeated by Republican Tom Newhouse.

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Tea Party Endorsed Candidates – US House

National Tea Party groups endorsed fewer candidates in 2014 than in previous years. By contrast, in 2012, national Tea Party groups endorsed 83 candidates, 68 won and 15 lost. The 2012 winning percentage in the House of over 80% was above the 2010 winning percentage of 63%, when 85 of the 135 endorsed candidates won.

Another growing trend among Tea Party endorsed candidates is incumbency. Nearly two-thirds of the candidates endorsed by national Tea Party groups in this year’s general election were incumbents. Of the 48 winners, 30 were incumbents, while only 18 were challengers. For all intents and purposes, the Tea Party has become “the establishment” in many of these districts.

The Senate

Tea Party endorsed candidates for the Senate fared significantly better in 2014 than in previous years.

In the primaries this year, Tea Party endorsed candidates ran in 21 races, winning 10 primaries and losing 11 races—a 48% winning percentage.

Despite some nasty primary contests, like that between Greg Brannon and Thom Tillis in North Carolina, national Tea Party groups often backed the winners of those contests in the general election. It seems winning control of the Senate took precedence over ideological purity. National Tea Party groups endorsed 21 Senate candidates in yesterday’s general election. Of the 21 candidates, 17 won while just 4 were defeated–also an 81% success rate. By comparison, just two of thirteen Tea Party Senate candidates won in 2012, a 15% winning percentage. In 2010, ten of sixteen Tea Party endorsed candidates won – a 63% winning percentage.

Given the number of Senate seats that had been controlled by Democrats, it’s not surprising to find that 13 of the 21 Tea Party endorsed Senate candidates were challengers. All eight incumbents endorsed by Tea Party groups won, while 9 of the 13 challengers were successful at the polls.

Tea Party Endorsed Candidates – US Senate