Within minutes of Murkowski’s conceding late Tuesday night, Republican Senator Jim DeMint of South Carolina was among the conservatives cheering Miller.
“He pulled off the upset victory of the year because he ran on principles and because Alaskans, like all Americans, want to stop the massive spending, bailouts, and debt that are bankrupting our country,’’ said DeMint.
Taking a shot at Murkowski, if not the entire Republican establishment, he added: “Joe Miller’s victory should be a wake-up call to politicians who go to Washington to bring home the bacon. Voters are saying, ‘We’re not willing to bankrupt the country to benefit ourselves.’ ’’
Murkowski, who was seeking her second full term, was the first GOP incumbent to lose her renomination bid to a Tea Party-backed challenger in a Republican primary.
But Utah Senator Bob Bennett lost his job, too, fired at the state convention in May when Tea Party activists and other GOP voters rallied behind Mike Lee. And Tea Party favorites Rand Paul in Kentucky, Sharron Angle in Nevada, and Ken Buck in Colorado won their primaries over establishment-supported candidates in open races.
Now the country’s latest political phenomenon is turning its sights on the Sept. 14 Delaware Senate primary in hopes that its preferred candidate can vanquish a moderate hand-picked by GOP leaders in Washington, Representative Mike Castle, and win an open seat once held by Vice President Joe Biden.
AFL-CIO gears up to help Democrats keep majorities
WASHINGTON — Union leaders said yesterday they will mobilize millions of members in 26 states with a message about “economic patriotism’’ as they try to help Democrats hold onto their majorities in the House and Senate.
The nation’s largest labor federation plans to spend more than $50 million leading up to the November elections, targeting 70 House races and 18 Senate races with television ads, phone banks, and leaflets.
In a response to the antiestablishment anger of activists of the Tea Party movement, AFL-CIO president Richard Trumka called on voters to think about “economic patriots’’ and “corporate traitors.’’
