Tea Party

Can The Kentucky Tea Party Win? An Election Analysis

Kenny Colston — Tue, 29 Jan 2013 20:58:16 +0000

With the news that more than a dozen tea party groups are actively recruiting a GOP candidate to run against U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell in 2014, it’s worth taking a look at how Kentucky tea party-endorsed candidates have fared in statewide or Congressional races.

Since forming in the run up to the 2010 mid-term elections, Kentucky's tea party has won more than a third of the races its challenged for prominent offices, and its candidates have won several primaries over Republican establishment candidates.

Here's a rundown:

Politico: Left-Wing Groups Say They'll Support Tea Party Efforts Against McConnell

Kevin Willis — Tue, 29 Jan 2013 14:25:20 +0000

Politics makes strange bedfellows. That wise old adage is being proven once again in Kentucky, where some liberal activists and left-wing super PACs are telling Tea Party groups they'll support a conservative challenge against U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell in the 2014 GOP primary.

Politico reports the goal for liberals would be to "soften up" McConnell in the primary, in hopes that he would then be vulnerable against a strong Democratic challenger in the November general election.

No big-name Democratic challengers have thrown their hats into the ring yet, with only Owensboro home-builder Ed Marksberry so far committing to the race. Rumors have been swirling regarding a potential Senate run by Kentucky-born actress Ashley Judd, but Judd recently said she is undecided about entering the race.

McConnell finds himself taking heat from the right, with some Kentucky Tea Party groups accusing the GOP incumbent of being too moderate in recent negotiations over the fiscal cliff.

And a recent Courier-Journal Bluegrass poll shows 34% of those surveyed said they would vote against McConnell in 2014, with just 17% saying they'll vote for the Louisville Republican. Forty-four percent said they were undecided.

Tea Party Activists Take Aim at Kentucky Health Insurance Exchange

Associated Press — Thu, 24 Jan 2013 22:22:46 +0000

Tea party activists are pushing to dismantle Kentucky's new health insurance exchange before it even gets off the ground.

Activists said Thursday after a board meeting for the Kentucky Health Benefit Exchange that they are supporting a bill to require legislative approval of the exchange, which was created by executive order of the governor.

Meanwhile, exchange executive director Carrie Banahan told board members that progress is being made in setting up a website that's supposed to make picking health insurance similar to buying an airline ticket from an online travel site. The site will allow consumers to compare costs and benefits.

Exchanges are a key part of the President Barack Obama's health-care overhaul. Banahan predicts about 300,000 people will purchase insurance through Kentucky's exchange.

Kentucky's 2013 Legislative Session Will Open with Tea Party Rally against Health Care Law

Kenny Colston — Mon, 07 Jan 2013 08:00:00 +0000

Kentucky Tea Party activists are carrying their fight against the Affordable Care Act into the new year.

Before the first gavel of the session Tuesday, Tea Party activists plan to rally in the Capitol Rotunda against the ACA.

It’s the second capital rally against the law, which Kentucky has actively worked to implement under an executive order from Governor Steve Beshear.

Rally organizer and activist David Adams says the goal of the event is to convince lawmakers to pass a measure overturning Beshear’s order.

McConnell: Tea Party Has Been a 'Good Movement' for Republican Party

Kenny Colston — Mon, 10 Dec 2012 14:09:30 +0000

U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell says the Tea Party has been good for the Republican Party. Critics of the Tea Party blame it for costing the GOP the majority in the U.S. Senate the past four years, citing high-profile losses in Delaware, Nevada and Indiana.

Last week, the leader of the Tea Party in the Senate, Jim DeMint of South Carolina, announced he was leaving to lead a think tank.

But McConnell says the Tea Party has done something important for the GOP -- it's energized the party.