Tea party movement ousts Sen. Bob in Utah

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Tea party movement ousts Sen. Bob in Utah

By Brad Knickerbocker Brad Knickerbocker – Sat May 8, 8:36 pm ET

The " tea party " movement has carved a major notch in its political pistol grip.

At the GOP nominating convention in Salt Lake City Saturday, Sen. Bob

® of Utah came in a distant third behind two other Republican candidates vying

for the Senate seat Mr. has held for three terms.

is generally considered to be conservative – he favors gun rights and

tighter immigration controls, and he has a lifetime rating of 84 percent from

the American Conservative Union. But he was targeted by tea partyers for his

2008 vote in favor of the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) bank bailout.

also had co-sponsored a bipartisan bill to mandate health insurance

coverage (although he eventually voted against the health care reform bill

President Obama signed).

The remaining Republican candidates after Saturday's vote – attorney Mike Lee

and businessman Tim Bridgewater – were to face each other in a second round of

voting by the 3,500 delegates. If neither Lee nor Bridgewater gets 60 percent of

the vote, they will face off in a primary election June 22.

's involuntary retirement from the family business (his father had been a

US senator for four terms) reflects general political agitation these days –

especially the growing clout of tea party conservatives and libertarians who've

moved from raucous demonstrators to a movement that has increasing impact.

" The tea party movement has achieved a prominence in the conversation in part

because of the silence from the traditional elected Republican leadership, and

now that leadership has been driven right by tea party rhetoric, " University of

Wisconsin political scientist lin told the Monitor's Patrik Jonsson

last month. " That has moved the party in the tea party direction, but it can't

help but also bring the tea party a little bit closer to the political

mainstream. "

Whether or not the tea party movement can really influence elections – this year

or in 2012 – is an open question. For now, most of its political impact is

within the Republican Party – particularly in the selection of candidates, where

activists tend to have more clout.

More than a quarter of all Republicans and 36 percent of conservative

Republicans say they're more likely to back a tea party-affiliated candidate,

according to a recent Washington Post poll, as are 39 percent of those who

consider themselves to be " very conservative. "

That turned out to be the case in Utah this weekend, where longtime conservative

Republican was ousted despite what in effect was a rousing nomination

speech by that other well-known Mormon politician and presidential candidate –

Mitt Romney.

It's not exactly a trend, but 's political demise follows Florida

Governor Charlie Crist's decision to run as an independent in that state's US

Senate race – pushed out by a more-conservative-than-thou fellow Republican

favored by tea partyers.

Democrats are making hay of the GOP's rightward tug by tea party activists.

" If there was any question before, there should now be no doubt that the

Republican leadership has handed the reins to the Tea Party, " Democratic

National Committee chairman Tim Kaine said in a statement.

Related:

Is the 'tea party' in Utah set to oust a Republican senator?

From punchline to powerhouse: the 'tea party' at one year