Republican women step to the fore with primary victories

In Nevada, Sharron Angle, supported by tea party activists, won the GOP nod to contend against Democratic Sen. Harry Reid, who has been seen as vulnerable by analysts. In South Carolina, conservative state Rep. Nikki Haley, who had tea party support and whose campaign was dogged by scandalous rumors, gained the most votes in that state's GOP gubernatorial primary. But she failed to secure a majority and will face U.S. Rep. Gresham Barrett in a runoff election on June 22. Another hopeful with tea party backing, Paul Lepage, won the Republican gubernatorial primary in Maine.

Democratic Sen. Blanche Lincoln, whose campaign was attacked by unions and progressives for her conservative stance on health care reform, eked out a victory over Lt. Gov. Bill Halter in Arkansas' Democratic senatorial primary, getting 52 percent of the vote to Halter's 48 percent.

The anti-establishment mood among voters showed itself in Nevada not only in Angle's victory, but also in the defeat of Republican Gov. Jim Gibbons for the nomination to run for re-election. South Carolina Republican Rep. Bob Inglis has been forced into a June 22 runoff by conservative challenger Trey Gowdy.

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Conservative guru Grover Norquist, of Americans for Tax Reform, said the tea party is infusing new life into the Republican cause.

"Many people who are moved by issues but aren't traditional political people can be disruptive and can appear cranky, but the assimilation is good for the GOP," Norquist said. "And you see this especially in primaries, because that is where people who are passionate about issues can take up the fight."

Norquist predicted victory for the GOP in November, saying they will take between 5 and 10 Senate seats and recapture the majority in the House.

Democratic strategist Ed Gresser, of the Democratic Leadership Council, disagreed.

"Typically, on the national level, the opposition party does well in a mid-term election year," Gresser said. "This year, we also have 9 to 10 percent unemployment, and people are unhappy with the general ways things are going in the nation. You would think that the Republicans would be united against us and ready to gain substantially. But that is not the case. There is, instead, a great deal of dissension in the Republican Party, and a great deal of anger against traditional Republican candidates."

Can the tea party conservatives lead the GOP to victory in November?  Jennifer Duffy, senior writer for the Cook Political Report, thinks they may run into difficulties.

"Rand Paul did not run into difficulties until he was a nominee and had the national spotlight trained on him," Duffy said. "A candidate like Sharron Angle may have similar difficulties. She may have ridden an issue her supporters are passionate about into the nomination, but she will face more questions and more scrutiny during the general election campaign."

Norquist noted that Rand Paul, the GOP nominee for a Kentucky Senate seat, and a tea party favorite, still holds a lead over his Democratic rival in recent polling, despite some controversial remarks about the Civil Rights Act.

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