Tea Party Group Launches First Primary Ads
The Tea Party Express, one of the national organizations representing the grassroots Tea Party movement, is launching its first 2010 primary ads this week in support of Nevada Republican Sharron Angle, a former state assemblywoman running to defeat Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.
In a field of more than a dozen candidates vying for the GOP Senate nomination, Angle is hardly the frontrunner. Yet in two television ads and one radio ad, the Tea Party Express contends that Angle is "the best choice for conservative Republicans." They highlight her opposition to higher taxes, "bailouts" and "Obamacare."
So far, Our Country Deserves Better, the Tea Party Express' political action committee, has spent $12K backing Angle, National Journal's Hotline reports.
While this is the group's first media buy for a GOP primary candidate this year, the Tea Party Express did provide financial support for new Massachusetts GOP Sen. Scott Brown. It also launched an aggressive campaign against former Democratic Rep. Bart Stupak of Michigan, who decided not to run for reelection this year after his controversial role in the health care debate.
Angle is lagging far behind the GOP frontrunners, former state Sen. Sue Lowden and Las Vegas businessman Danny Tarkanian.
