In the wake of defeats of establishment candidates in recent Republican and Democrat primaries around the country, two Virginia Tea Party leaders are personally continuing that trend by endorsing non-establishment candidates in their respective districts.

Karen Miner Hurd, Founder of the Hampton Roads Tea Party, privately endorses Ben Loyola for Congress in the GOP primary (2^nd district) and chooses not to endorse Scott Rigell, who has the endorsement of Governor McDonnell, Eric Cantor, Bill Bolling, and many others. Rigell donated $1,000 to Obama for President, $1,000 to Mark Warner for Governor, and $10,000 to support a sales tax increase referendum in 2000. You can read her full statement here.

Mark Lloyd, Chairman of the Lynchburg Tea Party and Vice Chairman of the VA Tea Party Patriots, privately endorses Jim McKelvey in the GOP primary to run against Tom Perriello (5^th district) and goes against State Senator Robert Hurt, who has been endorsed by Congressman Cantor and many others. You can read his full statement here.

RTP isn’t taking a position on these races, but we want to keep you informed on the interesting electoral developments throughout our state. It seems Virginia (and the rest of the country) may be mounting a serious challenge to the establishment in both political parties.

Yahoo News, December 7, 2009

“The response of all those who were polled was Democratic 36%, Tea Party 23% and Republican 18%. Further, the poll found that independents are more inclined to vote for a tea party candidate over Democratic or Republican candidates.  While some Republicans have expressed dismay over the emergence of the tea party movement, others have suggested that the GOP should embrace the group and its issues.”  Read More…

CBS 4, December 16, 2009

“The Florida GOP race is being followed closely by national political watchers to see what, if any, impact the tea party movement might have amongst GOP voters.”  Read More…