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Apr. 12, 2014

Tea Party class of 2010 is shaping up to be problematic for Republican Party, even though the 2016 elections may be far off; challenges raise real possibility that party could seize control of both houses of Congress in 2014, only to lose it two years later as Democrats reclaim some of the seats lost in Tea Party wave.MORE

House Republicans formally ask Attorney Gen Eric H Holder Jr to begin a criminal investigation of Lois Lerner, the former Internal Revenue Service official caught up in the scandal over political targeting of Tea Party groups.MORE

Tea Party's failure to field a strong challenger to South Carolina Sen Lindsey Graham highlights fact that it has had trouble finding candidates to take out incumbents; while group has had success nudging the Republican party to the right with the implicit threat of primaries, it has only been able to seriously compete with one of eight Republican senators who are up for re-election in midterms.MORE

Republicans are challenging conservative advocacy groups head on in aggressive effort to undermine their credibility in 2014 midterm elections; goal is to deny them any Senate primary victories, cut into their fund-raising and diminish them as future force in Republican politics.MORE

Republican primaries for 2014 midterm elections in Texas underscore rightward shift in the party; while establishment candidates in some of the top races were successful, Tea Party candidates won in several down ballot races.MORE

Establishment Republican leaders in Texas defeat challengers from the right in statewide primary election, as conservatives inspired by Sen Ted Cruz largely fail to topple mainstream incumbents, and race for lieutenant governor heads for runoff.MORE

Group Tea Party Patriots celebrates its fifth anniversary as Sen Rand Paul and others address gathering in Washington; movement with growing clout is both Republican Party's greatest agitator and its biggest source of political energy, which has proved difficult to square since 2010 elections; internal differences exist on whether to fight or pitch 'big tent.'MORE

Long list of far-right candidates trying to unseat high-ranking Republicans in primaries reflects fissures within the party; situation is exemplified in Texas, where Tea Party candidate Katrina Pierson is challenging Rep Pete Sessions.MORE

Conservative Republican policy organization Heritage Foundation, under leadership of Jim DeMint, has become less an incubator for policy ideas and more a political organization feeding off the Tea Party movement; DeMint's approach, which has shifted focus away from research toward policy analysis tailored for social media, is designed to spread the foundation's ethos more broadly and among younger recruits.MORE

The rest is here:
Tea Party Movement - Times Topics - The New York Times