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JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) - Sarah Palin is mounting an aggressive campaign in Missouri - in television and radio ads, in automated telephone calls, even serving barbecued pork sandwiches at a rural political picnic. She's urging residents to vote for Sarah - Sarah Steelman, one of three Republicans in a prickly U.S. Senate primary.
Fresh off a resounding Republican runoff victory by Ted Cruz in Texas, Palin and the tea party movement now are trying to capitalize in primaries this month in Missouri, Wisconsin and Arizona. But they may pose a more difficult test than in Texas, where the charismatic Cruz waged an outsider's campaign against the Republican establishment's pick of Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst.
In Tuesday's primary in Missouri, conservative loyalties are fractured among a trio of candidates all preaching a smaller-government message while splitting the endorsements of conservative celebrities. In Wisconsin, the would-be tea party beneficiaries are up against a political icon - former four-term Gov. Tommy Thompson. In all three states, millionaire businessmen are self-financing campaigns focused more on a Main Street message of job-creation than a direct tea party appeal.
The uncertain outlook shows that winning as a tea party candidate still takes a combination of factors, even in states where Republicans are conservative and getting more so. Holding sole claim to the tea party label is a big help, along with strong campaign skills and vulnerable opponents.
Few hopefuls manage to have all three.
"The voters in Missouri are conservative like Texas, so I certainly hope it's going to help," Steelman said a day after Cruz's victory on July 31, as she passed out newly printed fliers featuring Palin's face and Steelman's 12-point platform to a lunchtime crowd at a Jefferson City diner.
She and other Republican candidates have taken notice of Cruz's powerful coalition - featuring Palin and other tea party stars such as South Carolina Sen. Jim DeMint and Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul; talk-show personalities Glenn Beck and Sean Hannity; and financially stacked political groups such as the Club for Growth and FreedomWorks for America. But she, and the multiple conservative contenders in the other states, are splitting the key endorsements with their opponents, creating a murkier picture for voters.
Steelman, 54, is a former state senator and treasurer who lost a Republican primary for governor four years ago. Her father is a former Missouri Republican Party chairman and her husband a former attorney general candidate. She's hardly a political outsider as she seeks to challenge Democratic Sen. Claire McCaskill. Yet she's running on a slogan of "the status quo has got to go," she has the endorsement of the Tea Party Express and she's airing a TV ad in which Palin describes her as an economist "who defends our tax dollars like a momma grizzly defends her cubs."
Some grassroots tea party activists aren't impressed.
"She tried to attach herself to the tea party without actually getting our approval. None of us in the tea party really appreciated that," said Jeannine Huskey, 56, of Eureka, who is supporting businessman John Brunner.
Brunner, 60, is the former CEO and chairman of health care products manufacturer Vi-Jon Inc. He has poured more than $7.5 million into a campaign centered on his private-sector experience, and he's benefiting from millions more in advertising by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Brunner also has the support of FreedomWorks, which aided Cruz.
Brunner doesn't describe himself as a tea party candidate. But he says: "I think there is a groundswell going across the country," citing victories by Cruz and tea party favorite Richard Mourdock, who defeated Sen. Richard Lugar for the GOP nomination in Indiana. He adds: "I believe folks are looking a little more intensely in terms of what are the featured attributes and elements we need in Washington, D.C., to get the job done."
Brunner, Steelman and the Club for Growth all have criticized the third prominent Republican in the race - Rep. Todd Akin -for using earmarks, which is a big turnoff to many in the tea party movement. Yet Akin, 65, has the backing of Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann, a tea party star, as well as former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee. His opposition to the 2008 bank bailout and his desire to abolish the federal Department of Education all appeal to the strident right.
Polling showed Akin trailing Brunner and Steelman in late July, but Akin expressed confidence that he was closing strong. He is the only leading Republican not to have run negative ads against his rivals.
In Wisconsin's Senate race, Thompson was ahead in the polls last month. Yet political newcomer Eric Hovde, a hedge fund manager, and former two-term Rep. Mark Neumann are hoping for a Cruz-like bounce before the Aug. 14 Republican primary. Hovde, who has the backing of FreedomWorks, has spent at least $4 million of his own money while portraying himself as the most fiscally conservative candidate.
But Neumann, who was third in the polls, may stand to benefit the most if there is a tea party surge. He has the backing of Sens. DeMint and Paul, as well the Club for Growth. The day after Cruz won in Texas, Neumann began airing a TV ad that touts him as "conservative before it was cool" - noting he was removed from a House subcommittee in 1995 for refusing to go along with Republican leadership.
The quest to be the most conservative has been central to many Republican primaries this year.
In Arizona's Aug. 28 primary for Senate, Palin has endorsed Rep. Jeff Flake, a longtime crusader against spending earmarks who is seeking to succeed retiring Sen. Jon Kyl. Flake also has the support of Kyl and Arizona Sen. John McCain.
Yet real estate mogul Wil Cardon, who casts himself as a tea party candidate, has lent his campaign more than $6 million while trying to position himself to the right of Flake. One Cardon television ad featured an altered photo that made it appear that Flake literally stood behind President Barack Obama - suggesting Flake's stance on immigration was the same as the Democratic president.
Unlike in the Texas contest, it's not so easy in Arizona, Wisconsin or Missouri to clearly distinguish the tea party favorite.
Analyzing the Missouri race, Akin conceded that despite his congressional tea party support, Palin's help for Steelman is "pulling some of our social conservatives, and Brunner is taking our economic conservatives.
"The question is how does that all break down? Akin asked. "I don't think anybody really knows."
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Associated Press writer Scott Bauer in Madison, Wis., contributed to this report.
August 7, 2012 @ 8:55 am
The Tea Party and Sarah Palin are a lot smarter than you may think. They are taking it to the Libs one at a time. Win here,then win there. Their victories are already piling up and personally I hope they keep right on piling up the victories.
We need to turn this country around. Put God back in charge. Put Christ back in school. Kick Satan out of school, and then out of our political arena. We need honest folks who love God, country and freedom, who will honor their commitment to serve the people….and not just themselves and their party.
The Republicans at this point in time fit the above aforementioned description better than the Democrats do. So vote Republican and end slavery and oppression!
August 7, 2012 @ 9:46 am
Hello again Campers,
Conservatives need to stick together and not run each other down. Maybe just say somthing like “George is a good old boy but I will make a better candidate” or something like that. Then we ALL get behind whom ever the party chooses. Only conservative unity will beat Obama and save the nation.
Ring in Terlingua, TX.
August 7, 2012 @ 10:39 am
I will not vote for anyone that S. Palin, is for or the tea party. They will take all rights from the poor and middle class. I don’t think ill ever forget what Romney said a few months back when he said he would cut welfare, no I am not on it. Do know a lot of people will starve, and a lot of people on SS don’t get enough to live on, his answer was I don’t care what they do. I have voted Republicans many time’ but you can count on it, I won’t this time, and will get out as many people as I can to vote for Obama at least he cars what happens and would have done much more if the Republicans had voted on the job bills he sent to them instead of putting them down and saying we well not put them up for voting, we are the party of no.
August 7, 2012 @ 10:59 am
The only one that will take rights away from anybody is OBUMMER IF RE-ELECTED! Get your head out of the sand and get the right information if you are going to say things like that Mary Hale!
August 7, 2012 @ 1:23 pm
They are trying to save your kids futures and stop the fires that is getting ready to burn down the USA
August 7, 2012 @ 4:01 pm
First of all, the Republican Congress has not stopped Obama’s progress in any way. As anyone who can still think independently has seen time and time again, if Obama wants something passed he has no problem whatsoever by-passing the constitution and shoving it down our throats by whatever means necessary. By the way, you negate your statement that Obama cares about people when you say that SS doesn’t provide enough for people to live on. Obama actively recruits people to live on government aid rather than encouraging tax cuts and lessened legislation that would allow businesses to increase hiring and allow people to make their own way, limited only by their willingness to do so. By the way, when Obama takes down all the “rich” folks who do you think is going to fund that welfare your friends and relatives collect? I can promise you it won’t be him.
Oh and one more thing, there are a lot of private organizations out there that are willing to help people so no one will need starve unless they allow it themselves.
August 7, 2012 @ 4:12 pm
Mary Hale said,” I don’t think ill [sic] ever forget what Romney said a few months back when he said he would cut welfare,
Do know a lot of people will starve, and a lot of people on SS don’t get enough to live on, his answer was I don’t care what they do.”
Mary Hale, that answer about ‘not caring’ is something no politician would ever say publicly. Therefore, I am sure you didn’t hear Romney say it … you heard that he said it.
If you are just going to repeat the lies you have heard from others, you may as well stay quiet. We are here to discuss facts … not hearsay.
August 7, 2012 @ 6:08 pm
Mary, they are going to “starve” one way or the other. It can be done slowly and painfully by getting debt under control or it can be done quickly when you wake up some morning and the dollars in your bank are worthless. Which medicine do you want?
August 7, 2012 @ 9:30 pm
My dear, you have to do some research and get your facts straight, or stop drinking the Obama socialist koolaid because you at so wrong if you think the Tea Party or Mitt Romney doesn’t care about this country and everyone in it. What we all see under the Obama administration is total failure to get the economy turned around, a national debt that is skyrocketing out of control, the highest sustained unemployment rate since the great depression, gasoline more then doubled in price since 2009, a series of highly classified security leaks from the Whitehouse, a national security strategy that is cut ally making us more dependent on foreign oil, a national healthcare program that is way too complex and expensive which most Americans want repealed, a government spending at an annual deficit rate of over a trillion dollars a year, and more Americans on welfare and food stamps then at any time in our history. If Obama really cared about our people and our country, wouldn’t he want to fix these problems? Romney wants to fix these problems and will if elected.
August 7, 2012 @ 3:50 pm
How about someone publishing and distributing a list of Tea Party supported candidates (nationwide, or as extensive as possible) for the ordinary voter such as myself. I THINK THAT WOULD GO A LONG WAY TOWARD HELPING THE VOTERS DECIDE WHO WANTS TO RESTORE AMERICA.
August 7, 2012 @ 5:52 pm
While the Congress is out of session, this would certainly be a great time to press for a new candidate for the Senate. Is this a mementos occasion when we should look in the mirror as voters and decide who is best for the country? Missouri is up for grabs and my suggestion and millions of other TEA PARTY voters, is unseating Democratic incumbent Sen. Claire McCaskill and replacing her not with another establishment Republican, but a TEA PARTY candidate. The TEA PARTY is paving the way for a new America of true conservative’s values, free of corporation campaign money, free of high pressure lobbyists. Former Governor of Alaska Sarah Palin is backing Sarah Steelman, the TEA PARTY candidate and you should too? There is much corruption in both the Senate and House of Representatives and a new face, with TEA PARTY principles will build a foundation of upholding our liberties. Free from President Obama, who if reelected, will take our freedoms from us; our rights to protect our homes with guns enforces strict regulation and rules of Obama health Care and extract more taxes on the backs of Americans.
The TEA PARTY is the American people of all legal nationalities, religions and indifferent to skin color, political association and joined the greatest silent revolution since the War of Independence. The TEA PARTY is millions upon millions of people who have already driven out of office both Democrats and Republicans. Deeply well-established Republican Richard Lugar with all his massive money backers lost to a Senate nominee Richard Mourdock, then just last week Ted Cruz took out billionaire Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, for the departing Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison. Voters in Missouri who are frustrated and angry at the agenda of President Obama and his 47 Czars determined to dissolve our Republic and place us on a self-destruct path of a Socialistic agenda. He is committed by using executive power to undermine “Checks and Balances” and furthering a plan:
Apologizing to foreign dictators; Issuing directives that United Nations to grab our guns; Creating the biggest “Tax And Spend Plan” (ObamaCare) in America history; Giving freeloaders even more benefits so they vote for him; Highest unemployment since the 1929 stock exchange failure; Denies self-esteem to small business owners, claiming they didn’t build their own business? Refusing permits to energy companies to drill for oil, natural gas and using the Environmental Protection Agency regulations to close down coal mining operations. For more of the facts go to THE TEA PARTY DOT ORG and discover the evidence of another four years with Obama in power will cripple our economy. The TEA PARTY already has a good majority in the HOUSE and now we need to grab as many seats in the SENATE. This way we can place voting obstacles in the way of the majority leader Sen. Harry Reid. This old Senator can be cancelled out by placing more TEA PARTY SENATORS in WASHINGTON, such as Sarah Steelman, a former state treasurer who is a strong moderate conservative. This is a strongly watched race between Steelman, Rep. Todd Akin and John Brunner in a race that promises to have advantageous national consequences. The GOP needs to seize four seats from Democrats to gain control of the Senate in 2012, but even more so denying seats of elitist Republicans.
Both political parties are strict Quid Pro Quo, with the Democrats seeking votes—legal citizens or non citizens, with a similar plan from the right to bring into the country legal immigrants, but not the professionals and highly skilled people you would expect. America is in such a predicament with poorly skilled workers and illegal aliens, the TEA PARTY are the only easement from the GOP who will enforce immigration laws. If immigration policies had been carried out to the letter, after the blanket amnesty of 1986, then the current horrendous mess would be insignificant. Instead now have 20 million plus illegal aliens scattered across America, either working under the table for dishonest employers or using stolen ID to gain employment. Since the Simpson/Mazzoli bill immigration has got completely uncontrollable with Sanctuary Cities springing up, huge importations of people under Chain Migration adding to ultimately to extra uncompensated programs for the ethnic poor from South of our border, from those who overstayed visas from around the globe. In a second term Obama will press for another mass amnesty, so he can eliminate any chance of the other side from overriding his executive orders.
The TEA PARTY leadership will vote for to strict immigration policies though the Senate and House of Representatives. But more TEA PARTY politicians must achieve more seats in Congress, which seems to be actually happening? Plenty of these moderate conservatives and true believers in our U.S. Constitution are ready to influence the other lawmaker’s to enact policies that assist out of work Americans. It will open up jobs for millions of low income Blacks, Hispanics, Whites, Asians and all other nationalities lawfully here. It is passed time we enacted the ‘Legal Workforce Act (H.R. 2885) and the Birthright citizenship Act (H.R.140)? Isn’t it time that the state of Arizona, Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina and other in the 50 states protect their state borders? Each law is essential in structuring our policies, then once again projecting a zero tolerance on our immigration policies. The Birthright Citizenship law has been manipulated, as it didn’t extend that anybody who reached into America could be credited with citizenship, as it was only an opportunity for the emancipation of slaves after the Civil War of 1886.