WASHINGTON — Ted Cruz’s Senate primary victory in Texas will provide a boost for Tea Party-backed, no-compromise conservatives in Congress.
His all-but-sure win in November will increase the number of Tea Party-aligned senators to six, and as many as seven more could win election. That will ensure a bigger impact on both politics and policy on Capitol Hill, even if Democrats manage to retain a Senate majority and the White House.
Dozens of Tea Party-supported candidates won House seats two years ago, but only four were elected to the Senate: Marco Rubio of Florida, Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, Rand Paul of Kentucky and Mike Lee of Utah. They joined South Carolina Sen. Jim DeMint, an ideological godfather of a movement born in the aftermath of Congress enacting President Barack Obama’s health-care overhaul two years ago.
As a result of those small numbers, the Tea Party’s impact in the Senate has been less than in the House — for both parties.
Republicans speak optimistically of possibly taking Senate control — though Cruz will take a safely Republican seat — and most GOP senators tout their own conservative credentials. But Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell has generally not had to contend with conservative insurrections, while House Speaker John Boehner regularly faces fierce resistance from blocks of conservatives at the mere mention of compromise with Democrats.
Cruz defeated the establishment favorite, Texas Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, on Tuesday after spending his entire campaign aligning himself with the Tea Party.
“We are witnessing a great awakening,” he said of his victory, presenting himself as part of a new generation of conservatism.
Republicans are welcoming Cruz’s arrival.
“People are mad at Washington, D.C., they’re mad at what they perceive to be the establishment and they want some change,” said Sen. John Cornyn, a fellow Texan and head of the Republicans’ Senate campaign arm.
