Jun 3, 2018 - Politics & Policy

Tea Party House Republicans are slowly vanishing

Khorri Atkinson

Former Alaskan Governor and Vice Presidential Candidate Sarah Palin — Former Alaskan Governor Sarah Palin. Photo: Samuel Corum/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

The Tea Party movement, which swept Washington and the House majority in 2010 amid anger over a political system they claimed was disconnected from American values, is slowly dwindling, the AP's Lisa Mascaro writes.

Why it matters: "Now, with [Republican] control of the House again at stake this fall and just three dozen of them seeking re-election, the tea party revolts shows the limits of riding a campaign wave into the reality of governing," says Mascaro.

The big picture: Many of the political figures associated with the movement aren't in public office. Some have either joined the Senate, re-entered private life, or joined the Trump administration. Meanwhile, not only is the House Tea Party Caucus gone, but "so, too, are almost half the 87 new House Republicans elected in the biggest GOP wave since the 1920s," Mascaro writes.

Flashback: A recent NBC News/WSJ poll — which said 66% of Democrats have a "high level of interest" in this fall's midterm elections compared to 49% of Republicans — largely mirrors the growing enthusiasm among Republicans ahead of the 2010 midterms.

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Tea Party House Republicans are slowly vanishing

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