Primary Night: Big Victories for Tea Party Candidates

Tonight was primary night in several states, and Tea Party-supported candidates came out big. This continues the surge Tea Party candidates have had, capped off so far this year by Joe Miller's stunning victory in Alaska over U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski.

Christine O'Donnell upset Congressman Mike Castle in the Delaware Republican primary for U.S. Senate. Castle, one of the most liberal Republicans in Congress, had long been considered a shoo-in, not only for the primary but also for the general election. O'Donnell received 53% of the vote this evening, while Castle got 47%.

The nomination of O'Donnell will make this particular race much more competitive. Last week, Rasmussen found Castle leading the Democrat nominee 48%-37%, and O'Donnell trailing 36%-47%.

In New Hampshire U.S. Senate primary, Ovide Lamontagne has been leading Kelly Ayotte all night, currently (10:30pm CST) by 41.2%-37.4%. Ayotte had the support of Sarah Palin, along with other, more establishment Republicans, but Lamontagne has received a lot of Tea Party support.

All Republican candidates for Senate have been in a slight lead in the New Hampshire race, according to polls.

In Wisconsin, Ron Johnson is cruising to an 80%+ victory. Johnson is also a Tea Party candidate, and has a viable chance at defeating incumbent U.S. Senator Russ Feingold (D-WI). Recent polls have had the two essentially tied, or with Johnson in a slight lead.