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Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) is nobodys example of a tea party Republican. Just two months ago, in an interview with the New York Times, he said of the tea party candidates challenging establishment Republicans, We will crush them everywhere.

Thats exactly what McConnell did on Tuesday when he raced past tea party favorite Matt Bevin to win the Senate primary in Kentucky. But what was most striking in the aftermath was how quickly the tea party symbolized by the outside conservative groups that once were calling for the senators defeat rushed to embrace this embodiment of the Washington GOP establishment and call for party unity in the fall.

Tuesdays results a very good night for the GOP establishment were no big surprise. Establishment victories in the marquee races were predicted well in advance. But based on the instant and overnight reactions, Democrats should no longer assume that the Republican opposition will be fractured, demoralized and as consumed by fighting each other as on taking back the Senate.

Republicans now appear ready to mount a united effort this fall with candidates more prepared than some were in the past to wage tough and costly general-election campaigns and with a map that shows ample opportunities to win back the net of six Senate seats they need to turn the Democrats into the minority party in both houses of Congress.

McConnells victory came on a night when the tea party suffered other significant setbacks. In Georgia, neither of the two candidates who made the runoff in the Senate primary, businessman David Perdue and Rep. Jack Kingston, were tea party types. In Oregon, pediatric neurosurgeon Monica Wehby beat a more conservative candidate to win the Senate primary. In Idaho, Rep. Mike Simpson easily beat back a tea party challenger.

All through the early part of this year, there has been one political narrative above all others: tea party vs. Republican establishment, or a Republican Party at war with itself. It is both a real and flawed concept, as the first rounds of primaries have demonstrated.

Real because there are important differences between hard-charging tea party conservatives who believe there is still too much business as usual even among Republicans in Washington and the more cautious establishment types. Flawed because the Republican Party of 2014 is still more united by its deep dislike of President Obama and his policies, and by the prospect of taking control of the Senate in the fall, than by those differences.

The early victories by establishment candidates this spring do not mean the tea party is a spent force. A week ago, tea party regulars were cheering the nomination of Ben Sasse as their candidate for Senate in Nebraska. Sasse has some serious establishment pedigrees, but he was the candidate with the endorsements of Sens. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.) and Mike Lee (R-Utah) and former Alaska governor Sarah Palin.

The primaries have yet to run their course, and so the final scorecard on tea party vs. establishment is incomplete. Most of the establishment candidates still facing tea party challengers are favored to prevail, though there is one important race where an incumbent faces a serious challenge. Thats in Mississippi, where Sen. Thad Cochran has been challenged by state Sen. Chris McDaniel in a race that has taken a weird turn in the past week.

The other reason the tea party isnt a spent force is the degree to which it has bent the GOP establishment in its direction. House Speaker John Boehner said Tuesday: Theres not that big a difference between what you call the tea party and your average conservative. Were against Obamacare, we think taxes are too high, we think government is too big. I wouldnt continue to sing that same song.

Continued here:
Will the tea party rally behind GOP establishment?

By Sarah Dutton, Jennifer De Pinto, Anthony Salvanto and Fred Backus

The tea party was an important factor in the 2010 elections, but its support may be waning, according to a new CBS News poll. Today, just 15 percent of Americans say they are supporters of the tea party movement - the lowest since CBS News began asking about the tea party in February 2010. The tea party reached its highest level of support (31 percent) in November 2010, soon after the midterm elections.

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Voters in six states went to the polls to cast their ballots in primary elections. Republicans have poured a lot of money into the primary season...

The movement may be losing some of its core constituency -- Republicans. 32 percent of self-identified Republicans now consider themselves supporters of the tea party - down 10 points from February and a decline of 23 points from July 2010, the summer before the Republican Party took control of the House of Representatives. The percentage of Republicans who identify as tea party supporters is now among the lowest in CBS News Polls.

More than five months ahead of the midterm elections, there is a sense of disillusionment among the American public. Forty-five percent of Americans -- a record high in CBS News polls -- now say they agree with the statement "It makes no real difference which party controls Congress, things go on just as they did before." Still, a slim majority (53 percent) thinks it matters which party controls Congress.

Independents (55 percent) are far more likely than either Democrats (38 percent) or Republicans (33 percent) to agree with the sentiment that it doesn't matter which party controls Congress.

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This poll was conducted by telephone May 16-19, 2014 among 1,009 adults nationwide. Data collection was conducted on behalf of CBS News by SSRS of Media, Pa. Phone numbers were dialed from samples of both standard land-line and cell phones. The error due to sampling for results based on the entire sample could be plus or minus three percentage points. The error for subgroups may be higher. Interviews were conducted in English and Spanish. This poll release conforms to the Standards of Disclosure of the National Council on Public Polls.

2014 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved.

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Tea party support hits new lows: Poll

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

(CNN) -- Six states held primaries on Tuesday, and once again anti-establishment candidates came up short in high-profile Republican showdowns.

That's a sharp difference with what we have seen over the last two election cycles, when establishment Republicans were overwhelmed by the insurgency in their own party and did little to stop it. But they appear to have turned the tables on the conservatives so far in this election cycle and have a string of victories to show for it.

Here are five things we learned Tuesday night:

1. Establishment GOP has learned to play ball: Since its birth in 2009, the tea party has had successes in primaries but those have given the GOP plenty of headaches and hurt its chances of winning back the Senate, effectively costing Republicans five winnable elections over the last two cycles.

This year, the establishment has had the upper hand in most contests against tea party-backed challengers. Showdowns on Tuesday in Kentucky, Idaho, Georgia, and Oregon kept that winning streak going.

In Kentucky, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell easily dispatched Matt Bevin, who enjoyed the support of tea party activists and anti-establishment groups. It was a similar story in Idaho, where eight-term Rep. Mike Simpson also beat back a similar challenge from the right.

In Georgia's free-for-all Republican Senate primary, the two finishers who now move onto a July runoff were considered the most acceptable to the establishment. And in Oregon, pediatric neurosurgeon Dr. Monica Wehby, who enjoyed support from the GOP establishment, defeated a more conservative candidate for the state's Republican Senate nomination.

How did they do it?

The winners all ran smart campaigns and were fortunate that the losers stumbled. And outside help also made a difference. The pro-business U.S. Chamber of Commerce spent more than $4 million to support McConnell, Simpson and Rep. Jack Kingston, who will face off with businessman David Perdue in the Georgia runoff.

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Tea party crushed in primary

The Republican Partys path to a majority in the Senate in Novembers midterm elections wasnt supposed to go through Kentucky. It does now.

Mitch McConnell, the Senate minority leader, needed to an overwhelming victory in Tuesdays primary to show he could unite Kentuckys restive Tea Party supporters under the Republican banner and scare off out-of-state Democratic donors.

He beat Matt Bevin, a Louisville businessman backed by various Tea Party groups, with 60 per cent of the vote. The result was decisive, another victory in the Republican establishments campaign this year to block Tea Party groups from taking over nomination contests that result in unelectable candidates.

The establishment of party elders and Washington-based lobbyists also got the candidates it wanted in Georgia and Oregon, solidifying its control and boosting the odds that the Republicans will pick up the seats they need to retake control of the Senate in November.

Yet questions will linger about Mr. McConnells ability to deliver Republican votes after 29 years in office. He spent more than $11-million (U.S.) to beat an opponent who never before had run for office. Its reasonable to wonder whether all that money and the power of incumbency didnt bring an even wider margin of victory.

Other establishment figures had an easier time. The Republican candidate who will challenge Democratic incumbent Mark Pryor in a winnable race for Senate in Arkansas won his partys nomination unopposed Tuesday. House Speaker John Boehner earlier this month won his Ohio primary with 69 per cent of the vote.

Mr. McConnells opponent in the midterms, Alison Lundergan Grimes, a 35-year-old state official, was the choice of 76 per cent of Democratic voters, suggesting her election machine is primed for the difficult task of flipping a state that voted for Bill Clinton but has little affection for the current president, Barack Obama. Recent polls put Ms. Grimes and Mr. McConnell in a statistical tie.

Six states held primaries Tuesday, narrowing the field of candidates seeking federal and state offices. While there were dozens of races, none mattered more than those few that will decide whether Republicans take control of the Senate in Washington. Republicans have a comfortable margin in the House of Representatives and with Mr. Obamas approval rating around 40 per cent, there is little reason to think Mr. Boehner will lose his majority.

Republicans need a net gain of six seats to win the majority in the Senate in November and the Democratic Party will be defending seven seats in states won by Mr. Obamas opponent, Mitt Romney, in 2012. Most election forecasters give the Republicans better than even odds of pulling it off.

Those projections assume Republicans hold the seats they currently have. The results in Kentucky suggest Mr. McConnell, at a minimum, has a race on his hands. That will force him and the party to commit time and money to playing defence. The prospect of a candidate capable of taking down one of Washingtons most powerful Republicans already has helped Ms. Grimes raise more than $8-million (U.S.). Her show of strength Tuesday should help her attract even more.

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Tea Party challengers keep Republican establishment on edge

May 20, 2014 7:18pm

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnellhas beaten his tea party challenger Matt Bevin,according to the Associated Press. With 96.8 percent of the results in McConnell had 60 percent of the vote to Bevins 35.7 percent.

McConnell was expected to win the Kentucky GOP Senate Primary, but this decisive victory blew the tea party out of the water, and McConnell gets to start the general election with the wind at his back, despite the serious challenge from Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes, a Democrat half his age.

(Timothy D. Easley/AP Photo)

McConnell aimed to unite the party, even pausing his speech to ask the crowd to applaud his opponent saying Bevin brought a lot of passion and tenacity to this race and he made me a stronger candidate.

A tough race is behind us. Its time to unite, McConnell said. Know your fight is my fight.

He quickly moved on to his general election fight saying, Alison Lundergan Grimes is Barack Obamas candidate.

I dont care what party you are in, it doesnt make any difference, I am asking you to join me in in this effort, he said to cheers.

Shortly after McConnell spoke, Grimes addressed her supporters and hit McConnell right back saying, I wont answer to the president, no matter who heor shemight be.

The race is between you and me, thats the name that appears on the ballot, Grimes said.

See more here:
How Mitch McConnell Crushed His Tea Party Challenger In Ky.