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Asheville, North Carolina (CNN) - It was a tough loss.

Tea party members in North Carolina put in countless hours to elect U.S. Senate candidate Greg Brannon.

When he didnt get enough votes to force a runoff against establishment GOP opponent Thom Tillis in Tuesdays primary election, the leaders of one local tea party group wondered if it's worth competing in national races.

Speaking to 15 Brannon supporters and tea party members at a German/Italian restaurant in the suburbs of Asheville, Jane Bilello looked drained and defeated.

Washington just might be lost, she said with heavy shoulders.

It was all that money from Washington, one woman sitting at the long table mumbled aloud about a reason for Tillis' win.

5 takeaways from election night

In an interview after the results came in, Bilello, chairwoman of the Asheville Tea Party, said shes not sure tea party candidates can compete against the well-resourced, well-financed machine of the Republican Party.

Washington is very tough. We fight the GOP, Bilello said. We just constantly fight the Republicans.

Tillis' campaign and groups supporting it spent 10 times what Brannon and his supporters did. Tillis had the financial support of the Chamber of Commerce and former George W. Bush strategist Karl Roves American Crossroads. While Brannon had the support of the tea party, the FreedomWorks organization and Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, it wasnt enough.

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Tea party members in North Carolina might give up on national races