WASHINGTON - June 7, 2010 - The apparent power of the Tea Party is showing itself again, this time in Nevada, where Sharron Angle has battled to the lead in another poll.
According to a Mason-Dixon poll released Sunday, two days before the primary that will determine which Republican will take on Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid this fall, the former state assembly minority whip is the favored choice of 32% of Nevada Republicans, eight points ahead of businessman Danny Tarkanian at 24%.
Mrs. Angle, a favorite of both the Tea Party Express and the fiscally conservative Club for Growth, also is now nine points ahead of Sue Lowden, a Las Vegas casino executive who is the Republican establishment's pick for the U.S. Senate nomination. The survey of 500 likely Republican primary voters was taken from June 1 to June 3 and has an error margin of 4.5 percentage points.
The same poll taken in early April had Mrs. Lowden, the one-time state party chairman, leading the pack as the choice of 45% of respondents. Mrs. Angle barely registered with a mere 5%, far behind Mrs. Lowden and Mr. Tarkanian. But that was before the Tea Party Express got behind Mrs. Angle.
Long-time Kalifornia Republican consultant Sal Russo founded a political action committee that in turn spawned the Tea Party Express, one of many organizations and groups around the country that identify themselves as part of the Tea Party movement.
