Tea Party Challengers Falling Short In GOP Primaries

Published May 21, 2014 at 1:05 PM EDT

Senate Republican Leader Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and his wife Elaine Chao wave to supporters after a celebration following his victory over Tea Party candidate Matt Bevin in the state Republican primary on May 20 in Louisville. (Win McNamee/Getty Images)

Six states held primaries on Tuesday in what turned out to be the Super Tuesday of the 2014 mid-term election cycle.

Among the many races, one of the most noteworthy was in Kentucky, where Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell beat out Tea Party challenger Matt Bevin. In fact, overall it seemed GOP voters chose “establishment” Republicans over Tea Party activists.

Matt Kibbe, president and CEO of FreedomWorks, a national Tea Party-aligned 501(c)(4) that advocates for small government, joins Here & Now’s Jeremy Hobson to discuss what’s next for the Tea Party.

Hobson then turns to NPR’s digital politics editor Charlie Mahtesian to discuss the election results and what to now expect in the coming midterm elections.

Guest

Matt Kibbe, president and CEO of FreedomWorks. He tweets @mkibbe.
Charles Mahtesian, NPR digital politics editor. He tweets @charlieNPR.