Inside Out, Outsiders In
Tuesday brought a round of electoral good news for folks whose faith had maybe begun to waver about ever breaking the stranglehold that the status quo has wrapped around politics. In several high-profile, closely-watched races, outsider candidates toppled entrenched incumbents.
Rand Paul, a first-time candidate with deep roots in the Tea Party movement, defeated Kentucky’s secretary of state and establishment GOP favorite son, Trey Grayson, to win the state’s open Senate seat.
“I have a message, a message from the tea party, a message that is loud and clear and does not mince words: We have come to take our government back,” Paul said in his victory speech.
In Pennsylvania five-term incumbent, Republican-turned-Democrat Sen. Arlen Specter got knocked off by Rep. Joe Sestak, in a defeat that marked another political setback for President Barack Obama, who had backed Specter.
Also in Pennsylvania, the status quo survived to a certain extent when Democrat Mark Critz edged out Republican Tim Burns in a special election to fill the late Rep. John Mutha’s seat. Burns, however, will get another shot when he again faces off against Critz in November.
Speaking of facing off again, two-term incumbent Democrat Sen. Blanche Lincoln was forced into a run-off by Arkansas Lt. Gov. Bill Halter.
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