The shock defeat of Republican House Majority Leader Eric Cantor in a primary in Virginia this week has fueled hopes among Tea Party activists in Tennessee that they can stage a similar upset against Senator Lamar Alexander in August.
Is the tea party motivated by racial animus over the election of the first non-white president in the United States? Many critics of the conservative movement think so.
Texas Rep. Ron Paul, a Republican presidential candidate, told CNN's Candy Crowley on Monday that the tea party movement would probably not be a decisive factor in the Republican presidential nomination process.