The Tea Party Express was there for days helping Cruz win this:
The April primary in Pennsylvania was especially interesting as TEA Party factions were backing different candidates in the crowded GOP field. Still, the TEA Party candidates finished #1 and #2. The GOP establishment candidate finished third.
Besides the stuff you know about there is this:
It was also a very bad night for squishy Republicans, like House Speaker Joe Straus. And a downright miserable one for Mr. Straus own state senator, the newly-defeated Jeff Wentworth.
The Texas Legislature has been vastly improved with this primary election cycle, and last night only cemented conservative gains. Of the state legislative races, the biggest run-off news was conservative-champion Dr. Donna Campbell defeating liberal incumbent Jeff Wentworth by a two-to-one margin.
One quick lesson for Republicans in the Texas House: the closer they stand to Speaker Straus and his henchmen like State Reps. Charlie Geren and Jim Keffer the more likely they are to lose.
Two more Straus committee chairmen (Sid Miller and Chuck Hopson) lost re-election, joining the three Straus chairs who lost in the first round of primary voting.
In the open-seats, Straus-friendly candidates fell like flies.
A bit of explanation is in order here I think.
Two sessions ago the Texas House of Representatives was a closely divided body with 76 Rs and 74 Ds. The speaker of that body, a staunch conservative though somewhat heavy handed in his leadership style man named Tom Craddick was ousted when a number of supposed Rs conspired with the minority Ds to elect a RINO named Joe Straus as speaker and thus the house has since labored under the leadership of a speaker elected largely by the minority party there.
EVERY ONE of the Rs who were a party to that have now had their hats handed to them by the voters in their districts!