Nine 'tea party' candidates who stand a good chance of winning

Here’s something both Democrats and the GOP establishment in Washington are going to have to come to terms with: Tea party candidates will win some elections this fall.

Marco Rubio

Joe Burbank/AP
Marco Rubio

Florida House Speaker Marco Rubio, candidate for US Senate, proudly notes that he’s never voted for a tax increase.

After Gov. Charlie Crist dropped out of the Republican Party to avoid a primary faceoff with Mr. Rubio, national magazines began calling him potentially the first "tea party senator." That’s not certain yet, but it’s close. Rubio at the moment is easily in front in a three-way contest. A recent Mason-Dixon poll gave Rubio 40 percent of the vote, with the Republican-turned-independent Crist at 28 percent and Democrat Kendrick Meek at 23 percent.

Lately Rubio has tried hard to present himself as a GOP unity candidate despite his tea party background.

[Editor's note: The original included an incorrect photo.]

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