Senatorn Bennett från Utah klarade inte att bli omvald till en fjärde period på partikonventet. Han blev inte ens tvåa. Missnöjet kommer av att han inte ansetts tillräckligt konservativ. Ett ytterligare problem har varit Tea Party anhängare som gav sitt stöd till en annan kandidat. Det här kan bli en varning inför kommande val.
Utah Sen. Bob Bennett lost his bid to be nominated for a fourth term Saturday, defeated at the state Republican Party convention by a strong conservative sentiment that threatens to unseat other establishment-backed GOPers in the months to come. […]
Under convention rules, all eight candidates appeared on the first ballot. The top three — attorney Mike Lee, former Congressional candidate Tim Bridgewater and Bennett (in that order) advanced to the second round of balloting.
Bennett was defeated there as Lee, a former counsel to popular former Gov. Jon Huntsman, and Bridgewater who had lost two races against Rep. Jim Matheson (D), advanced to the final ballot. […]
Bennett’s defeat marks the first time a sitting Senator has lost in an intraparty fight since 2006 when Sen. Joe Lieberman was ousted by wealthy businessman Ned Lamont in the Democratic primary. Lieberman went on to run and win as an independent; under state law Bennett cannot pursue that course.
It also marks the first major victory for the conservative wing of the Republican party, which has organized itself under the banner of the Tea Party movement to protest what they believe to be a government run amok.
Den interna fighten inom republikanerna som vi skrivit mycket om här på USAval sedan presidentvalet 2008 fortsätter alltså.