Republican Party Still Purging Its Best Establishment Candidates

Republican Primary Fights in Arizona and Utah

With the spectacular defeat of Senator Lugar in the Indiana primary, it’s clear the Republican Party purge of establishment candidates continues.  The impact in 2008 was to remove their strongest vote-getters and lose three winnable seats:  Colorado, Maryland and Nevada.

In this cycle, Senator Hatch in Utah is facing some of the anti-establishment forces brought down senior Senator Bob Bennett two years ago in the party’s state convention.  In Arizona, a self-funded businessman is damaging the party establishment’s favorite, Congressman Jeff Flake.