"From Arizona and Missouri and Michigan and Wisconsin, every Republican Senate candidate is claiming the tea party mantle and appealing to the far right-wing fringe of their party, and largely ignoring the independent middle-class voters that are going to decide the election in November," said Matt Canter, spokesman for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee.
But Texas, Nebraska and Indiana are more reliably Republican states than Delaware, Colorado or Nevada, and Republicans dismiss the talk.
In 2010 "there were times when it was obvious that if one particular candidate were nominated that candidate could not win the general election," said Rob Jesmer, executive director of the National Republican Senatorial Committee. "That's not the case this time."
Unlike two years ago, the committee's chairman, Sen. John Cornyn of Texas, has not intervened in primaries where no incumbent was on the ballot, an attempt to avoid antagonizing Republicans who might end up winning the nomination.
Apart from Reyes, the only Democratic incumbents to lose primaries this year are Reps. Jason Altmire and Tim Holden of Pennsylvania and Dennis Kucinich of Ohio.
Kucinich lost to another incumbent, Rep. Marcy Kaptor, while Altmire was defeated by fellow Pennsylvania Rep. Mark Critz.
Not even Matt Cartwright, the lawyer who defeated Holden, cited anti-incumbent anger for his triumph. Assessing his victory on primary night, he said, "It's a combination of things, No. 1, the redistricting, and No. 2, my own core political beliefs are a much better fit for the new district."
Among House Republicans, Rep. Jean Schmidt of Ohio is the only incumbent defeated by an outsider. In Illinois, Rep. Dan Manzullo lost to fellow Rep. Adam Kinzinger.
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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