Introduction
(Brendan Smialowski/Getty Images)
By the end of the summer it became clear that insurgent congressional candidates were a force to be reckoned with. While the anti-incumbent mood hit both parties, the Republican Party was more affected. Establishment backed Democrats who lost their primaries could mostly blame circumstances specific to their races—alleged ethics scandals or party-switching. But Republicans with establishment support were more vulnerable to the conservative, grass-roots Tea Party movement.
