>> I'm not sure I follow. You think the TP will run candidates against
>> Republicans in general elections?
>
> They're already doing so. They lost a Republican seat in the NY 23rd
> district that has been Republican for decades by attacking the
> Republican candidate from the right with another one. And John McCain
> is now facing a challenge.
McCain is facing a primary challenge, not a general election challenge. Rubio is challenging Crist in the primaries, not the general. I don't know of any serious TP threats to run candidates against Republicans in the generals. The upstate NY race isn't being repeated.
> But also in the open elections, I expect them to fight the mainstream
> Republican candidates with much more conservative candidates. Isn't
> that their whole raison d'etre?
Sure, but that would tend to push the Republicans to the right. Which, in turn, seems to push Democrats to the right.
SA