Tea party places bets on Bruning vs. Nelson

Tea party places bets on Bruning vs. NelsonBy Robynn Tysver | Wednesday, May 11, 2011 4:07 AM CDT

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Omaha World-Herald OMAHA - The Tea Party Express has hitched its wagon to Republican Jon Bruning. The national group plans to make an early endorsement in Nebraska's 2012 U.S. Senate race, and Bruning will earn the nod Wednesday despite not yet securing the GOP nomination, said Sal Russo, a spokesman for the Tea Party Express. Russo said the group wanted to make clear with its first 2012 endorsement that ousting Democratic U.S. Sen. Ben Nelson will be a top priority. He also said Bruning is the "strongest candidate" in the race, and they wanted to help him early in the campaign. The endorsement will be made at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. The group's early entry into the Nebraska race comes with some tension. Local tea party supporters say they believe it's "premature," and they question why the national group did not interview the other top candidate in the race, State Treasurer Don Stenberg.

Bruning is running for the GOP nomination against Stenberg and Schuyler businessman Pat Flynn. In addition, other Republicans have been mulling whether to jump into the race, including State Sen. Deb Fischer of Valentine. Joanne Elliott, co-organizer of Conservative Connections in Lincoln, said her group was "disappointed" that the national group was weighing into a Nebraska race without getting "input" from local groups. Others echoed her sentiments. "It's a little early - 12 months out of the primary," said Patrick Bonnett, the founder of a coalition of about a dozen tea party-affiliated groups in Douglas County, the Conservative Coalition of Nebraska. Bonnett said he has heard of no tea party organization in Nebraska that plans to make an endorsement before the primary. Paul Johnson, Nelson's campaign manager, downplayed the endorsement. He said it appeared to be more about raising money nationally than influencing Nebraskans, noting that the endorsement is being made in D.C. He also questioned the group's influence, saying several of the group's chosen candidates in the last election failed. "They also made Christine O'Donnell, Sharron Angle and Joe Miller priorities - all of whom lost," said Johnson. Russo did not shy away from his group's 2010 failures. He says that is one reason they are jumping into the Nebraska race early, to help Bruning with his campaign. He said neither the Angle nor the Miller campaigns were as strong as they needed to be to win. The group gave about $1 million each to Angle and Miller, Russo said. "We believe Jon Bruning is a strong candidate," he said. "He's strongly in tune with tea party values. He's also able to put together a first-rate campaign." - World-Herald News Service

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