SC-04

Bob Inglis's Defeat Sends Warning Signal To GOP: Don't Badmouth Glenn Beck

Eric Kleefeld | June 23, 2010, 12:12PM

Rep. Bob Inglis (R-SC)

The landslide defeat of Rep. Bob Inglis (R-SC), who lost his Republican primary last night by a whopping 71%-29% margin against Spartanburg County Solicitor Trey Gowdy, could provide a stern warning to Republicans everywhere: If you deviate from the talk-radio and Tea Party line, this could happen to you.

In interviews this morning, two separate Republican sources cited to me two key events in Inglis's political downfall: When he told a town hall meeting last year to turn off Glenn Beck, and when he voted with House Democrats in September 2009 to reprimand Rep. Joe Wilson (R-SC) for yelling "You lie" at President Obama during a speech to Congress. Other factors that were cited included Inglis's vote for the TARP bailout -- an issue that also helped sink Sen. Bob Bennett (R-UT) at his state Republican convention in May -- and his work on the issue of climate change.

"It's one thing to be moderate on a couple things. It's another thing to go out of your way to essentially insult your own base," said one GOP source, who also added: "This is why people are forced to apologize to Rush Limbaugh if they say something fairly negative about him. You cannot be pro-actively poking your finger in the eye of your base."

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SC-04

GOP Rep. Bob Inglis Goes Down Hard In Primary -- For The Crime Of Moderation

Eric Kleefeld | June 22, 2010, 8:53PM

Rep. Bob Inglis (R-SC)

Another incumbent member of Congress has gone down in defeat in their primary -- and in this case, it's a big win for the Tea Party-style right and a defeat for GOP moderation, with Rep. Bob Inglis losing to Spartanburg County Solicitor Trey Gowdy.

With 75% of precincts reporting, Gowdy leads Inglis by a whopping 73%-27%. In the first-round primary two weeks ago, Gowdy had actually come in first place with 39%, and Inglis was behind at 28% -- practically the death-knell for the incumbent. In the home stretch of the primary, Inglis appeared on the Colbert Report, in an interview making fun of his own dire straits, and even included a joke about the Birthers.

Inglis had been targeted for defeat by the right, due his various heresies from core conservative doctrines: He has called for action on climate change, told Tea Partiers to "turn Glenn Beck off," and he called upon fellow South Carolina Rep. Joe Wilson to apologize for yelling "You lie" at President Obama during that famous addresses to Congress in September 2009. Combine that with a general anti-incumbent, anti-Washington mood in the country, and you have one defeated Congressman.

Tea Party

Last Night's Tea Party Winners And Losers

Christina Bellantoni and Evan McMorris-Santoro | June 9, 2010, 1:17PM

NV-SEN candidate Sharron Angle (R)

You win some, you lose some. The tea party movement - scattered across the country and without a unified message, leader or even Web site - scored several big victories in last night's Super Duper Tuesday elections. But in several races, they fell short.

What does it all mean? The Republicans are probably going to continue reaching out to tea party activists who have energy and are helping with their quest to take back Congress. But as we saw with Sen. Bob Bennett (R-UT), it's not just the Democrats the tea party is after. Republicans are fair game in primary elections.

Here's TPM's scorecard of how tea partiers fared last night.

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2010 elections

Super Duper Tuesday's Top Three Super Surprises

Rachel Slajda | June 9, 2010, 11:54AM

Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-AR), US Sen candidate Alvin Greene (D-SC), Rep. Bob Inglis (R-SC)

Last night's elections lacked any Dewey/Truman moments, but there were enough surprises to make it interesting.

Lincoln Defeats Halter
Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-AR) survived to fight the final round in the general election last night. But it wasn't supposed to be that way. For days -- in fact in the final hours of her runoff -- Arkansas insiders expected Lincoln to lose, while supporters of Bill Halter were pre-emptively dancing in the end zones. Lincoln's obituary was written. But both camps underestimated her ability to get out the vote, and she defeated Halter 52 to 48.

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Bob Inglis

Incumbent Republican Inglis Down Big Heading Into Runoff

Brian Beutler | June 9, 2010, 9:30AM

Rep. Bob Inglis (R-SC)

Rep. Bob Inglis (R-SC) seems poised to lose his six-term House seat after he was forced into a runoff last night against Spartanburg County Solicitor Trey Gowdy.

When all the votes were in last night, Gowdy led Inglis in a crowded primary field by a 39-27 margin. With neither candidate winning more than 50 percent of the vote, though, the two are headed into a runoff election, scheduled for June 22. Between now and then, Inglis has to make up a lot of ground.

Gowdy (and other Republicans in the field) hammered Inglis mercilessly for opposing the surge in Iraq and voting for the bailout in 2008.