Two years after his loss to a Republican favored by party leaders in Washington, Greg Brannon is betting the popularity of outsiders like Ted Cruz and Donald Trump can sweep him to a U.S. Senate primary upset win.
Brannon, a suburban Raleigh obstetrician and tea party favorite, is heartened by the early showings of Cruz — winning in Iowa — and Trump — cruising in New Hampshire, believing voters are in a throw-'em-all-out mood. He mounted a last-minute challenge to second-term Republican Sen. Richard Burr, whom he blames for failing to stop President Barack Obama's liberal policies.
"The establishment is on their rear end right now," Brannon said in an interview. "We have basically a one-on-one with the establishment candidate ... the cherry on top is the presidential campaign has four outsiders rocking the polls."
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"To me, (Burr) has become very comfortable as a career politician," said Mary McKinney, 60, of Durham, after a meeting at a Cary church. "So it's time to boot him out."
At the event, Brannon accused Burr of voting to raise the debt ceiling several times, to fund Obama's health care law and to compromise on spending bills that raised taxes. Burr did vote in early 2013 for the legislation that averted the "fiscal cliff," included higher taxes for the wealthiest income earners but extended tax cuts for others. His later vote to end the partial government shutdown also raised the debt ceiling. Brannon's heroes — Cruz and Rand Paul of Kentucky — voted no.
Burr loves "to call himself a conservative, especially around election time," Brannon said. "When you look at his record it's clear. That's not conservative."
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Brannon is tapping into the anger of tea party Republicans who feel like GOP leaders used them for their political benefit in 2010.
"They stomped on us and spit on us and said go the hell away," said Outer Banks resident Jim Harris, who backs Brannon and was weighing between Cruz and Trump for president. "All we want is a conservative to rein in spending and get government down to size."
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http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory/tea-party-favorite-bets-cruz-trump-coattails-beat-36896141
