And yet other TEA Party candidates won. On the whole, the TEA Party was far more successful in changing the makeup of Congress than anyone would have given them a chance in 2009, but then when they weren't perfect in all races, they get vilified by the same folks who brought us a House minority and filibuster-proof Senate minority.
I’m just pointing out that you need state-wide caliber candidates for state wide races. That means polished, skilled politicians who don’t stick their foot in their mouth about rape. What can win a house district is rarely good enough to win a statewide Senate race - for that you generally need significantly better candidates (especially as a Republican).
Guys like Akin and Mourdock not only cost us 2 Senate seats, their dumb comments hurt Republicans across the board by feeding into the left’s narrative that Republicans don’t understand women’s issues.