Problem is, even if we ran well-funded and impeccably qualified candidates in those districts, we’d be lucky if they received more than a few % higher than a usual, non-descript, non-funded GOP candidate.
I’m reminded of about a decade or so ago, a White man managed to get the Democrat nomination for Mayor of Gary and a Black the GOP nod. The White guy won in a massive landslide. It’s the party label that remains the biggest impediment to a breakthrough.
Tea partier Dr Rob Steele gave John Dingell a serious fight in 2010 and Steel was a late entry nobody running in a district held by Dingell and his daddy for nearly a century. It was a less than 10 point split between them and Steele had no real GOP backing.
Its also important to note that while well liked, Thaddeus McCotter was quite moderate because they said a conservative could never win that district. Today its held by solid tea party congressman Kerry Bentivolio.
Things are changing considerably in Michigan. The grassroots tea party may well be among the most powerful in the nation with the GOPe being very careful about what they say and do. A coalition of tea partiers and GOP conservatives even put a rock solid conservative on the RNC.