Mcdonnell, Brown, and Christie we’re never Tea Party favorites.
Uh, Brown was elected as a national referendum against Obamacare. All our favorite conservatives were out fighting for him. He was the 41st vote against it. Virginia swept in Republicans in late 2009 and it was widely seen as a referendum on Obama's first year. Conservatives were highly motivated and swept the GOP into all the top state offices. Christie's takedown of Corzine and battles against the unions were a national sensation among conservatives. These were all seen as the start of the turn against Obama and the Democrat victories of 2006 and 2008, and were all widely regarded by conservatives around the country. The formal tea party movement was just underway, 8-10 months after Rick Santelli's famous rant and the first tea party events in April 2009.