DUO  (CONT)

The Club for Growth had twice before unsuccessfully targeted him by backing Gilchrest's primary opponents.

Club for Growth spokeswoman Nachama Soloveichik suggested that the group will continue to play an aggressive role in Republican primaries, given their recent string of successes.

"It sends a message. Republicans care about taxes and spending. If you look at the ads and mailers, they were all about taxes and spending and the size of government. Republican voters want their member to vote against tax increases and pork-barrel spending, and Gilchrest never did that," she said.

The two Maryland losses presage a rough election cycle for incumbents facing serious intraparty challenges. Next up is Rep. Walter B. Jones Jr. (R-N.C.), who faces Onslow County Commissioner Joe McLaughlin in a May primary. Jones' outspoken opposition to the Iraq war has endangered him in his conservative-minded district, but McLaughlin hasn't been able to raise much money -- which could dissuade third-party groups from investing additional resources in his campaign.

One month later, Rep. Chris Cannon (R-Utah) is expected to face a tough primary challenge from Gov. Jon Huntsman's chief of staff, Jason Chaffetz. In recent years, Cannon has come under attack from anti-illegal-immigration forces within the GOP.

In August, embattled Rep. Don Young (R-Alaska), widely ridiculed by conservatives for supporting federal funding for a "bridge to nowhere," is facing primary opposition from state Rep. Gabrielle LeDoux, who may draw support from conservative third-party groups looking to make a statement about the need to control federal spending.

FAIR USE NOTICE: This site contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.

Think you can balance the federal budget?

Click on the Capitol and see if you can.

It's FREE, no pop ups, no ads and it only
takes a couple of minutes.