Tea Party can toast its first winner as right-wing candidate wins in Kentucky primary

Rejectionist mood around the country could threaten Democratic control in Washington.

NEW YORK // The success of anti-establishment candidates standing against "big government" in internal party elections held across the United States this week could help to take control of Congress from the Democrats this autumn after voters rejected incumbents from the two main parties.

With midterm elections to pick all 435 House of Representatives seats, 36 of 100 Senate seats and 37 of 50 state governorships only five months away, the rejectionist mood poses the biggest threat to the legislative agenda of President Barack Obama, although the Republicans face a split vote because of right-wing Tea Party activists. Candidates endorsed by Mr Obama and Republican leaders fared badly in several primaries that had a higher turnout than normal on Tuesday. But the Democrats did receive a boost when Mark Critz won a special election in Pennsylvania to replace John Murtha, the late Democratic representative. It was the only election on Tuesday when Republicans and Democrats competed against each other but Mr Critz will only serve the final months of Murtha's term.

Chris Van Hollen, the head of the Democrat House campaign committee, said: "It was the only race in the county today where a Democrat faced off against a Republican and the results are clear." But voters rejected Democratic Party-backed candidates elsewhere. Arlen Specter, a five-term senator who switched to the Democrats from the Republicans last year, lost in Pennsylvania while Blanche Lincoln, a Democratic senator, was forced into a runoff election in Arkansas.

But the focus of most television punditry on the cable news shows was the victory in Kentucky by Rand Paul, a political novice pushed into prominence by the Tea Party, which enjoyed its clearest demonstration of power since the loosely organised movement was formed last year in opposition to Mr Obama's bailout of the banks and car industry and the reform of health care. Mr Paul, the son of Ron Paul, a libertarian Republican representative and former presidential candidate, said his win was a "tremendous mandate for the Tea Party". He was backed by Sarah Palin, the former vice presidential candidate who has become a rallying figure for disaffected right-wingers.

Mr Paul said: "It cannot be overstated that people want something new, they don't want the same-old, same-old politicians. They think the system is broken and needs new blood." With unemployment persisting at around 10 per cent and many Americans still suffering from the recession, Mr Obama's Democrats face a tough challenge in persuading the electorate this November that they are best placed to secure the recovery.

Mr Obama defended his party's economic record during a visit to Youngstown, Ohio on Tuesday. "I know it's still tough, I know a lot of times the future still feels uncertain. But I will tell you one thing. It's people like you, people in towns like Youngstown all across America that I'm thinking about every single day when I go to the Oval Office." Mr Specter's defeat came despite Mr Obama's backing when he switched to the Democrats last year, although the White House's embrace appeared to cool in recent weeks when polls showed Mr Specter trailing. He lost to Joe Sestak, a Democratic representative whose campaign raised questions about Mr Specter's credibility after his long history as a Republican, including television ads showing George W Bush when he was president saying he could count on Mr Specter.

Edward Rendell, the governor of Pennsylvania, said Mr Specter, 80, had fallen to the anti-establishment mood. "In fairness to Arlen, if the economy was OK and there was no anti-incumbent wave, this wouldn't have been a close election." In Arkansas, labour unions and progressives backed Bill Halter, state lieutenant governor, over Ms Lincoln, a moderate senator first elected in 1998. The two Democratic candidates will face a runoff on June 8. Ms Lincoln failed to win an outright majority even after she pleased many on the left by introducing a tough bill to ban investment banks from trading derivatives.

Mr Paul's victory for the Tea Party garnered the most headlines, with Ms Palin saying it was a "wake-up call for the country". Other Republican candidates, meanwhile, were expected to shift to the right to win the Tea Party's backing ahead of November's elections. "Rand's victory is part of an American awakening that is taking place across the country as people embrace the principles of freedom that are the backbone of our country," said Jim DeMint, a conservative Republican senator from South Carolina.

Tea party activists have also prevented Bob Bennet, a Republican senator from Utah, from winning renomination because he was seen as too moderate. In Florida, Charlie Crist, the governor, quit the Republican Party to run as an independent for senator after the Tea Party backed Marco Rubio, who is now running for the Republicans. @Email:[e-mail]