Fighting back tears, Bennett said afterwards: "The political atmosphere obviously has been toxic, and it's very clear that some of the votes that I have cast have added to the toxic environment."
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/may/09/tea-party-ousts-republican-bennett-utahSenator deemed conservative by national standards deselected for being too moderate after campaign by grassroots movement
Andrew Clark in New York
guardian.co.uk, Sunday 9 May 2010 15.54 BST
The conservative grassroots Tea Party movement claimed its first major scalp in the US political establishment yesterday as the veteran Republican senator Bob Bennett was deselected by delegates in his home state of Utah for being too moderate.
Bennett, 76, has been in office since 1992 and is an ally of the Republican senate leader, Mitch McConnell. His defeat at the hands of two political newcomers was partly due to anger over his support for the White House's $700bn bailout of the banking system at the height of the global financial crisis.
Tea Party activists argue for a smaller government with less economic intervention and for conservative positions on guns, abortion and immigration in order to "take back" America. Their rise in influence is causing consternation for mainstream Democrats and Republicans alike.