Gop, Tea Party | featured news

Paul Ryan's ascendency to No. 2 spot on the Republican ticket is a signal event for a movement that counts him as one of their own. If Mitt Romney wins in November, a Tea Party favorite will be a heartbeat from the Oval Office.

Newt Gingrich emerged the winner in a Sunday night straw poll of tea party voters after he and three other Republican presidential candidates courted more than 23,000 activists during a tele forum sponsored by the Tea Party Patriots coalition.

Just a year ago, tea party activists came roaring out of the congressional elections eager to shape the looming race for the White House.

Republican political figure and tea-party favorite Christine O'Donnell says she's backing Mitt Romney's presidential bid....

A day after Herman Cain shuttered his Republican candidacy for president, struggling GOP hopefuls looked to pick up the fallen candidate's tea party following and upset a primary dynamic that has pushed Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich to the forefront....

The rancor that defined much of the last week on the Republican presidential campaign trail subsided a bit here on Saturday night, as Newt Gingrich and Herman Cain basked in each other’s company and the warm embrace of the Texas Tea Party for what was styled as an old-fashioned issues-focused debate.

Tea Party supporters walk past a sign of Sarah Palin during the Tea Party of America's "Restoring America" event at the Indianola Balloon Festival Grounds September 3, 2011 in Indianola, Iowa.

Aided by strong tea party support, Texas Gov. Rick Perry has surged in the race for the Republican presidential nomination, pushing former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney into second place and significantly diminishing the once-rising star of Rep. Michele Bachmann (Minn.), according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll.

Former Gov. Mitt Romney of Massachusetts told supporters that the gap between the Tea Party and traditional Republicans was not as wide as many people seem to believe.

Bulling its way into 2012, the tea party is shaping the race for the GOP presidential nomination as candidates parrot the movement's language and promote its agenda while jostling to win its favor.