Local Tea Party leader weighs in on rough election night

FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WANE) - Although this year's election has come and gone, a man who coordinates the Indiana Tea Party said it's already time to start thinking about 2014.

The Indiana Local Tea Party Coordinator Emery McClendon has hope.  Although Tea Party candidates didn't do well Tuesday night, McClendon said the Tea Party needs to buckle down.  That means they need to find good candidates who could break the gridlock in the Senate come 2014.

"If we want our values and the things that we believe in to become back to America we need to put Senators in the Senate that can work with the people in the House," McClendon said.

Republican and Tea Party backed Senate candidate Richard Mourdock was running for a seat in Congress this year.  McClendon was surprised to see him fall to Democrat Joe Donnelly.

"I thought even with the statement that he (Richard Mourdock) made during the debate, I thought he would probably still win the election based on fiscal policy and the spending that our government's doing."

Some Republicans may be wondering why they didn't get a majority in the Senate? IPFW Political Science professor, Mike Wolf, said there's a reason.

"They've had more Tea Party or more conservative people challenge in the last two cycles.  If they would have had a more moderate person in those races they'd probably be holding five seats, maybe six," IPFW Political Science professor Mike Wolf said.

Wolf said the Republican party should focus instead on recruiting more moderate conservatives.  Wolf said that's because that's where more of the voters are - toward the middle ground.

Despite the fact the Tea Party had a bad night Tuesday, McClendon seemed hopeful of the future of the Tea Party.