Tea Party Favorite Angle Wins Nevada Republican Senate Bid, Will Face Reid

Sharron Angle, a favorite among Tea Party activists, won the Republican primary in Nevada to run against U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid in November, according to the Associated Press.

Angle had 38 percent of the vote, with 48 percent of precincts reporting in a field of 12 candidates, AP said. She defeated former state Republican Chairwoman Sue Lowden and Las Vegas businessman Danny Tarkanian, the son of former University of Nevada-Las Vegas basketball coach Jerry Tarkanian.

Her win over Lowden, the Republican establishment’s choice, amounts to another coup for Tea Party adherents and their small- government agenda after Rand Paul won the May 18 Republican primary for an open Senate seat in Kentucky.

In Nevada, the top three Republicans spent much of their campaign money on the primary, with Lowden’s and Angle’s supporters trading barbs in a series of television ads during the final week of the campaign.

“It looks good for Harry Reid,” said David Damore, a political science professor at UNLV. “They’ve already spent all their money, and they’re cutting each other up.”

To contact the reporter for this story: Patrick O’Connor in Washington at Poconnor14@bloomberg.net