The Tea Party's newest primary challenger: Big business?

The shutdown and debt ceiling fights have ticked off the business community

Justin Amash might want to watch his back.
(Image credit: (AP))

Tea Party renegades can comfortably ignore public opinion over the government shutdown and debt ceiling fight, the thinking goes, because they are ensconced in non-competitive, gerrymandered districts.

Yet as the shutdown dragged on, and a once-unthinkable debt ceiling default became more likely, the Tea Party began to lose the support of a once powerful ally: Big business. It has reached the point where some business interests are openly floating the idea of supporting more reasonable, business-friendly candidates in primary election challenges to Tea Party-aligned lawmakers.

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Jon Terbush

Jon Terbush is an associate editor at TheWeek.com covering politics, sports, and other things he finds interesting. He has previously written for Talking Points Memo, Raw Story, and Business Insider.