Can Lindsey Graham survive the Tea Party's wrath?

The senior senator from South Carolina may be the Bob Bennett of 2014

Four-term Sen. Lindsay Graham (R-S.C.)
(Image credit: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

The angry rhetoric directed at Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) by Tea Party conservatives is cranking up in volume heading into what could be a very contentious Republican primary in 2014.

Graham has long been a staple of South Carolina politics, serving four terms in the House before winning the Senate seat vacated by Strom Thurmond in 2002. But now — just as happened when conservative Sen. Bob Bennett (R-Utah) was mercilessly ousted by the Tea Party in 2010 for not being conservative enough — a number of grassroots groups have grown tired of Graham, and are gunning for him in the June 2014 primary. Here's what you should know:

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

Keith Wagstaff is a staff writer at TheWeek.com covering politics and current events. He has previously written for such publications as TIME, Details, VICE, and the Village Voice.