Tea Party Focused On State Legislature

{Frankfort, Kentucky}...The tea party, the movement behind U.S. Senator Rand Paul's election in 2010, has won victories and suffered defeats in Kentucky over the past couple of years. Nearly a dozen tea party candidates have set their sights on state legislative seats up for election this year. Louisville businessman Phil Moffett, who finished second in the GOP's three-way gubernatorial primary last year, delivered candidacy papers last week to run for a House seat. The tea party's goal is to press elected leaders to cut spending, reduce the size of government, chip away at the state debt, and slash taxes. Moffett said tea party lawmakers, if elected, could collectively push the General Assembly in that direction. Tea party activist David Adams, campaign manager for Moffett's gubernatorial bid and for Paul's Republican primary race, says the movement remains alive and well in Kentucky.