Angle wins Tea Party endorsement

U.S. Senate candidate Sharron Angle has won the Tea Party Express lottery and will get the national group's endorsement on Tax Day in Washington.

Bryan Shroyer, the political director of Tea Party Express, told the Review-Journal late Wednesday that the group will make the announcement today.

"We've been following this race closely over the last year. And at the end of the day, Sharron Angle is by far the most authentic conservative candidate in the race," he said.

Details about what the endorsement will mean in terms of financial and other support will be announced at the news conference.

Word leaked Wednesday night that the former Reno assemblywoman was flying to the nation's capital to pick up "an important endorsement," according to the Sparks Republican Women's group, which said that was why Angle had to cancel her appearance before the group.

Angle was supposed to appear jointly with the GOP front-runner, Sue Lowden, who showed up at the meeting.

Angle has long been considered the Tea Party darling for her strong conservative anti-tax record in the Legislature. And she has hopped on the Tea Party Express bus every time it has come to Nevada.

Angle, like most of the dozen other Republicans in the race, also attended the Tea Party Express event in Sen. Harry Reid's hometown, Searchlight, on March 27, which attracted up to 10,000 people calling for the Democratic Senate majority leader's defeat.

Angle's campaign didn't return phone calls seeking confirmation of the endorsement.

The endorsement could give Angle's flagging campaign a much-needed boost. She has been falling behind Lowden and GOP opponent Danny Tarkanian in pre-primary polls although those same surveys also show her beating Reid if she makes it to the general election.

Local Tea Party movement leaders weren't consulted about the national endorsement, which could cause hurt feelings in Nevada.

The only other Senate candidate the Tea Party Express members seem to have vetted closely is John Chachas, an investment banker from Ely who returned to Nevada to run for the Senate.

Contact reporter Laura Myers at lmyers@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2919.