Is the Tea Party movement the new political force in the United States?

People in the US have been voting in primary elections, to choose Democrat and Republican candidates to contest the November mid-terms.

The results have added weight to the theory that the Tea Party movement is the new political force in the land.

The Tea Party is a conservative, anti-establishment movement which is critical of big-spending big government.

They have been backing some candidates, almost exclusively Republican, in these primaries.

Sal Russo is a key right-wing strategist and one of the main drivers behind the Tea Party.

click Click here for a slideshow from key primary states, Kentucky, Arkansas and Pennsylvania

First broadcast 19 May 2010