FORT WORTH, TEXAS - Republican presidential candidates will audition for the support of one of the nation's most formidable political movements -- the Tea Party -- when they meet in a nationally televised debate Monday that is expected to intensify differences between front-running Texas Gov. Rick Perry and his chief rival, Mitt Romney.
Hosted by CNN and the Tea Party Express, the two-hour event in Tampa, Fla., will focus heavily on economic themes and other issues championed by conservative voters, said Sal Russo, cofounder of the conservative Tea Party Express. Many of the questions to be thrown at the eight candidates evolved from concerns of grass-roots organizations that make up the Tea Party movement, Russo said.
Perry made his inaugural appearance in a national debate last week in Simi Valley, Calif., and will look to strengthen his lead in the polls. The race is shaping up as a two-way scramble between Perry and Romney, the former front-runner who is now No. 2 in the polls. But experts say no one should draw conclusions before voters begin deciding in state caucuses and primaries early next year.
Rallying behind demands for less government and lower taxes, Tea Party activists emerged as a conservative force more than two years ago and have shaped the outcome in a host of state and federal races. Tea Party voters contributed to an avalanche of GOP victories in 2010, enabling Republicans to regain control of the U.S. House and broaden their power in Texas and other states.
As Texas' longest-serving governor and now as a presidential candidate, Perry has espoused an anti-Washington message that embraces many themes that helped give rise to the Tea Party movement. But Romney has also stressed that he supports "a lot of what the Tea Party believes in," including smaller government, less taxes and more jobs.
Other candidates will use the debate to try to wrest the spotlight from the two dominant contenders. Several candidates, including U.S. Reps. Ron Paul of Texas and Michele Bachmann of Minnesota, also have support among Tea Party voters and will try to strengthen their appeal among them.
But at this early stage, Russo and other Tea Party leaders say, no candidate has a lock on that vote. "It's a wide-open field," said Russo, a political consultant in Sacramento, Calif. "It's a two-man race right at the moment, but I think things can change."
Adrian Murray of Fort Worth, founder of the new organization Common Ground America, said the No. 1 qualification that Tea Party activists want in a candidate is the ability to beat President Obama. Members of the Tea Party and related groups are "sick to death" of Obama's policies, Murray said, and have accelerated their activities in recent months to prepare for next year's election.
