Conservative wins Nebraska Senate seat

Tea Party favorite Ben Sasse easily won Nebraska’s Senate seat Tuesday evening.

The 42-year-old was widely expected to win, opening up a significant lead over the Democratic challenger Dave Domina after winning a tight GOP primary to replace retiring Sen. Mike Johanns. Several news networks projected that Sasse would serve as Nebraska’s next senator alongside Sen. Deb Fischer (R-Neb.).

{mosads}Sasse attracted support as a staunch conservative in the mold of Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), airing harsh criticism of President Obama’s healthcare reform law and vowing to hold firm to conservative principles.

Sasse racked up endorsements from a number of conservative heavyweights including Cruz, the conservative group Club for Growth and the Senate Conservatives Fund, which rankled some senators by backing challengers to GOP incumbents. Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) also threw his support behind Sasse.

Chris Chocola, president of Club for Growth, praised him Tuesday as “a constitutional conservative who will lead the fight to repeal and replace ObamaCare.”

But Sasse had a rough start with Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), who is poised to take control of the Senate as majority leader if Republicans take control. Sasse called on McConnell to “show some actual leadership” in fighting against the healthcare reform law, leading to criticism from allies of the Senate GOP leader.

While offering a tough conservative message, Sasse is not exactly a Washington outsider. He spent time as a staffer on Capitol Hill and held several positions within President George W. Bush’s administration, including at the Department of Health and Human Services.