Tea party favorite bets Cruz, Trump coattails can beat Burr

CARY, N.C. (AP) — Two years after his loss to a Republican favored by party leaders in Washington, Greg Brannon is betting the popularity of outsiders like Ted Cruz and Donald Trump can sweep him to a U.S. Senate primary upset win.

At the event, Brannon accused Burr of voting to raise the debt ceiling several times, to fund Obama's health care law and to compromise on spending bills that raised taxes.

Burr declined an interview request about his rival but said by email this is another desperate attempt from Greg Brannon to distort my conservative voting record in the Senate.

Alfredo Rodriguez, a GOP political consultant in Charlotte who has worked with tea party and establishment Republicans but is not involved in the Senate race, said Brannon peaked in 2014.

Brannon is tapping into the anger of tea party Republicans who feel like GOP leaders used them for their political benefit in 2010.

Brannon's platform, which relies on a literal reading of the Constitution, leads to some stark policy outcomes, including the abolition of the federal income tax and shifting regulatory powers now held by the Food and Drug Administration and Environmental Protection Agency to states.

The anti-establishment sentiment could work elsewhere in North Carolina, such as the GOP primary involving 2nd Congressional District Rep. Renee Ellmers and three challengers, said Andrew Taylor, a political science professor at North Carolina State University.