Tea Party Alliance: No Endorsement in Republican U.S. Senate Race ... Yet

In an effort to head off a conservative stampede and to set the record straight, a statewide tea party group is advising its members that no endorsement has been made in the Republican contest for U.S. Senate.

"Individual candidates who crown themselves as a 'tea party candidate' have not been endorsed by Florida Alliance and should be questioned as to the specific individual, group or groups who endorse them. If and when a candidate is endorsed by Florida Alliance we will issue a statement," wrote Tom Gaitens, a tea partier from Southwest Florida.

Gaitens is a regional representative for the national tea organization FreedomWorks, which this week endorsed Adam Hasner.

But Gaitens, via an e-mail obtained by Sunshine State News, said the Florida Alliance "has different views and opinions when it comes to individual candidates."

"We believe that all of these candidates deserve to be heard and vetted before we offer our support. That is why recent developments have given us cause for concern. As a group, Florida Alliance has not endorsed a candidate for any office."

Calling the Alliance a "family of 60 to 70 individual grass-roots groups," Gaitens said, "One of the important elements of the tea party movement is that there is no central leadership. No one group or organization dictates our actions. National organizations speak for their members and their members only."

An Alliance member, who declined to be identified, said the group's missive was partially motivated by claims identifying retired Col. Mike McCalister as a "tea party favorite."

"Many tea party groups are upset that political candidates claim to have total support from the movement," the source said.