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Who could be the next Ted Cruz? Top 10 tea party primaries of 2014.

Who are the tea party movement's top candidates in 2014, and what are their prospects? Here's a look:

6. North Carolina: Greg Brannon vs. Thom Tillis

Gerry Broome/AP/File
North Carolina Republican candidate for US Senate Greg Brannon (l.) speaks with a supporter prior to a fundraising breakfast in Cary, N.C., last month.

Update: Thom Tillis, speaker of the North Carolina House, won the May 6 Republican primary for US Senate and will face freshman Sen. Kay Hagan (D) in November. Speaker Tillis, the GOP establishment favorite, won 46 percent of the vote, clearing the 40 percent threshold needed to avoid a runoff.

Greg Brannon, a physician and the top tea party candidate, won 27 percent. Pastor Mark Harris came in third with 18 percent. Heather Grant, a nurse practitioner and self-described “constitutional conservative,” won 5 percent.

Here’s the background: Republicans are eager to defeat Senator Hagan, and a crowded GOP field jumped into the primary. For months analysts said Tillis had the strongest chance of beating Hagan, but it took him a while to break out. On April 29, Public Policy Polling released a survey showing Tillis surging to 46 percent, his ultimate winning total.

Late in the campaign, Tillis got a big infusion of GOP establishment support with the endorsements of North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory (R), former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush (R), and 2012 Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney. Tillis also got support from two major Republican establishment groups, American Crossroads and the US Chamber of Commerce.

Dr. Brannon got support from the Washington-based tea party organization FreedomWorks and Sen. Rand Paul (R) of Kentucky. Reverend Harris was endorsed by former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee (R).

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Mark Sappenfield
Editor

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