An expert says while Tea Party candidates have seen success in other parts of the country, that hasn’t been the case in Missouri.

“The Tea Party’s not as big a deal here. They made a little bit of a run at (Congressman Roy) Blunt and certainly didn’t get very far. I think most Missouri Republicans are content to run very competitive candidates and see this as a year where they have a change to pick up some seats. I don’t think they want to risk that by running candidates that may, in the end, not be as strong as the candidates they have right now,” said Peverill Squire,  a political science professor at the University of Missouri.

He says the US Senate race is a good example of that point.

“It’s a little different from what’s happening in the rest of the country. The Tea Party really isn’t looking to somebody like Blunt to carry their message. He’s really he antithesis of what the Tea Party (has) been pushing,” Squire said.

Meantime, Squire thinks there probably isn’t a whole lot of time left for the Tea Party to grow in Missouri, of anywhere for that matter.

“My guess is it’s probably peaking nationally at this point. I think a lot of people who are supporting the Tea Party will be disappointed that change won’t happen as quickly or dramatically as they might like even if they pick up the seats that they’re hoping to pick up. So I think some of the frustration people feel with politics right now will continue; it will just be directed at a different group of people who have disappointed them. It’s very hard to make big changes in American politics; it’s very hard for one side to always get everything it wants. People sometimes have a hard time understanding that reality,” Squire said.

AUDIO: Ryan Famuliner reports [1 min MP3]