Chalk up another victory for the Tea Party. Representative Todd Akin of Missouri won the GOP primary defeating two other strong candidates. He earned the right to face Senator Claire McCaskill in the November election for one of the two Missouri senate seats.

Akin used his affiliation with the Tea Party to help in the primary race that ended up being much tighter than normal, as all three of the GOP candidates claimed to be conservatives.

The latest results have sent yet one more Tea Party supported candidate to the November general election, with the race against McCaskill considered to be one of the Senate’s most closely watched of the election.

Akin defeated his opponents in a contest that was defined by which of the three were the most conservative. Akin defeated the candidate supported by Sarah Palin, Sarah Steelman the former state treasurer and John Brunner a wealthy businessman who spent over $7.5 million of his personal wealth in his campaign.

Amidst all the primary election on Tuesday in four states, the Republican primary for the Senate in Missouri was considered to have the most national impact. For the GOP to take control of the Senate from the Democrats, they need to net four seats. One of the targets the Republicans have aimed at defeating is McCaskill in Missouri.

Akin did not waste any time starting his campaign for the November election. At his primary victory speech, he said the race was between a balanced budget, less spending job creating conservative versus the job killing budget busting liberal McCaskill.

McCaskill labelled her new opponent as an extreme candidate who is on the fringe.