WASHINGTON (AP) - Tea party favorite Sen. Jim DeMint of South Carolina says voters soundly rebuked President Barack Obama at the polls and that conservatives' first priority will be to try to ban lawmakers' special spending requests.
The Republican said Wednesday the most exciting thing about the election was "a realization by the American people that the power is really in their hands if they want to stand up and take it."
DeMint, who easily won his own re-election Tuesday, has been critical of the GOP establishment and donated to tea party candidates across the country. He said the conservatives' first priority would be an effort to ban special spending requests known as earmarks.
DeMint spoke on ABC's "Good Morning America and CBS's "The Early Show."