Amy Kremer, one of the original Tea Party activists who participated in the February 20, 2009 call that launched the movement and played a key role as scheduler of the April 15, 2009 Tax Day Tea Party rallies, resigned on Friday as chairman of Tea Party Express, a position which she has held since the summer of 2009.
Tea Party Express, a political action committee known for its national bus tours, was one of the first national organizations to successfully raise money through appeals to Tea Party supporters and activists. The group played a significant role in helping Tea Party candidates win Senate and Congressional elections in 2010 and 2012.
Some of the candidates it backed, such as Christine O’Donnell in the 2010 U.S. Senate election in Delaware and Richard Mourdock in the 2012 U.S. Senate election in Indiana, won their primaries but lost general elections due, in part, to well publicized gaffes on the campaign trail some attributed to their political inexperience.
Judson Phillips, founder of Tea Party Nation, told Breitbart News on learning of Kremer’s resignation: “Amy is a strong fighter for liberty. She’s been a part of this movement since the beginning, and I wish her nothing but the very best in the future.”
In a statement, Kremer said, “This has been a really difficult decision for me, but the time has come for me (to) leave Tea Party Express.”
Kremer added, “I’ve wanted to move in a different direction for a while, but also wanted to make sure that any change I make was also a positive change for the conservative movement. So as we move into this election cycle, I think the time is right.”
Kremer offered no details about her specific plans for the future, but did say, “I’m excited about engaging in competitive Senate primaries and supporting fiscal conservatives in the coming weeks.”