Revulsion against the ins at all-time high on primary day

As voters head to the polls Tuesday for a crucial set of primary elections, a new Washington Post-ABC News poll finds antipathy toward their elected officials rising and anti-incumbent sentiment at an all-time high.

The national survey shows that 29 percent of Americans now say they are inclined to support their House representative in November, even lower than in 1994, when voters swept the Democrats out of power in the that chamber after 40 years in the majority.

The poll also finds growing disapproval of the "tea party" movement, with half the population now expressing an unfavorable impression of the loosely aligned protest campaign that has shaken up politics this year.

And at a time when Republicans anticipate significant gains in House and Senate elections, there is also fresh evidence of the challenges facing the GOP. Six in 10 poll respondents say they have a negative view of the policies put forward by the Republican minority in Congress, and about a third say they trust Republicans over Democrats to handle the nation's main problems.

This sour mood has made for nervous politicians, as candidates from both parties have tried to figure out what voters want -- and don't want. On Tuesday, hopefuls in Virginia and 11 other states will find out. It is the busiest single primary day of the year, and a big test of just how deep anti-incumbent and anti-establishment feelings go.

Doug Hoffman, the conservative who hopes to upend the RINO in NY23, in his own words

The 23rd Congressional District in upstate New York is locked in an election battle that echoes far beyond Watertown. When the local Republican party nominated Assembly member Dede Scozzafava, some conservatives balked, objecting that her positions (on gay marriage, abortion and spending) are too liberal. Local businessman Doug Hoffman decided to run as the Conservative Party candidate to oppose both the Democrat, Bill Owens, and Scozzafava in the November election. Hoffman tells The Post why the Republican Party needs to return to its base.

At this time, three months ago, I was wrestling with a decision. A decision as to whether or not to run in a special election to fill the seat vacated by the new secretary of the Army, John McHugh. If you had told me 90 days later I would be penning an op-ed piece for the New York Post, I would have laughed in disbelief. I would have laughed even louder had you told me that I would be receiving endorsement and support from political leaders like Fred Thompson, former Majority Leader Dick Armey, or Sarah Palin. Or appearing on broadcast media with national audiences, as their hosts peppered me with questions about the future of the GOP and our nation.

You see I’m not a professional politician; I’ve never sought elected office. I grew up poor in Saranac Lake, in the heart of the Adirondacks. My siblings and I were raised in a single-parent household by our mother. We worked to help her pay the mortgage. But, like so many others in this great land, I worked hard, got a good education, did a six-year stint in the military, married, landed a good job with a “big eight” accounting firm and started living the American dream.