Rick Perry's win on a strong anti-Washington message is being seen as a big victory for limited government conservatism.

From Jonathan Martin at Politico:

Texas GOP Gov. Rick Perry has embraced the cause of state sovereignty, suggested his famously independent state could secede from the union, deemed the president a socialist and, last month in Houston, happily stood by former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin’s side to receive her endorsement. Perry’s approach seems to be paying dividends...

Meanwhile, the liberal Huffington Post acknowledged, Perry's win, "highlighted the growing anti-Washington mood among voters in midterm elections."

And from the foreign press, the UK Guardian describes Perry's win as an absolute "shock" to American politics:

More moderate Republicans face being displaced by candidates backed by the Tea Party and other grassroots right-wingers... The right-wing, anti-Washington mood engulfing the US last night claimed another victim when the Republican senator Kay Bailey Hutchison was forced out of the race to become governor of Texas.

The latest upset comes only two months after grassroots activists from round the country contributed to the shock Republican victory in the battle for Ted Kennedy’s Senate place.

The result suggests a shift to the right lies ahead in the Republican party both in Congress and among governors.

Moderate Republicans face being displaced by more right-wing candidates, backed by Tea Party activists and others who complain the Republican party has betrayed its core principles. These right-wingers oppose federal government spending under Barack Obama, the proposed health care bill and immigration reform, and blame Republicans for failing to oppose the spending.

The Guardian ominously warns that Charlie Crist in Florida and even moderately conservative John McCain, could next face the wave of libertarian-conservative angst.