The most important question may not be whether the Republicans win or how big their victory is. The bigger question may be which Republicans win. This year’s crop of Republican candidates includes a strong group of constitutionalists, conservatives, and reformers. But there are also opportunistic time-servers, party hacks, and the RINOs who got away. Somewhere in between are the candidates who will come to Washington, compile a sound voting record that earns high American Conservative Union ratings, but never really do anything to tear down what the liberals have built since the New Deal.

At this point, I won’t name names. I think most readers know where the various Republican nominees fit on the spectrum. The Tea Party activists made an impact on the GOP primaries this year. While not every nominee that resulted was the most polished, the most electable, or even the most qualified, they all were willing to fight — and push the party to the right. Now we’ll see how many of them win tonight and what it does to the composition of the Republican caucus.

Remember: For most of the existing Republican leadership, tonight’s probable gains are totally unearned. If the Republicans win back the majority, what kind of majority will  they be? What kind of party does the GOP want to be? Will they keep their oaths to uphold the Constitution? Those are the real questions.