(CNN) -- Leaders of the burgeoning Tea Party movement say their projected midterm election victories should send a strong message: watch out in 2012. "The Republicans need to know, we've done it in 2010. If they don't do the right thing in the next couple of years, it's not a problem. We'll come back in 2012. We'll do it all over again. We'll replace them with people that will uphold [our] principles," said Mark Meckler, co-founder of Tea Party Patriots -- one of the movement's largest groups. Tuesday's elections were seen as a crucial moment for measuring the staying power of the Tea Party movement, which was born out of frustration with the political establishment and steeped in economic anxiety.
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NEW: At least five projected Republican Senate winners are backed by the Tea Party
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"We'll come back in 2012. We'll do it all over again," a movement leader says
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A political analyst says Tea Party activists helped Republicans win more House seats
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The midterm elections results are a key tool for measuring the staying power of the Tea Party
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