While tea party activists have described themselves as political free agents disgusted with both parties, a new poll by Quinnipiac University shows that a majority have a close connection to the GOP.
Almost three quarters of those who identified themselves as part of the tea party movement – 74 percent – also identified themselves as Republicans or independents who lean Republican, according to the poll. Only 16 percent of tea partiers said they are Democrats or Democratic-leaning independents.
And 60 percent of voters who identify themselves as members of the tea party movement have a favorable impression of the Republican Party, compared to only 20 percent who view the GOP unfavorably.
Put another way, more than one fifth – 21 percent - of those who described themselves as Republicans said they also considered themselves part of the tea party movement, compared to 15 percent of independents and 5 percent of Democrats.
The poll was based on interviews with 1,900 voters. Thirteen percent responded yes to the question: “Do you consider yourself part of the tea party movement?” – a percentage roughly equal to the size of the African-American electorate.
Those who described themselves as tea party activists are nearly twice as likely to regard the GOP favorably as are voters as a whole, according to the poll. Among all voters surveyed, the poll found that the Republican and Democratic parties had identically dismal 33 percent favorability ratings, with 48 percent harboring unfavorable views of the Democratic Party and 42 regarding the GOP unfavorably.
According to the poll, 82 percent of tea partiers have an unfavorable opinion of the Democratic Party.
That number, combined with tea partiers’ identification as Republican and their highly favorable view of the GOP, might allay somewhat the concerns of among Republican leaders that their prospects for significant gains in the 2010 congressional midterm could be jeopardized by tea party activists who have mobilized in opposition to what they see as runaway spending by President Obama and congressional Democrats.
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