Poll Watch: Rasmussen Survey on the Tea Party Movement and the Budget Debate

Rasmussen Survey on the Tea Party Movement and the Budget Debate

Do you consider yourself part of the Tea Party movement?

• Yes 21%
• No 70%

Do you have a favorable or an unfavorable opinion of the Tea Party movement?

• Favorable 36%
• Unfavorable 44%

Thinking of the budget debate in Congress, has the impact of the Tea Party made things better or worse for the country?

• Better 32%
• Worse 43%
• No impact 14%
• Undecided 11%

Some people have accused the Tea Party of acting like economic terrorists during the budget debates. Are members of the Tea Party economic terrorists?

• Yes 29%
• No 55%
• Undecided 16%

Survey of 1,000 likely voters was conducted August 5-6, 2011. The margin of error is +/- 3 percentage points.

Inside the numbers:

Forty-one percent(41%) of Republicans say they are members of the Tea Party, compared to 19% of unaffiliated voters and just four percent (4%) of Democrats.

Men are more likely than women to consider themselves Tea Party members. Voters over 40 are more likely to be members than those who are younger. Twenty-five percent (25%) of whites are members of the group versus only two percent (2%) of blacks.

While 63% of GOP voters hold a favorable opinion of the Tea Party, 75% of Democrats regard the group unfavorably. Unaffiliated voters share that unfavorable opinion by a slim 42% to 38% margin.

While 53% of Democrats view Tea Party members as economic terrorists, 57% of voters not affiliated with either major party disagree, as do 74% of Republicans. 

Fifty-three percent (53%) of Republicans believe the Tea Party has made things better, while 73% of Democrats feel it has made things worse. Unaffiliated voters are evenly divided with 37% saying the Tea Party made things better and 37% worse.