Poll Watch: Rasmussen (R) Survey on the Tea Party Movement

Rasmussen (R) Poll on the Tea Party Movement

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

• Favorable 30%
• Unfavorable 49%

Over the past year has the Tea Party become more influential or less influential? 

• More influential 21%
• Less influential 56%

Is the Tea Party movement good for the country or bad for the country? 

• Good for the country 34%
• Bad for the country 40%

Do you consider yourself part of the Tea Party movement?  

• Yes 8%

Note:  Sixteen percent (16%) of Republicans now say they are Tea Party members, compared to two percent (2%) of Democrats and eight percent (8%) of voters not affiliated with either major party.

National survey of 1,000 likely voters was conducted January 3-4, 2013. The margin of error is +/- 3 percentage points.

Inside the numbers:  

Only eight percent (8%) now say they are members of the Tea Party, down from a high of 24% in April 2010 just after passage of the national health care law.  

In April 2009, when the Tea Party protests against President Obama’s spending policies first erupted, 51% of Americans held a favorable opinion of the movement. However, just 35% felt that way by last July.

Only 34% of voters now believe the Tea Party movement is good for the country, down from 49% in April 2011.

Most Republicans continue to have a favorable opinion of the Tea Party and have much more confidence in the average Tea Party member than the average member of Congress. Most GOP voters also still believe the movement is good for the country. Most Democrats disagree in every instance.

A plurality (46%) of unaffiliated voters regards the Tea Party unfavorably, but these voters are narrowly divided on most other questions related to the movement.

Still, 46% of Republicans agree with 60% of both Democrats and unaffiliateds that the Tea Party has become less influential over the past year.

Fifty-six percent (56%) of voters who are Tea Party members think the movement has become more influential over the past 12 months, while 60% of non-members believe it has become less influential.