Political Climate

[Riot]

Tea Party Candidate Now Comes In Last On Three-Way Generic Ballot
Tuesday, February 09, 2010

For Republicans, the good news is that the Tea Party challenge is a little less scary for now. The bad news is that Democrats are still ahead in a three-way Generic Ballot test.

A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey of likely voters finds that in a three-way congressional contest with a Tea Party candidate on the ballot, the Democrat earns 36% support. The GOP candidate comes in second with 25% of the vote, while the Tea Party candidate picks up 17%. Twenty-three percent (23%) are undecided.

In early December, the Tea Party candidate came in second with 23% of the vote, while the Republican finished in third with 18%. The Democratic candidate attracted 36% of the vote in that contest, too.

Unchanged between the two surveys is the 41% of voters who have a favorable opinion of the Tea Party movement. But now 28% view the movement unfavorably, up six points from December. Thirty-one percent (31%) are not sure what they think of the movement.

The survey was taken Sunday and Monday night following the Tea Party movement’s first national convention in Nashville. Former Alaska Governor and GOP vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin was the keynote speaker and told the group, "This is the future of our country. The Tea Party movement is the future of politics."

Shifts in voting by Republicans and voters not affiliated with either party are key to the Tea Party’s new third-place showing. In December, 39% of GOP voters went for their party’s candidate, but 33% opted for the Tea Party. Now, 48% of Republicans are sticking with the GOP, and just 23% favor the Tea Party candidate.

Among unaffiliateds [ also known as "independents" ], 33% supported the Tea Party congressional candidate in December. Now, only 23% are voting that way. Interestingly, however, most of that shift seems to go into the undecided category rather than into support for the Republican.

The Tea Party candidate continues to earn just single-digit support from Democratic voters.