PRINCETON, NJ -- One in four Americans now say they are supporters of the Tea Party. This is down from 2010, but support has been fairly stable since late 2011. The percentage of Americans classifying themselves as Tea Party opponents is slightly higher now than it was in 2010. The lower support for the Tea Party reflects the group's more limited impact in primary election contests this midterm election year, compared with its major role in 2010.
The latest update is from Gallup's Sept. 4-7 Governance survey. The Tea Party came into national prominence in 2010, when its supporters were widely credited with helping elect candidates they supported to Congress. Support among Americans was 30% or higher in a number of polls in 2010 and the first part of 2011, but began to drop later that year. It reached a low of 21% in two late 2011 surveys, followed by a slight recovery in 2012. After declining slightly in three surveys in 2013 and early 2014, support then edged up to 24% in surveys conducted in May and September of this year. Thirty-one percent of Americans now classify themselves as Tea Party opponents -- by one percentage point, the highest opposition level Gallup has measured -- leaving about 44% of Americans who are neither supporters nor opponents, or who do not answer the question.
Tea Party opponents feel more strongly about their position than do supporters. More than half say they are "strong opponents," while less than half of supporters say they are "strong supporters." This pattern has been evident to one degree or the other since 2011.
Tea Party Republicans Much More Conservative Than Other Republicans
The Tea Party movement's major influence has been within the Republican Party, particularly in terms of Republican primaries. Eight in 10 Tea Party supporters in the September survey are Republicans or lean toward the Republican Party, with the rest divided between independents and Democrats.
Gallup has asked about Tea Party support in five surveys conducted over the past year, consisting of more than 6,000 interviews, with 18% of adults in that large sample saying they are Tea Party Republicans, 25% who are Republicans who do not support the Tea Party, and 58% who are not Republicans.
Overall, 77% of Tea Party Republicans are conservative, including 28% who say they are very conservative. That presents a sharp contrast with the 52% of non-Tea Party Republicans who are conservative, including only 10% who classify themselves as very conservative.
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Tea Party Support Holds at 24%