A Gallup/USA Today poll released on Monday found that seven in 10 adults, including 88 percent of Republicans, agree that Republican leaders in Congress should take the Tea Party movement’s objectives and views into account when addressing the country’s problems. Fifty-three percent of Republicans and 26 percent of Democrats rated this consideration as “very important.”
The poll also found that more Americans have a favorable opinion of the Republican Party than they do of the Tea Party movement. Forty-seven percent of surveyed Americans had a favorable view of the Republican Party and 39 percent of poll participants had a favorable standpoint on the Tea Party.
Although only 6 percent of Democrats support the Tea Party and just 11 percent have a favorable view of it, more than half of Democratic poll participants say it is important for the Republican Party to take the Tea Party’s positions into account when addressing the country’s problems.
The majority of surveyed Americans may argue that Congress should consider Tea Party’s positions when addressing the country’s issues, but the overall view of the Tea Party movement is unfavorable. Just less than 40 percent of conducted participants view the Tea Party favorably and 42 percent view it unfavorably. The poll did find, however, that slightly more Americans call themselves supporters of the movement than opponents.
The poll, which was conducted by phone just days before President Barack Obama’s State of the Union address, surveyed 1,032 adults and has a sampling error of 4 percentage points.