Likelihood to Vote for Tea Party-Supported Candidates Edges Past 50%

/PRNewswire/ -- PJTV's Tea Party TV today released its fourth iteration of their weekly Tea Party poll, which revealed that 52 percent of likely voters are likely to vote for a Tea Party-supported congressional candidate. Furthermore, the survey revealed that over half of likely voters (54%) support the Tea Party and one in three (30%) respondents strongly support the movement.

"This week's Tea Party tracking poll numbers and election results both suggest the growing strength of the Tea Party movement," said Vik Rubenfeld, PJTV's Polling Director. "The Tea Party's strength was demonstrated during this week's elections, as many of the movement's candidates prevailed over those who were more traditional Republicans. Additionally, our polling data suggests that Independents, who have historically been the 'swing voters,' share the Tea Party's concerns regarding public expenditures, as more than eight in 10 worry the consequences of spending and debt will jeopardize the American dream."

The weekly PJTV/Pulse Opinion Research nationwide survey of 1,000 likely voters tracks Tea Party support as well as provides a snapshot of public opinion regarding the week's top issues. In addition to the findings above, 51 percent of self-identified Independents and 75 percent of self-identified Republicans noted they were more likely to vote for a Tea Party-supported congressional candidate.

The nationwide support for Tea Party candidates likely stems from the increased concern over the debt and spending. The poll goes on to reveal that 79 percent of likely voters feel concerned that the American dream could be destroyed for current workers by national spending and debt. This theme was also pervasive during last week's survey, as 88 percent of likely voters and even 81 percent of self-identified Democrats believed there was a possibility of another financial crisis in the next five years.

Poll Highlights

-- 52 percent of likely voters are more likely vote for a Tea
Party-supported congressional candidate. For self-identified
Republicans, 75 percent are more likely to vote for a Tea
Party-supported candidate, as are 51 percent of self-identified
Independents.
-- 54 percent of likely voters support the Tea Party movement.
-- 79 percent of likely voters believe the American dream could be
destroyed for current workers by the U.S. federal debt and U.S.
federal spending, as do 83 percent of self-identified Independents.
-- 75 percent of likely voters believe the American dream could be
destroyed for current college and high school students by the nation's
federal debt and federal spending.

Methodology

The Tea Party Tracking Study is a PJTV survey. The telephone survey of 1,000 Likely Voters was conducted by Pulse Opinion Research on August 22, 2010. Pulse Opinion Research, LLC is an independent public opinion research firm using automated polling methodology and procedures licensed from Rasmussen Reports, LLC. Margin of Sampling Error, +/- 3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence.