The Wall Street Journal has a new poll out today showing some very interesting statistics for the Tea Party movement.
WSJ: In the survey, 71% of Republicans described themselves as tea-party supporters, saying they had a favorable image of the movement or hoped tea- party candidates would do well in the Nov. 2 elections.
The poll found that tea-party supporters make up one-third of the voters most likely to cast ballots in November's midterm elections. This showed the movement "isn't a small little segment, but it is a huge part of what's driving 2010," Mr. Hart said.
The tea party is a major driver of the so-called enthusiasm gap, with three-quarters of supporters saying they are intensely interested in the election.
For the GOP, these statistics must give the establishment pause. Not only do the Tea Parties have numerical strength within the GOP, they are clearly the driving force of enthusiasm within the party. The message for the GOP is clear; Hippy Punch the Tea Parties and you WILL draw back a nub.
With Tea Partiers making up one-third of voters, the Democrats may want to rethink their fantasy that the Tea Parties are a fringe group.
The WSJ poll also gives us a peek at the 2012 line up.
The movement's greater strength within the party could be significant beyond 2010, as the party looks toward choosing a nominee in 2012 to challenge Mr. Obama.
One beneficiary could be former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, who is viewed positively by about two-thirds of tea-party supporters, making her more popular in the movement than other potential presidential candidates included in the new survey.
Slight majorities of tea-party supporters also feel positively about former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich. Just four in 10 feel positively about former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney.
Like I said in the post about Palin’s Iowa speech, she holds two cards for 2012. She can outright run to win the nomination or she can run to shape the nomination. Just looking at these numbers, Mitt Romney is going to have to remake himself into Reagan on steroids just to have a shot against Palin and Huckabee.
Read the whole Wall Street Journal piece and then click over to Hot Air for interesting stuff on the poll’s crosstabs.
Via: Memeorandum
Via: Wall Street Journal
Via: Hot Air