Is your tea getting cold? A new poll suggests the Tea Party movement may be losing some of its steam in the run-up to Election Day.
The ABC/Washington Post survey found that only 18 percent of registered voters now say they are more likely to vote for a Tea Party affiliated candidate. That’s down from 30 percent in July. Those less likely to vote for a Tea Party candidate remains at 28 percent.
Overall, 47 percent of the 1,002 Americans polled Sept. 30-Oct. 3 oppose the Tea Party, vs. 40 percent who support it. The split was even among likely voters, according to results that have a 3.5 percentage point margin of error.
Tea Party leader Ginni Thomas dismissed the findings in an interview with ABC’s Good Morning America.
“The real poll will be on Nov. 2,” said Thomas, founder of the nonprofit group Liberty Central and wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas.
“I don’t think it’s a partisan thing going on. I think it’s a principle thing. I think it’s an American thing. I think people are rebelling and there’s a big tidal wave coming,” she added.
Meanwhile, two Tea Party candidates are still trying to define themselves against a tide of unfavorable publicity.
“I’m not a witch. I’m nothing you’ve heard. I’m you,” Republican Senate nominee Christine O’Donnell of Delaware says in a new TV ad. “None of us are perfect. But none of us can be happy with what we see all around us. I’ll go to Washington and do what you’d do.”
Tea Party-backed New York Republican gubernatorial nominee Carl Paladino addressed doubts about his judgment in an interview on NBC’s Today show.
Paladino got into a shouting match with a news reporter last week after alleging — without evidence — that his Democratic rival Andrew Cuomo cheated on his ex-wife. The Republican has admitted having an affair of his own that resulted in a child born out of wedlock.
NBC: People want to know if the person they put in Albany (the New York state capital) as the governor has proper judgment. Do you have that proper judgment?
“I have it. I’ve illustrated it time and again. I’ve illustrated it my entire career,” Paladino replied.
Photo credits: Reuters/Rebecca Cook (Tea Partiers in Michigan); Reuters/Jonathan Ernst (Christine O’D0nnell); Reuters/Lucas Jackson (New York Voting Station)
