Who Are the Tea Party Supporters?

Republican Rand Paul and his wife Kelley wave to supporters as they arrive for his victory celebration in Bowling Green, Ky., Tuesday, Nov. 2, 2010.

/ AP Photo/Ed Reinke

The tea party movement - the loose collection of local political organizations - promoted Washington outsiders in a handful of Senate races. They had mixed success on Election Day, winning several states by wide margins, but losing three key races that ultimately cost Republicans control of the Senate. CBS exit polls show that the tea party supporters were comprised primarily of older while males seeking fiscal responsibility and smaller government.

Tea Party Races

Tea party candidates won three states easily on Election Day. In Florida, Republican Marco Rubio received 49 percent of the vote, compared to 30 percent for Charlie Christ and 20 percent for Kendrick Meeks. In Kentucky, Rand Paul beat Jack Conway 56 percent to 44 percent. In Utah, Mike Lee crushed Sam Granato 64 percent to 30 percent.

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On the flip side, Tea Party candidates lost in two states. In Delaware, Christine O'Donnell was decisively beaten Christopher Coons 56 percent to 40 percent. In Nevada, Sharon Angle lost to Harry Reid 50 percent to 45 percent.

Races in two other states were too close to call as of early morning Wednesday. In Colorado, Ken Buck was in a dead heat with Michael Bennet. In Alaska, Joe Miller was in a tight three-way race with Lisa Murkowski and Scott McAdams.

Composition of Tea Party Supporters

According the CBS News national exit polls, tea party supporters cross party lines, yet comprise a fairly narrow demographic.

Fifty eight percent of tea party supporters identify themselves as Republican, 33 percent as independent, and 9 percent as Democratic. However, 80 percent of tea party supporters are white, 55 percent are male, and 56 percent are 50 years of age and older.

Tea party supporters are upset with the way government is functioning and feel that smaller government would be far more effective in dealing with America's problems. Two thirds of tea party supporters disapprove of President Obama. Forty-five percent blame him for the poor economic conditions and 59 percent think the stimulus has hurt the economy. Eighty-four percent think health care reform should be repealed.

Instead, 85 percent of tea party supporters think the government should do less.

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Doug Schwartz Ph.D., is the Director of the Quinnipiac University Poll. Samuel J. Best is an associate professor of political science at the University of Connecticut and the former director of the Center for Survey Research and Analysis. He is the author of numerous books and articles on public opinion and survey methods. He holds a Ph. D. in political science from the State University of New York at Stony Brook.

[akcoyote]

TEA Party = PEACEFUL Revolution

So what's not to understand?

[cajparty]

Ah yes dear Comrade noloyalisti! What a wonderful, simplistic and closed minded snobish doltish group you hang with. California.. out of touch with reality... keep building and overcrowding the hills, which slide down every year, more smog, yuppies wanting material goods, yet whining about the environment, expecting to steal the fruits of someone elses labors. Yes this is your (un)progessive, "center" (this is a laugh) left, selfish and lazy... they are the crooks. I would suggest that Rand Paul has more intelligence in his little finger than you party loyalists have between your ears.... thats right keep walking in lock step to the commanders... whether it be Bush, Obabama (nothing but Bush on steriods). Maybe some therapy would help you.

we will be better off once the monster called the 2 party system is gone

[noloyalisti]

It's actually the Republican Tea Bag Party. And they are even more extreme than the extremist Republican Crime Family. They are not wanted in the progressive center left United States. Except in some of the inbred states like Kentucky, South Carolina and Idaho.

[akcoyote]

I love how the left 'discusses' issues. They don't address the problem, they throw out some insults and the argument is over.

[jimmyc1955]

The name Tea Party is wrong - because it is not a party. But for the party obsessed in the media who live and die by watching a game called politics played between 2 teams - republicans and democrats - this movement can only be understood in the context of a party. If it truly is an amorphous group with a common ideology the media doesn't know how to score them. How can you have a player that isn't a team?? But that is exactly why so many are attracted to that movement. It isn't a party, doesn't have a platform and supports candidates only so far as the local groups support that candidate.

I would hope, and pray, that maybe we might be seeing the beginning of the slow decline in party importance and possibly the rise of evaluating candidates on issues rather than party affiliation.

[akcoyote]

Well said. That aptly describes the movement.

[Cattzen]

Quote: "what now?"


HAIL AQUA BUDDAH!
HAIL AQUA BUDDAH!

[srt3254]

The tea party isn't a thing - it's more of an idea. That idea runs deeper than those holding signs on the National Mall. As an industry, you are all obsessed with trying to make it into an actual party and a "thing" you can attack. It's also interesting how numbers can look. Try your stats this way, "20% of voters who identified themselves as tea partiers outside the polling locations CBS chose to include in their canvas are non-white, 45% are female and 44% are under the age of 50."

[san850]

The article did not mention that bigotry runs rampant within the Tea Party.

[jwind1]

san did not get the memo obviously....last night proved that the "you are a bigot if..." strategy doesnt work

[jimmyc1955]

Funny - 2 African Americans and 2 Indian Americans won tea party races - pretty inclusive for a bunch of bigots.

[Crankypaul]

We must always remember that only the conservatives and the right leaners have any knowledge of the truth and the the liberal loonies are always totally out of their minds.

That way the voices in our heads won't get into a conflict with what goes on all around us. After all, we are right and they are wrong. Just ask us~

[retiredgustav]

You are right the liberal looneys should have never been alllowed to bring us Social Security and Medicare,working people are just that and theyneed to be kept in their place and work until they die. The same with health care, if someone doens't have the means to pay for their health care, the hopitals should refuse them service and they should just die.

[simpleconservative]

What does the word "Mainly" mean. I have been to local events and for every man there is at least one woman in the crowd. This is a broad brush conclusion that is either wishful thinking or an attempt to color reality in a way that the author thinks is damaging somehow to the movement. Earth to author, this is a grass roots movement populated by folks who are fed up with unconstitutional actions, irresponsible spending, job killing regulation and punitive tax policies!

[abccink]

simpleconservative - I am constantly amazed at lib "journalists" writing such utterly biased tripe while, at the same time, being so very proud of their open-mindedness! Pompous is too polite a term for them!
1) "The Tea Party is responsible for Republicans failing to win the Senate." Oh really? Total spin! Liberal journalists have gotten so used to getting away with writing this stuff that they don't even realize they are doing it. Well, I tell you now, the Tea Party is here to stay and they definitely notice your bias and complicity!
2)"tea party supporters cross party lines, yet comprise a fairly narrow demographic." Of course they do! That's what people do when choosing a party! We don't identify with the R party because we are white, we do it because we are conservatives. We don't identify with the Tea Party because we are white or male or rich - we do it because we love America, we love open market capitalism and we believe in self-responsibility. How about putting on your color/gender/ethnicity-blind glasses to look at Tea Partiers just as you do to look at the NAACP, the New Black Panther Party, the Black Congressional Caucus, etc.