According to a Gallup poll released Monday, tea party loyalists are fairly representative of larger U.S. demographics, although they appear to be more white and male and older than the average American. Tea partier politics, though, are solidly conservative or right, and so looked upon unfavorably by a slight majority of moderates and a large share of progressives or lefties.
The poll conducted March 26 to 28, surveyed 1,033 adults and found that 34 percent of tea partiers were between 30 and 49 years old. The national average age is 36. The only notable demographic anomaly among tea partiers was the relative paucity of African Americans, who make up 11 percent of the U.S. population but only 6 percent of tea party followers. White folks, on the other hand, are over represented, making up 79 percent of tea partiers but only 75 percent of the larger population.
More Americans have a negative view of the Tea Party than a positive view. Gallup reports that 51 percent of moderates viewed tea partiers negatively while 24 percent of moderates view them favorably. Tea partiers also appear to be viewed more negatively than positively by Independents: 41 percent of respondents unaligned with a political party view tea partiers unfavorably while 37 percent of independents view tea partiers favorably. Among progressives and Democrats, the number unsurprisingly dips precipitously: 11 percent of liberals and 14 percent of Democrats viewed the group in a positive light.
Comments are closed.