Tea Party more popular than GOP in national poll

By John Byrne Want to become a congressman in a conservative district?

Then perhaps you shouldn't run as a Republican. A national poll which gave respondents three choices -- to support a generic Democrat, Republican or Tea Party candidate -- put the Tea Party candidate over the Republican, 23 to 18 percent. Democrats led with 36 percent; 22 percent were undecided.

The Tea Party isn't even a real party. However, a few more polls like this and things might change.

The poll was published Monday by Rasmussen Reports and surveyed 1,500 Americans.

Among voters not affiliated with either major party, the Tea Party comes out on top. Thirty-three percent (33%) prefer the Tea Party candidate, and 30% are undecided. Twenty-five percent (25%) would vote for a Democrat, and just 12% prefer the GOP

Among Republican voters, 39% say they’d vote for the GOP candidate, but 33% favor the Tea Party option.

For this survey, the respondents were asked to assume that the Tea Party movement organized as a new political party. In practical terms, it is unlikely that a true third-party option would perform as well as the polling data indicates. The rules of the election process—written by Republicans and Democrats--provide substantial advantages for the two established major parties. The more conventional route in the United States is for a potential third-party force to overtake one of the existing parties.

Nationwide, voters' disaffection with the two major parties (Republicans and Democrats) is so great that a near-majority say a new party is needed to represent their views. Democrats, however, are more satisfied with their party than Republicans, the poll asserts.

Forty-one percent (41%) of all voters nationwide say Republicans and Democrats are so much alike that a new party is needed to represent the American people. Republicans are evenly divided on this question, while Democrats overwhelmingly disagree. However, among those not affiliated with either major party, 60% agree that a new party is needed, and only 25% disagree. Men are far more likely than women to believe a new party is needed.

As for the voting preference, the Tea Party bests the GOP among both men and women and in all age groups except those over 65.

The Tea Party candidates are the first choice among political conservatives. Among moderates, the Tea Party candidates are more popular than Republicans. However, nearly half of all moderate voters prefer a Democrat. Among the Political Class, not a single respondent picked the Tea Party candidate.

However, among those with populist or Mainstream views, 31% prefer the Tea Party, and 26% are undecided. Twenty-three percent (23%) pick a Republican candidate, and 19% are for the Democrat.

Republicans’ approval ratings worst in 25 years

By Raw Story They got rid of scandal-tainted Majority Leader Tom DeLay, airport shoe-tapper Larry Craig and prurient instant message typer Mark Foley, but they just can't seem to shake the gloom.

Congressional Republicans scored just 36 percent approval ratings from the American public in a CNN/Opinion Research poll released Friday.

Fifty-four percent of Americans viewed Republicans in Congress unfavorably, while 41 percent said they were rankled by Democrats. Democrats had a 53 percent approval rating to Republicans' 36.

But despite Democrats' edge over Republicans, their handling of Congress receives few plaudits, according to the poll. Almost 70 percent of those questioned said they disapproved of how Congress was handling its job, with just 29 percent expressing approval.

The full PDF of the CNN poll can be read here.

"The Republican party may still be battling the legacy left to them by George W. Bush," CNN Polling Director Keating Holland was quoted as saying. "They have also spent a lot of time in 2009 working against Democratic proposals. That hasn't left them a lot of time so far this year to present a positive, post-Bush message. Of course, there is still plenty of time for them to do so before the 2010 midterms."

Republicans have branded themselves "the party of no," for their votes against a Democrat-backed stimulus plan and near-unanimous opposition to President Barack Obama's healthcare overhaul goals.

An earlier poll published in June was the subject of a Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee memo replete with a graph of recent polls.

A Washington/Post ABC poll in June put Republicans at a 36 percent approval, while three other polls gave the party a favorability rating of under 30 percent. Republicans scored 29 percent, 28 percent and 25 percent respectively in polls conducted by The New York Times, Pew Research and NBC.

McConnell mistakenly claims Republicans and Democrats are ‘close to even’ in the polls.

By Faiz Shakir

At a press conference this afternoon, a reporter asked Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) to explain why such a low number of Americans (approximately 20 percent) self-identify as Republicans. McConnell responded by dodging the question, saying, “You can pick out of polls what you want to focus on.” He then proceeded to pick out a number he wanted to focus on:

I think a very interesting question of most of the polls I’ve seen in the last few months is the question of the party generic ballot. That is, if the election were held today, would you be more likely to vote for the Republican or the Democrat? Most of the surveys that I’ve seen in the last three weeks or so have us close to even.

Watch it:

McConnell is sadly mistaken. As The Plum Line’s Greg Sargent reports, a new Washington Post poll shows the gap between the two parties is currently as wide as it has been in the previous two elections:

Right now, the poll finds that when respondents are asked whether they will vote for a Dem or a GOPer in the 2010 elections, 51% pick the Dem and 39% pick the Republican.

In June of 2008 (the most recent historical data in the WaPo poll), Dems led the generic matchup 52%-37%. And in early November of 2006 the Dem lead was 51%-45%. Today the spread is largely unchanged.

Despite this, GOP cockiness about the midterms is widespread.