Nationwide Poll: The Success of GOP Depends on its Loyalty to the Tea Party Agenda

Washington, DC- This morning, FreedomWorks released astounding polling data from a recent national survey of 1190 American voters (including 306 self-identified members of the Tea Party) to shed light on the top political and economic issues motivating voters this election cycle. The data gathered by the polling group The Word Doctors highlights what issues matter to the general public, what issues matter to members of the Tea Party movement, and the undeniable overlap between the two.

Contrary to the myths created by the Left to discount the credibility of the tea party movement, polling data reveals that members of the Tea Party movement are more engaged, more likely to vote, more knowledgeable, and more active in the political process than the general American public.

“These [Tea Party] people are your great Americans, who cherish freedom, who take their privilege to vote seriously, and who appreciate what it means to live in a democracy,” commented Frank Luntz, a pollster for The Word Doctors. “Given this new data, the Tea Party is just as viable as the Republican and Democratic Parties. It’s vibrant, it’s sustainable, and it is not going anywhere.”

Of the nearly 90 percent of Tea Partiers who “definitely will vote” on November 2nd, over 80 percent plan to vote Republican. Given these numbers, the success of the GOP will not merely benefit from the Tea Party vote, it will depend on it.

In a point-by-point analysis of the ten policy items addressed in the grassroots-generated “Contract FROM America,” almost every item polled at least 60 percent positive for the general public and nearly 90 percent positive for Tea Partiers. A resounding 31 percent of Tea Party members consider their top policy issue to “repeal and replace the health care reform bill.”

To successfully gain back the majority in Congress, Republican candidates must recognize that the momentum driving voters this election season is rooted in ideas, not a fan-following behind charismatic leaders or party politics. Seventy percent of Tea Partiers overwhelmingly identified as “conservative” over “Republican,” and over forty percent of the American population overall support the ideas of the tea party movement.

“The Tea Party is not a Republican resurgence, it is a conservative movement united under a coherent philosophy and a shared vision of lower taxes, less government and more individual freedom,“ explained Matt Kibbe, President and CEO of FreedomWorks.

“This is the winning coalition of conservative and independent voters who will elect legislative entrepreneurs on November 2nd and begin to hold them accountable on November 3rd.”

The polling data undeniably supports this assessment. Fifty-eight percent of the American population and 79 percent of Tea Partiers agree that if a new Republican majority fails to deliver on their promises, they would consider supporting the creation of a new third party dedicated to reducing the size and scope of Washington.

Kibbe added, “There is a clear implicit threat in these results to the incoming freshman class of Republicans: The American people are watching you. And if you cannot follow through on your promised agenda of fiscal responsibility and limited government, we will vote in someone else who can. “