GOP support for Tea Party policies grows

NEW YORK, June 16 (UPI) -- More than two-thirds of U.S. Republican voters said they agree with the core policies of the Tea Party, a survey indicated.

Of GOP voters surveyed online by Angus Reid Public Opinion, 68 percent said they "moderately agree" or "strongly agree" with the Tea Party's core policies, compared with just 7 percent who disagreed.

The poll questions did not define core policies.

Tea Party support among GOP voters has climbed 8 percent since a similar Angus Reid survey in March.

Among independent voters, 41 percent said they agreed with the Tea Party's core policies while 24 percent disagreed. Twenty-one percent of Democrats said they agreed with the Tea Party policies while 40 percent said they disagreed.

Overall, the survey of 1,003 U.S. adults found 42 percent said they have followed news of the Tea Party "very closely" or "moderately closely" in the past year and 29 percent of voters said the movement would have a positive effect on U.S. politics.

Republican support far outweighed that of other parties, with 56 percent of GOP voters saying they expect a positive effect to 30 percent of independents and 13 percent of Democrats.

The survey, taken June 9-10, has a margin of error of 3.1 percentage points.