BOSTON, Sept. 15 (UPI) -- While 44 percent of U.S. adults have a friendly view of the Tea Party movement, many say they would not go to a Tea Party event, a poll indicates.
Raghavan Mayur, head of TechnoMetrica Market Intelligence of Ramsey, N.J., which did the poll for the Christian Science Monitor, suggested the poll shows the movement has a lot of "closet admirers." He also said Democrats' efforts to portray the movement as a marginal one may be failing.
The poll found 41 percent of respondents expressed a negative view of the Tea Party, compared with 44 percent who are favorable to it. About 40 percent of those who do like the Tea Party said they would not appear at one of its events.
"The overarching message here is that Democrats have been in denial about the Tea Party, and I think it's coming back to haunt them," Mayur said.
The Tea Party has had a string of recent victories in Republican primaries. Christine O'Donnell, endorsed by the movement, defeated Rep. Mike Castle for the U.S. Senate nomination in Delaware, even though Castle had the strong backing of the Republican establishment.
The poll was conducted Sept. 9-12, surveying 908 adults. The margin of error is 3.3 percentage points.
