More in U.S. follow Tea Party news

WASHINGTON, Sept. 23 (UPI) -- About half of U.S. adults say they are following news about the Tea Party movement, a poll released Thursday indicated.

More than two in five, 43 percent, say they agree with the Tea Party's core principles, Angus Reid Public Opinion reported, while 25 percent disagree. The number of people following Tea Party news has increased 8 percentage points since June to 50 percent, while the number in agreement is up 4 percentage points.

Nearly a third (32 percent) of those polled say the Tea Party will have a positive effect on U.S. politics while 21 percent say the effect will be negative.

Republicans are far more likely to be sympathetic to the Tea Party, with 72 percent agreeing with its core principals and 59 percent expecting it to have a positive effect on U.S. politics. While 25 percent of Republicans say the Tea Party should become affiliated with an existing party, 26 percent of independents say it should become a third party.

Angus Reid, based in Toronto, surveyed 1,009 members of its Springboard America panel online on Sept. 15-16. The margin of error is 3.1 percentage points.